Ten Kate Honda's Jonathan Rea says he is thankful his Fireblade was fast in a straight line at Miller Motorsport Park yesterday as he had to make up for handling problems with outright speed.
Irishman Rea scored a fifth and a third in yesterday's World Superbike double-header, and replaces fellow Honda man Leon Haslam as top Honda runner and top Brit after Haslam had a weekend to forget.
"I was just settling into a good rhythm in race one when it got red flagged, but the second part was OK and I just couldn’t maintain the gap I had over Fabrizio, so he beat me to the podium, even though I finished third on the road," said Rea.
"In race two, I just had to ride as slowly as I could to keep the guys behind me. There was a big gap to the guys at the front, who were riding at a fantastic pace, but I had a problem with the front of the bike.
"Luckily I was able to use the power of the CBR1000RR on the straights to stay ahead. I think we’ve found some consistency now, so we can return to Europe with our heads held high and look forward to some more good results."
