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Belfast Telegraph
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Jonathan Rea drawing inspiration from Northern Irish crowd heading to Donington Park
Rea achieved his best result of last season at the British round of the series with third in the Superpole race. It remains the six-time champion's best result since he made the move from Kawasaki to Yamaha and Rea hopes he can put himself in a position to challenge for a similar result this weekend. However, the 38-year-old will be looking to make a big step forward in final free practice on Saturday ahead of Superpole qualifying after ending the first day in 17th place on the combined free practice time sheets. Rea was 0.780s down on pacesetter and championship leader Nicolo Bulega ( Ducati), who lapped in 1m 26.342s to edge out Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) for the top spot. 'More challenging first day than we were expecting to be honest,' said Rea. 'But we probably didn't make a big enough step in performance between FP1 and FP2, the times are very close in that mid-pack area. 'I lost a bit of my flow during the session and when we put a new tyre in at the end it was better, but still not good enough to register a time. 'I feel we really need to improve the entry of the corner – especially in the trail-braking area in the fast and flowing section. 'The last sector where it's about brakes and acceleration, I actually feel quite okay. 'The focus for tonight is just to go through the data, try and understand – I feel like I am riding the bike on the limit, but clearly there is more time to be gained,' he added. 'So, put our heads together as a team and try to find a good way for tomorrow. 'Good thing is that we got a lot of laps in today, some data to look at and we'll try again in FP3.' A large number of fans from Northern Ireland make the trip to Donington annually to support Rea and the record 119-time race winner is eager to give them something to cheer. 'It's going to be great to have good home support and a lot of travelling support from Northern Ireland and it's my team's home race as well,' he said. 'So, a lot to get excited for and let's hope we can be closer to the sharp end and fight where both the bike and the team deserve.' Alex Lowes was third fastest for the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team ahead of brother Sam (Elf Marc VDS Racing Ducati) and reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad). Italian Bulega, who holds a slender title lead of nine points over Razgatlioglu, crashed at the Foggy Esses but still managed to post the quickest time. Bulega said: 'I tried to make the corner a bit faster. I understand what the limit is, so this is the most important thing. 'When you crash, you have to understand why. It was a good session because my feeling was good. I tried to push from the first lap. I needed to find the limit immediately. 'We did some work in the second run, but the bike wasn't perfect, so I'll try to improve tomorrow. 'It impacted my session a little bit because I wasn't able to follow my programme. 'We stopped our work a little bit inside the garage. Thanks to my mechanics because they repaired the bike really fast.' Saturday's opening race at the East Midlands venue is at 3pm, with the Superpole race on Sunday at 11am, followed by the final race of the seventh round at 2pm.
Belfast Telegraph
15-06-2025
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Jonathan Rea admits ‘fundamentally, I still don't understand the bike' following a mixed weekend in Misano
The Northern Ireland rider has been unable to show the form that fired him to a record six world titles and 119 victories since he left Kawasaki to join the factory Yamaha team in 2024. Rea finished a disappointing 13th in his maiden season on the R1 machine last year and has struggled to challenge for the top six this season after making his comeback from injury. The 38-year-old missed the first three rounds after breaking bones in his left foot in a crash during testing at Phillip Island in Australia in February. On Sunday, Rea sealed his best result of the year with seventh in the Superpole race at Misano in Italy after crossing the line in 12th in Saturday's opener at round six. However, he crashed out of ninth in the final race to end the weekend on a disappointing note and is now pinning his hopes on a big weekend at the next round at Donington Park from July 11-13, where he earned his sole podium result in 2024 with third in the Superpole race. 'We can grind out results but I think fundamentally, I still don't understand the bike too much, especially when we have to go for Superpole,' said Rea yesterday. 'Superpole has been my nemesis since I've rode the bike really and I'm struggling with that. 'When you can't put yourself in a good position straight away, the class is so tough now – the front two guys (Toprak Razgatlioglu and Nicolo Bulega) are incredible and are almost a race within a race – that next group is incredibly competitive. 'So, if you can't start near the front of that, you make life tough. But Donington next is a good opportunity for us, we were quite strong there last year and I got my only podium in the Superpole race. 'If we can put everything together, try to do all our work on Friday, there's no reason why we can't have a successful weekend there.' Analysing his crash, Rea said he lost the front in what had been a 'strange' tumble. 'Going into T1, like usual the rear was bouncing around and when it picked up and landed I literally lost the front straightaway – nowhere near the apex – so a strange one,' he said. 'So frustrating, because the trajectory of the weekend had been a really positive one, from missing FP1 to finishing seventh in the Superpole race, and it was unfortunate to end on a tough note.' Turkey's Toprak Razgatlioglu completed a clean sweep for a treble on the ROKiT BMW, slashing championship leader Nicolo Bulega's gap to nine points. Bulega held an advantage of 31 points coming into the weekend but was dealt a blow when he was taken out by Axel Bassani at the first corner on the opening lap of the Superpole race. Razgatlioglu underscored his dominance at Misano as he wrapped up victory in Race 2 yesterday by over nine seconds from Bulega ( Ducati) in what has become a two-horse fight for the title. 'I'm very happy, last year I had three wins here and this year I did it again, now I'm looking forward to Donington,' said reigning champion Razgatlioglu, who will make the move to MotoGP in 2026 with the Pramac Yamaha team. 'This is my last season, but if I was continuing in this paddock, I think we could set many records here, maybe in the future. It makes winning this season feel that much better.'
Belfast Telegraph
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Frustrated Jonathan Rea admits he has lots to do after early struggles at Misano
The Ulster rider missed much of the first free practice session at the Marco Simoncelli Circuit after his Pata Maxus Yamaha R1 developed an electrical issue. Rea squeezed in a lap at the end of FP1 but there was more frustration in the afternoon when the 38-year-old was unable to make much progress with the set-up of the machine. He finished 18th after the opening day, 1.715s down on pacesetter and championship leader Nicolo Bulega ( Ducati). Rea is now aiming to make up for lost time in final practice and qualifying on Saturday ahead of the opening race of the weekend at 1.00pm. 'Tough start to my day which put us on the back foot because we had a technical problem in the morning that kept me in the box,' Rea said. 'Fortunately, the mechanics worked incredibly hard and I was able to get a lap at the end of the session to verify the bike was okay and give us some confidence to move on in the afternoon. 'Unfortunately, FP2 we didn't make much progress with the set-up as temperatures rose and the track felt different, a bit greasy, and I really struggled with a lot of chatter and understeer. 'It was hard to be precise, I couldn't stop like I want to and be on the correct part of the circuit. 'I tried to take a wheel to understand what other riders were doing, but the more I tried, the worse it got. 'Definitely room for improvement tomorrow and very disappointed with today.' Rea made his return from injury at Cremona in Italy last month after missing the first three rounds following a crash in testing at Phillip Island in Australia. He is out of contract at Yamaha this year and is reported to be seeking a deal with a different manufacturer for 2026. Rea is the most successful rider in World Superbike history, winning the title in six successive years between 2015 and 2020. After leaving Kawasaki, he has struggled to find the same form at Yamaha and finished last year in 13th in the standings, with his best result a third place at Donington Park. Italian Bulega, last year's title runner-up, was 0.190s faster than reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) yesterday, with Alvaro Bautista ( Ducati) in third. Bulega leads the championship by 31 points from Razgatlioglu going into round six and is bidding to win the crown for the first time in only his second season in World Superbikes. Razgatlioglu, meanwhile, is set to make the move to the MotoGP World Championship next year with the Pramac Yamaha team and is determined to retain the title for BMW before taking on a new challenge next year. 'On one side, I feel sad; on the other, I'm so happy,' said Razgatlioglu, whose crew chief is Northern Ireland man Phil Marron. 'I'm sad because I feel like World Superbike is part of my family. I know everyone, 'I'm really happy with the paddock. This paddock is relaxed, and everyone is friendly. 'Moving to MotoGP as a three-time World Superbike champion is my biggest dream for this year. 'We're still fighting for the title with Bulega and we're not so far behind, just 31 points. I hope we get the title this year. 'This is my last year with BMW, and I need to give something to them before I move to MotoGP.' On Sunday, the Superpole race is at 10.00am with Race Two at 1.00pm.
Belfast Telegraph
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Jonathan Rea gets points on the board for first time since injury but says: ‘It's noting to get excited about'
The 38-year-old missed the first three rounds of 2025 in Australia, Portugal and the Netherlands after fracturing bones in his left foot when he crashed at the final winter test in Australia in February, days before the season opener. Rea made his return at Cremona in Italy at the beginning of May but was outside the points as he finished 19th, 16th and 18th. However, he pocketed his first points in yesterday's opening race of the weekend at round five of the championship at Most, finishing 10th after qualifying 14th on the Pata Maxus Yamaha. Rea finished 22.6s behind reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad), who won the race by six seconds from championship leader Nicolo Bulega ( Ducati) to close the gap to 29 points ahead of today's Superpole race and Race Two. 'My first points of the year,' said Rea, whose team-mate Andrea Locatelli was ruled out after he was caught up in a collision with Alvaro Bautista and Michael van der Mark on the first lap. 'The beginning of the race was amazing, I had a great start and first corner and everything opened up for me. 'I found myself with a really good track position, and from there step-by-step tried to do my race rhythm. 'Unfortunately, I couldn't fend off the attacks from a few riders, but when they got past me I was able to see them as a reference and understand my pace to go away from the guys behind and maintain my position. 'Tenth place is nothing to be excited about, but it's a start.' Rea is building confidence step-by-step and the record 119-time race winner feels it won't be long before he is back at the sharp end. 'I've come from missing three rounds of the season and a difficult first weekend back in Cremona, but physically here I've felt a lot better,' said Rea, who struggled to 13th in last year's championship in his first season as a Yamaha rider after a long and successful association with Kawasaki. 'I just need to find some overall performance and we should be in the mix a bit more.' Italian Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) took the final rostrum spot ahead of England's Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team). Bulega's Ducati team-mate Alvaro Bautista battled his way back from 16th to finish a fighting fifth after losing time when he was involved in the incident with Locatelli and van der Mark. The Superpole race on Sunday is scheduled for 10:00 BST with the final race at 13:00 BST. In the British Superbike Championship, Carrickfergus man Glenn Irwin finished fourth in the first race on Saturday at Donington Park. The Hager PBM Ducati rider was in the fight for a top-three finish but began to lose ground on the final laps and fell into the clutch of Australian Josh Brookes (DAO Racing Honda), who snatched the last podium place in third. Former champion Bradley Ray (Raceways Yamaha) won by almost two seconds from reigning champion Kyle Ryde (OMG Nitrous Competitions Yamaha). Andrew Irwin finished eighth. His Honda Racing team-mate, Tommy Bridewell, crashed out heavily at Coppice but was up on his feet afterwards. BSB newcomer Scott Swann (Send my Bag/IWR Honda) finished 12th. In the Supersport Sprint race, Rhys Irwin from Donegal was on the podium in third on the Performance 15 Suzuki, one place ahead of champion Jack Kennedy (Honda Racing). Eugene McManus from Randalstown was fifth on the MMB Ducati while Lee Johnston (Sencat by Swan Racing Triumph) finished 12th. The BSB races at the second round today are due to take place at 1:15pm and 4:20pm. A memorial silence was observed yesterday at Donington in honour of young Englishman Owen Jenner and Shane Richardson from New Zealand, who tragically lost their lives after they were involved in an 11-rider pile-up in the Supersport race at Oulton Park on Bank Holiday Monday.
Belfast Telegraph
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Jonathan Rea endures tough day on return to action: ‘I don't feel amazing'
Rea has been out of action since injuring his left foot in a crash in testing at Phillip Island in Australia at the end of February. He was given the all-clear to race this weekend by the WSBK Medical Director but the record-breaking six-time world champion said it was a challenging comeback after such a long period out of the saddle. Rea set his fastest lap in 1'30.547, which was 1.3 seconds down on pacesetter and championship leader Nicolo Bulega ( Ducati). 'It's been a difficult day but firstly, my foot feels fine riding,' Rea said. 'I had a couple of areas where my foot was in the wrong position and when I ride with my big toe on the foot peg it feels quite painful but generally it's fine. 'Of course, it's been a long time off the bike and physically, I didn't feel amazing. 'However, I expected that to an extent and need some race fitness back. 'The R1 is quite different to when I last rode it and we worked through FP1 and FP2 with the same tyre set-ups to find the rhythm and still I didn't feel fully comfortable. 'We made some changes but nothing has really ticked the box yet to let me stop the bike in the way I really want to, so that's the focus for tonight to give me more confidence to reach the apex. 'We'll try to make a step tomorrow but – even if it's really tough – it's great to be back with the team and re-starting the journey to being fully competitive.' Rea is competing at Cremona for the first time after he was ruled out of last year's inaugural round at the new WSBK venue because of injury. Italian Bulega led the times by 0.307s from BMW's Toprak Razgatlioglu, who is also making his debut at Cremona this weekend after he, too, missed the 2024 race through injury. Bulega finished second in the standings in a sensational rookie season in World Superbikes last year and currently leads Razgatlioglu by 21 points going into the fourth round. The first race today is scheduled for 1300 BST with tomorrow's races at 1000 BST and 1300 BST.
