The run of bad luck continues: At the Superbike World Championship in Barcelona, Jonathan Rea heads to the Yamaha pits and retires with a technical defect
Record-breaking world champion Jonathan Rea still has to wait for his first points as a Yamaha rider. After a clear round at the season opener on Phillip Island (Australia), Rea also came away empty-handed from the first race of the Superbike World Championship in Barcelona (Spain) (race report).
Starting from twelfth on the grid, Rea was aiming for a podium. As the six-time world champion deliberately focused on tire management during testing and practice, his poor starting position was not a clear indication of his competitiveness. However, Rea was unable to show his true potential. He returned to the pits at the end of the first lap.
“Unfortunately, I burnt the clutch at the start and I couldn’t even finish a lap,” said Rea, explaining his retirement. “I’m sorry for the team, who worked incredibly hard in the run-up to this race, only for it to end on the first lap.”
“But now we’ll put that behind us and focus on tomorrow, where we need a strong performance in Superpole to secure a good grid position for the second race,” said Rea, looking ahead to the final day of the Barcelona weekend.
Rea regrets that he was unable to find out what would have been possible. “After the successful test and the progress on Friday, I was confident of fighting for a good result in the race today,” said the Yamaha rider.
“Qualifying didn’t quite go to plan, but the longer runs yesterday, where we focused on tire management for the race, meant that a strong result was possible today,” he mourns a good result.
For Yamaha, Rea’s run of bad luck is a test. “It would have been great to collect valuable data over the distance of 20 laps,” remarks team manager Paul Denning. “It’s a tough moment for an incredible rider, but we’re confident that this low point for Jonathan will soon be paired with some high points. “
