News

Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) went about the job of trying to win WSB races with his usual relish last weekend, but ultimately, due to one breakdown in race one, he lost more ground in the championship chase. He is now fifth overall, despite his podium finish in race two, and is now 14 points behind Max Biaggi and the factory Aprilia. Importantly, Rea's race two podium probably saved a top-five finish, which in itself would be a strong way for the rider from Northern Ireland to finish his rookie year in this combative and multi-faceted championship.

He admitted that his first race DNF played on his mind. "All weekend we've had a good pace but it just seems that, come the first race, we couldn't put it together," said Rea. "I'm really sorry for the team because I take a lot of the blame for that. It put me out of my rhythm and then I got a bit of arm pump towards the end of race two. I was running with the guys at the front until about five laps from the end because the package we had here was as strong as at Imola last week."

Rea is determined to make up ground in Portugal, stating, "We'll regroup back at the workshop and come back strong for Portimao."