Rea and Xaus frustrated by weather in Aragon
Added on Monday, January 24th, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor
Rea and Xaus frustrated by weather in Aragon
Jonathan Rea and Ruben Xaus were left frustrated by rain this weekend as they managed just a handful of laps at the Motorland circuit in Aragon.
The Castrol Honda duo were left frustrated by freezing temperatures and wet conditions that kept them confined to the garage for much of the two day test in Aragon, depriving the pair of their first chance to get to know the newest circuit on the WSB calendar.
After arranging the two-day test, the Castrol Honda team admitted defeat on Friday and packed up ahead of the official three-day test in Portimao, which starts on Wednesday.
“It’s been a frustrating couple of days really because after the rain [Thursday] morning it’s been sunny, but it’s been really, really cold,” said Rea. “At least I got some laps in yesterday afternoon – maybe 30 or 40 – so I know which way the track goes and I was able to give some good feedback on gearing to my crew. It wasn’t a complete waste of time – it’s a really nice circuit and I enjoyed riding it but we were understandably a little way off where our rivals were when they had three days testing here last October. But when we come back in June, at least we won’t be starting completely blind.”
“It was freezing,” added Xaus “Much colder than when the team was launched in the UK earlier this week! Today, it was maximum 3° in the sun and always below zero in the shadows. And there are many shadows here, because the circuit has many hills. In fact, it was difficult to ride yesterday afternoon when the sun was very low because of all the shadows. The circuit is blind everywhere, but still very interesting. And the bikes looked amazing on track for the first time.”
