Rea feeling expectation ahead of Assen trip
Added on Tuesday, April 12th, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor
Rea feeling expectation ahead of Assen trip
Jonathan Rea has admitted that he is feeling some added pressure as he heads to Assen this weekend although the Castrol Honda rider is confident that he can deliver his first podiums of the season.
Rea heads to Assen, the home circuit of the Ronald Ten Kate run Castrol Honda team, having claimed two victories in 2010 and the 24-year-old will be looking to get his title challenge back on track after a difficult start to 2011.
After breaking his hand in Australia back in February, Rea has been fighting for fitness throughout the opening two rounds, claiming a respectable fifth and sixth place finish at Donington Park three weeks ago.
But Rea knows that the expectation will be higher at Assen, thanks to his exploits last year and his experience of the Netherlands circuit.
“I’m really excited to be heading back to Assen this weekend as I have a lot of good memories from there,” he claimed.
“Like last year, I’ve been camping in the motorhome at the workshop for the last week or so and doing some PR stuff for the team and the circuit. We also had the Ten Kate Pit Stop Day last Saturday, which was a great opportunity to meet the fans at the workshop in Nieuwleusen.
“At the weekend, we’ll obviously be looking to capitalize at the team’s home circuit where we tested a lot last year and where we know the Honda Fireblade works really well.
“After the unforgettable weekend we had last year, there’s obviously a bit of pressure, but we’ll just work steadily over Friday and Saturday to put ourselves in a good position for Sunday and try to get our season started properly.”
