Rea optimistic after Assen test
Added on Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor
Rea optimistic after Assen test
Jonathan Rea believes that a productive week of testing and home advantage for the Ten Kate Honda team in Assen this weekend could kick-start the team’s season.
Ten Kate have endured a slow start to the new World Superbike season, claiming just one podium finish so far this season through Rea in Portugal whilst his new teammate Max Neukirchner has managed just a 12th place finish as his best performance this season.
The slow start prompted Ten Kate to undertake additional testing in Assen last week, with the Netherlands based team getting to familiarise themselves with their home circuit and taking the time to look at completely overhauling the Honda’s chassis and weight balance.
The results of the test left Rea in positive mood about the upcoming Dutch round although the Northern Irishman is very much aware that their rivals will not have been standing still since the last round in Valencia.
“It’s been great hanging out here for the last week and to meet all the Ten Kate fans again at the Pit Stop Day – I’m feeling half Dutch already,” he claimed.
“We had a great test at Assen last week to work on making a good bike even better. The revised corner is fast but I really like the track anyway and I’ve gone OK here in the last couple of years. We completely re-evaluated the balance of the bike last week and tried shifting a lot of weight to the rear, which helped in delivering grip as it’s accelerating out of corners.
“It’s hard to judge it properly until our rivals take to the track on Friday but it all looked quite positive when we overlaid the data from last year with other parts of the circuit.”
