Rea quickest on day two in Imola
Added on Friday, July 17th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Rea quickest on day two in Imola
Jonathan Rea was the fastest man on day two of World Superbike testing at Imola yesterday as Honda continued their impressive showing.
After some strong performances from Carlos Checa and Rea on day one for the Ten Kate team, the Brit managed to jump ahead of Michel Fabrizio and Ben Spies on the faster second day.
Rea, who secured his first WSB victory in nearby Misano last month, posted a time of 1:48.670 as the change to Ohlins suspension appeared to pay-off for the factory Honda team.
That team was 0.177 seconds quicker than day one leader Fabrizio on the Xerox Ducati, the only other rider to dip under the 1:49 benchmark. Yamaha’s Ben Spies was third fastest.
“It’s been a good couple of days here at Imola,” claimed Rea. “We started with a really different approach. Instead of trying to change things from the start, we just waited until I was really up to speed. That took most of the first day, when we really only changed one thing.
“We started trying some new stuff this morning and I was able to run consistently in the top three and we were able to confirm the good base setting that we found at Misano. After that, we just fine tuned things, but it was really motivational to be at a new track with everything fresh. I was even quick through the sector with the chicane in it, and slower corners and chicanes are normally my weaker points.
“All in all, it’s been good and I want to thank the team for all their work in changing the approach to work here. We got another boost when Kenan set the fastest Supersport time, so I think we can go to Brno next week with some confidence.”
Other Brits in the top ten were Yamaha’s Tom Sykes (5th, 1:49.422), Stiggy Honda rider Leon Haslam (8th, 1:49.555) and Sterilgarda Ducati rider Shane Byrne (9th, 1:49.577).
Official Times (Overall)
1. Rea (GBR) Honda 1:48.670
2. Fabrizio (ITA) Ducati 1:48.847
3. Spies (USA) Yamaha 1:49.262
4. Lanzi (ITA) Ducati 1:49.309
5. Sykes (GBR) Yamaha 1:49.422
6. Hopkins (USA) Honda 1:49.443
7. Xaus (ESP) BMW 1:49.467
8. Haslam (GBR) Honda 1:49.555
9. Byrne (GBR) Ducati 1:49.577
10. Nakano (JPN) Aprilia 1:49.645
