Jonathan Rea will debut with Yamaha on this season of the WSBK with a dream of winning but certain that he still isn’t where he wanted to be. The rider, one of the most charismatic faces of the grid, said he goes for 2024 with mixed feelings.
Here is the first words of the british before the start of the season: ‘I’m feeling more or less OK, not 100% but I woke up yesterday morning feeling quite sorry for myself. Today was much better and I hope tomorrow we can make another step. We start tomorrow for real; I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment. It’ll be a nice moment to roll down pitlane for the first official session of 2024 and get stuck in’.
The former world champion is looking forward for the start, but his sensations aren’t yet the best, as he recalled: ‘The overall feeling is mixed. I enjoy riding the bike and working with the team. I’ve been fast, but to be really, really fast, I’m still demanding some feeling. Track by track, we’re getting there’,
And continued, saying he will improve during the season, speaking of winning… as a dream:
– The new surface threw us a bit of a curveball, it’s a completely different feeling. It’s got a lot of grip, so that riding style that I normally use on the bike isn’t quite working here. Right now, no. I feel my ultimate pace hasn’t been so fast. Even my race rhythm is not fast, and we need to improve. I really enjoyed Jerez and Portimao, but we need to make a step here. Right now, winning a race here, is a dream. The reality is we have a lot of work to achieve that but we won’t give up.