SBK, Rea: "The Kawasaki has changed drastically"

What a battle between Johnny Rea and Chaz Davies at Imola. At the end of day one, the two riders both set exactly the same time to close at the top of the standings. Incredible but true! At a track where the Welshman dominated during the last two editions, the Kawasaki rider is showing real confidence on board the ZX-10RR, so much so that he seems intent on breaking the fast that has been going on since 2015.

“It's incredible – stated the three-time champion - right from session one I had real confidence with the bike. The team and I have taken a different path starting from the Brno test and my sensations with the bike are like nothing I've had so far this season”.

Johnny continues... “The setup has changed drastically with respect to previous races, and with the new 200/65 tyre I can be more competitive. This is still only practice though and tomorrow we'll need to prepare for the race, but I'm confident”.

There is one small thing to look at though.

“Through the left-handers I think I'm struggling more than I should be and also those through those downhill right-hand turns. But I have to say that the set-up we used at Brno is proving competitive and so I'm excited about this step forward. At this point, we need only focus on details”.

The difficulties suffered at the start of the season now seem like a distant memory.

“I think we were quite slow in developing the bike at the start of the year. Looking at performance, I could say that my speed is down to the new engine, but this is a joke of course (he smiles)”.