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Despite the few laps and despite the track conditions, Jonathan Rea still looks down on everyone from up top. The reigning world champion completed just 19 laps today, but it was enough for the competition to understand that he's still the man to beat. So much has been said in recent days about the big news that is overwhelming the championship, but Rea reminded everyone that pre-season tests can often be misleading.
“I think it's January, and everyone is excited about it. It was the same last year these days," he explained. "Bautista seemed untouchable, but the ending was different. Honda is back, but it's difficult to understand its potential. It'll take the first few races to do so."
Speaking of himself, Johnny reveals how he shouldn't even have gotten on the track today. He, instead, finished first.
“I had already booked my return flight, since the forecast for today predicted bad weather, but then the runway dried up. Unfortunately, however, I wasn't able to ride a lot, since the bad weather quickly returned, and the track conditions were difficult to interpret, with some really insidious points."
Rea didn't hide that he did a great job in terms of speed, but he's not purterbed.
“My time is fast, after all, but the feeling I had was that I was really far from my maximum potential. I felt comfortable with the bike, but the track was very strange. Some corners were dry and some were not. In fact, there were falls between yesterday and today."
The unusual conditions didn't prevent Rea from getting answers from his bike, although the next tests in Barcelona will certainly be more illuminating.
“I was able to confirm that some changes were good on the front, which allowed me to be more incisive in corners, but I'd like to have further confirmation on another track. We're going to Barcelona on Monday, and they predicted good weather. I'm curious to see the track, since I've never raced there."
