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Misano brought no smiles to Johnny Rea. Once again the Northern Irish rider found himself struggling with the Yamaha, snatching first an eighth place in the Sprint and then a tenth in Race 2. A bitter balance because the expectations were quite different, but unfortunately they were not matched by the results.
At the end of the weekend the bitterness was clearly evident on the face of Rea, who is still not finding his way with the R1.
"Unfortunately, the weekend did not go the way I expected," he said, " in qualifying I found the yellow flag and then there was yesterday's crash in Race 1. Starting so far behind weighed a lot considering especially what Toprak did. In these cases you have to start at the front, and I had no information about today's long race since I didn't finish a single lap on Saturday."
The Northern Irishman did however have a clear idea."The only goal was to finish the race because I lack confidence with the bike and this is not the direction I want to go with Yamaha. We have to start from scratch because the seconds picked up from the leaders are really a lot and we need to improve."
At the start of Race 2, Johnny almost almost went down again.
"Gardner looked like Banzai and I didn't understand the point of his move, in fact at the Quercia he took me wide, losing a lot of positions. Fortunately nothing happened although it is frustrating for me and my whole team to live through the current situation. Regarding yesterday I want to thank the Clinica Mobile for yesterday and all the people who helped me to be at my best for this second and final day."
Speaking of starting from scratch, Rea is asked where he is going to start from.
"It's not a stupid question, it's a question I ask myself. It's shitty for me and I'm starting to feel it mentally. I try to be positive but I'm struggling. I always talk about the theory of the light at the end of the tunnel, but it's really hard to see the light. The truth though is that the sport is such that you just need a good day in the saddle, or a turnaround with the set up to start coming. It's hard not to question myself as well, because the other Yamaha riders are doing a really good job, but I can't and I have to keep asking the team what I need and I feel they have to react to what I say."
The last line is referring to your farewell from Kawasaki.
"The one with Kawasaki is now a closed chapter and I am happy for them because there will always be a very good relationship. Last year I made this choice I believe in and inside I am trying to do my best to improve."
