Editor

After an unfortunate race 2 at Monza, which came to an abrupt end shortly after the start, Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) is preparing for what could prove to be a crucial round of the season at Miller Motorsports Park. The young Northern Irishman, who now lives on the Isle of Man, is hoping to make use of the track time he put in during last weekend's designated testing on the US track.


"We nominated Miller as our test track this year because last season we really struggled with bike set-up. I really enjoy riding here in America but the bumpy nature of the track makes it very difficult to find the optimum settings for the bike. My team have pulled out all the stops though, and we had a lot of new items to test."


The new parts brought by the Dutch team were used by Rea, who was positive about the new swingarm, which has been designed to get the best out of the rough track surface. But because of poor weather conditions Rea was unable to make the most of the tests, despite being pleased with the overall result.


"The weather wasn't on our side, so the track conditions were pretty dirty out there. I found a better feeling for corner entry with a new swing-arm and this really helped the feeling when the tyre life starts to drop. I also had some new suspension items to test and, while we found some positives, it will take more time to get it dialled in properly. We are in much better shape now to start the weekend and as always we will do our best."


The Castrol Honda man is currently 56 points away from leader Carlos Checa and the Miller Motorsports Round represents a fundamental opportunity for the Irishman to keep alive his title hopes this year.

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Source: World Superbike

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Kawasaki Racing