Jonathan Rea is still looking to get consistent results in his first season with Yamaha in the MotoGP World Championship, and with his participation in Portimao, he has a good chance of doing so.
After six rounds of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship, Pata Prometeon Yamaha rider Jonathan Rea finds himself in tenth place in the standings. This is an unusual position for the six-time WorldSBK champion. However, the 2024 WorldSBK season has been anything but ordinary.
Rea is still getting to grips with his new Yamaha R1, after an unexpected switch from Kawasaki to Yamaha for the season. However, there have been promising signs, with Rea claiming his first podium in blue two rounds ago at Donington Park and having been on pole earlier this season at Assen.
The 37-year-old Rea has extensive experience at the Portimao circuit, having started all 35 WorldSBK races at the venue. Rea also holds the record for the most WorldSBK podiums at Portimao with 25. With his experience and love for Portimao, Rea is expecting good results this week before a month off.
“Portugal is a really great place to go,” said Rea ahead of round seven of the WorldSBK season. “I love the track and there’s always a lot of travelling support from Northern Ireland as well – so there’s a good atmosphere in the race week! We’ve never raced there before in August and it’s also an evening race which is new as well, so I’m excited to see how we go.”
“The back-to-back races at Donington and Most have helped me understand the Yamaha R1 better, and I hope we can put that to good use when it comes to Friday’s free practice. As we’ve learned, qualifying is very important, so without putting too much pressure on myself – we need to qualify in a good position to give ourselves the best chance over the weekend. I can’t wait, and hopefully I can really get in some strong racing!”
