World Superbikes: Jonathan Rea 'really surprised' by Yamaha', Alvaro Bautista gives injury update ahead of new season
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ByOli Gent
Updated 22/02/2024 at 09:26 GMT
Jonathan Rea has admitted that he is "really surprised" by the quality of his new team upon his arrival at Yamaha ahead of the 2024 World Superbike Championship season. The Northern Irishman, who is a six-time WorldSBK champion, joined Yamaha after difficult 2022 and 2023 seasons, which saw Alvaro Bautista claim the titles for Ducati. The Spaniard also gave an update on his neck hernia injuries.
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Jonathan Rea has admitted that he was “really surprised” by the quality of his team-mates upon his arrival at Yamaha ahead of the 2024 World Superbike Championship season.
The Northern Irishman, who made the move to Yamaha this year in search of a new challenge, made his name with Honda.
Rea earned 15 wins with the Japanese team before moving to Kawasaki, where he really stamped his authority on the WorldSBK, winning six consecutive titles between 2015 and 2020, notching more than 100 wins.
He suffered a couple of difficult campaigns in 2022 and 2023, but he returns to the grid revitalised with his new team.
“My career and the story I painted before with my previous team; to think about moving was a big [step], but I’m so grateful for the opportunity at Yamaha,” he told Eurosport.
“They welcomed me with open arms and when I got there, I was really surprised by the technical capabilities of the team and the people, the level they are, and suddenly I realised there’s amazing people all over this paddock and different teams and it’s just not putting all that in the right place.
“For sure, I feel like an opportunity again to fight for some race wins to see what I can do this season but it’s reignited some fire inside and I'm looking forward to getting going.”
Elsewhere, Alvaro Bautista, the current world champion, has provided an update on his injury status after the Spaniard was given a cervical nerves compression diagnosis following a wild card appearance at the Malaysian MotoGP.
Bautista, the two-time champion, garnered 27 victories in a dominant display last term, becoming the first Ducati rider to defend his WorldSBK title since Carl Fogarty in 1999.
Now, the 39-year-old is on the hunt for a third crown.
“Unfortunately, after the last race that we won the Championship, [I] had a test and the track was not good,” Bautista explained.
“I touched a wet patch and I did a big high slide and hit my head [on] the asphalt. I went to Sepang and started to feel pain on my neck and no strength in my left arm.
“I came back home, did a check and I discovered that I had two hernias in my neck. So, yeah, I felt severely in a lot of pain.
“I spent all winter working with my physiotherapist, and especially in November and December, [it] was terrible because I felt pain all day in [every] position.
“All the move[ment]s I [made] were bad; I started to feel a bit better the first two weeks of 2024 and I started to work a little bit.
“It has been my worst preseason in all my career, but this is motorcycling, you have at least this part of the game. I’m not 100% physically fit; we are not in our best [moment] physically and technically at [present].”
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Toprak Razgatlioglu, BMW’s newest rider, has explained why he decided to join the team after three years at Yamaha.
“I believe in this bike,” the Turk insisted. “I believe in this brand.
“I’m just trying to show how close we are to winning and how close we are to fighting for the Championship.
“Why BMW? [It’s] not just [about the] team, but also the second team and Bonovo. All the team is now unbelievable because the test riders are very experienced riders and the other guys are also very experienced riders - Scott, Garrett and Michael.
“We are improv[ing] the bike altogether. It’s not 100% ready; everybody knows this. I’m sure after three races we [will] start fighting for the podium and for the win.”
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