Rea leaves Assen satisfied with testing progress

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Jonathan Rea concluded a two day test at Assen yesterday.

Despite lapping on race winning pace the 23 year old admitted that he wasn’t able to completely eradicate the chatter problems that have plagued them in the last two rounds, but they have improved it.

The four time WSB race winner completed a massive 141 laps and braved seriously windy conditions during the two days.

Speaking to MCN, he said: “We’ve worked through a range of stuff and we’ve found ways to reduce the chatter but it’s still obvious on the data.

“I tested a lot of shocks, shorter swing arms and different head angles and we reconfirmed the base setting we’ve got. I think we were all starting to doubt our base a little bit but we’ve proved we are not far off.”

Rea claimed an emphatic double race win at the Dutch track in April and also set pole and the fastest lap.

“I felt like I was just riding around and If I’m honest I was getting a bit bored, but my crew chief had to remind me that I was actually on race winning pace and I did countless 1.36’s laps despite the wind.

“The recent races have proved that we need to get the bike right. In the Assen race I still had chatter but I was able to ride around it, where as in America I didn’t have the same confidence to push through it.”