Rea completes over 100 laps in day one of Phillip Island test

Jonathan Rea completed in excess of 100 laps during his first day of testing at Phillip Island today. The 24 year old got to ride the new 2012 specification Honda Fireblade and was on track alongside new team-mate Hiroshi  Aoyama.

Rea continued to build the relationship with his new crew chief Chris Pike and also got to work with the teams dedicated Ohlins technician Mark Harrison- Ross for the first time. 

Speaking to MCN from Australia, Rea said: “I’ve done heaps of laps today. The conditions are hot but it’s also pretty windy so we are being blown around a fair bit. My crew chief had a lot planned for me to test and towards the end of the day he wanted me to do two full race simulations. I got one done, but on the second one I hit a bird at 140mph, which got caught between the footrest and the frame so I had to abort it.”

“We haven’t been using the optimum tyre so a lot of the focus today has been generating grip at the rear of the bike. All in all it’s been a good day, but we’ve still got lots more to test.”

The Honda Racing teams test continues on Wednesday and concludes on Thursday.