Despite having taken nine race wins and 24 podiums in his SBK career so far Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) has yet to stand on the podium in the SBK class at Monza. He hopes to change that statistic this coming weekend, after his class-leading win at Assen last time out, his first victory of the 2012 season.
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The rider from Northern Ireland knows that each circuit is very different, and this time around he may have to rely on the sheer top speed of his machine to ensure he arrives at Monza able to stay with the fastest machines of his competitors. Said Jonathan, "I'm heading to Monza with confidence after Assen, but that chapter is closed now and a new one will open this weekend. It's a unique race, which has developed into a bit of a horsepower battle between manufacturers, but I've been involved in a couple of first turn crashes in the last two years - it's always difficult funnelling everyone into that tight chicane at the end of the straight."
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Improvements to his bike have been evident for Rea in recent times, despite losing some full testing opportunities to bad weather on occasion. "We've moved into a new area with the bike now and we've been working on a different set-up with a clear development route. I hope we'll be able to take advantage of that at Monza, which requires stability, especially under braking, and that's something we've suffered with in the past. I'm really looking forward to being back in Italy - I love racing there and the Italian fans have such a passion, which is very contagious."
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