Rea sets the pace in Portugal

[totalmotorcycle]

Rea sets the pace in #Portugal


Jonathan Rea set the fastest time in this afternoon’s opening qualifying session at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal to take provisional pole position for Sunday’s two sixth-round World Superbike championship races.



The 26-year-old from Northern Ireland lapped the 4.592km circuit near Portimao in a time of 1m43.551s, ahead of fellow Ulsterman Eugene Laverty and British rider Tom Sykes who complete the provisional front row.



Rea’s Pata Honda team-mate, Leon Haslam, was 13th fastest in this afternoon’s 45-minute qualifying session, as he continues his recovery from a broken leg. The 30-year-old suffered some pain in this morning’s free practice session but was more comfortable this afternoon following pain-killing injections.



Jonathan Rea – P1, 1m43.551s



It was quite a frustrating day as we had loads and loads of problems, but the good thing is that it didn’t stand in the way of a good run at the end. So it’s mixed emotions really, because although my guys worked really quickly to resolve the problems, it was frustrating that we’re still having issues on the electronics side. I’m enjoying riding here and although our bike has improved a lot, it feels like the circuit is a little bit slower. It’s a mix of a lack of rubber and how bumpy it’s got in the last year. It’s hard to make a perfect set up and it needs a lot of rider input and thinking outside the box to make the bike work in the fast bumpy areas. But for day one we’ve gained a lot of data, especially in the engine braking area, and we’ve made better inroads than we did on day one at Donington. I just hope that tomorrow we can steer clear of any little gremlins and work on a race tyre. I tried three different tyres today and each one has positives and negatives, so we need to evaluate them some more tomorrow to make a choice.



Leon Haslam – P13, 1m45.075s



This morning I was actually in a lot more pain than I was at Donington! The ligaments and tendons in my knee are actually a bigger issue now. I can bend the knee how I want and put weight through my leg like I should, but it’s hammering the ligaments. It was better this afternoon after the clinic did some really good taping and gave me some pain-killers. I didn’t do as many laps this afternoon, but it definitely felt better than this morning. Honestly, we’re a little bit off the pace at the moment but I’m pretty confident that we’ll get closer. There’s still a lot to do with the bike and I’ve still got to put a lap together as well.



Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator



Leon is still suffering from his injury a bit and we’re trying to make the bike as comfortable and as good as it can be for him. We can do a little more tomorrow but we’ll all do the best we can and see how he goes. On the other side of the garage, it’s been quite a good day for Jonathan. He didn’t make many changes to the chassis – we just made the bike a bit more rideable with electronics and the rest he did himself. He’s quite good around here. After the second race at Donington, everyone is quite happy with this result and we hope it leads to a good weekend.



2013 World Superbike championship, round six – Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, Portugal

First qualifying results:

1 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Pata Honda 1m43.551s

2 Eugene Laverty (IRL) Aprilia 1m43.603s

3 Tom Sykes (GBR) Kawasaki 1m43.648s

4 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Aprilia 1m43.934s

5 Davide Guigliano (ITA) Aprilia 1m44.017s

6 Marco Melandri (ITA) BMW 1m44.026s

13 Leon Haslam (GBR) Pata Honda 1m45.075s