Jonathan Rea took a tenth and a fourth place finish over the weekend at the two tenth-round World Superbike championship races at Nurburging in Germany, marking his comeback to racing after three months off through injury.
Rea started race one from ninth place on the grid and fought his way up to sixth before a lack of drive out of corners dropped him to tenth at the flag.
"I was really excited to get back on the bike on Friday after three months off but I struggled to get a rhythm in race one," declared Rea. "I had some front grip problems and felt a lack of acceleration out of corners."
As torrential rain fell on the 5.137km Nurburgring circuit, Rea began race two from the second row following the withdrawal of Max Biaggi. A good start put the 24-year-old up into second place but clutch issues did not allow him to hold a line into Nurburgring's tight first corner and he dropped to fourth.
Jonathan crashed heavily into turn 1 on lap 12 but managed to remount in fifth position before race leader, Noriyuki Haga, crashed out with the race ultimately being red flagged after two thirds distance.
Rea says, "When Nori Haga crashed out of the lead I got back to fourth so I was happy with the result. I’m especially happy for the team and, although it’s not a podium or a win, it’s something for the guys who haven’t had a lot to cheer about recently. It’s a bit of motivation to take to the next race, at least!"
Stay tuned for the next round at Imola, Italy – 23-25 September.
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