Castrol Honda have announced that Alex Lowes will ride for the team in World Superbikes at Brno while Jonathan Rea recovers from injuries sustained at Misano.
After a practice crash left him with a gaping elbow wound requiring stitches, Rea’s luck took an even worse turn as he then highsided the Honda at 143mph on one of the San Marino track’s fastest sections, fracturing the radius in his wrist and a metacarpal in his foot, and cracking his collarbone.
Rea has admitted he is “struggling to understand” the awful luck with mechanical problems, accidental crashes and injuries he has endured this season. He had hoped for a successful return to action next weekend at Brno, Czech Republic, a location that has been good to him in the past, but surgery to screw the radius break in mid-June and the discovery of further ligament damage that also needed surgical attention have lengthened Rea’s lay-off.
Jonathan Rea speaks from his Misano motorhome after the crash
“I was pretty upset when I got the news after the surgery… because it means a longer rehab than we’d thought. It’s difficult, of course, and I’m devastated, but I’ve got a great team around me, so I know I’ll get all the support I need to come back strong,” Rea commented. “As I said before, I want to be 100 per cent when I get back on the bike so, at the moment, I’m not going to put a definitive timescale on that. I’ll just concentrate on getting back to fitness as fast and as completely as I can.”
Meanwhile, British Superbikes’ Lowes is making his second step up in a single season after moving up to BSB earlier this year from the Evo series as a replacement for the injured Stuart Easton at MSS Colchester Kawasaki.
“The first thing I want to say is that I hope Jonathan’s injuries heal quickly and that he’s back on the bike soon,” Lowes commented, before vowing to make the best of his “incredible opportunity” for the Castrol Honda team in Rea’s absence.
Want more?
- Jonathan Rea's official website, jonathan-rea.com
- Jonathan Rea on Twitter @jonathanrea
- Official Alex Lowes website alexlowes.co.uk
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