Although Jonathan Rea achieved his first podium with Yamaha in the first race at Donington Park, the reigning world champion is still far from over the top. The 37-year-old is looking for something magical.
At Yamaha, alarm bells are ringing loudly. After 15 out of 36 races, the manufacturer with crossed tuning forks on the logo is fourth in the manufacturers’ standings behind Ducati (256 p.), BMW (250 p.) and Kawasaki (166 p.). Only Honda (49 p.) is worse.
“As a manufacturer, we have to move on,” Jonathan Rea told a small group of journalists after the meeting at Donington – the world champion switched to Yamaha in the winter after nine years with Kawasaki. . “My best lap in qualifying was really good, but on my pit board they only showed me 9th – I thought that was how it would end. Tomi and Gardner can usually squeeze out the fastest time out of qualifying. But it’s hard to maintain a high level in the race and stay competitive.
The 37-year-old achieved his first podium finish with the R1 in the Superpole race and delivered his best race weekend with Yamaha overall.
“I definitely don’t use the bike much more – the motorcycle can do more,” admits Rhea. “But we need improvements so I can take the next step. It’s mainly about the electronics. You have to have complete trust in the computer. You have to be in complete harmony to do something magical on your bike. At the moment I’m still struggling with the motorcycle. Just my best and clearest opinion.” I can deliver and the rest is up to the engineers.
Andrea Dosoli, Yamaha racing chief, independently confirmed the difficulties at the fifth meeting of the season.
“The easiest time for me to make up time is on the brakes and in the corners. “But we don’t have the acceleration to overtake the opponents,” explained the record world champion. “But if I attack the brakes, I’m in trouble and miss the line. Loka continues to be the benchmark as he is the best Yamaha rider in the overall standings.