I can see path to better results on my Yamaha, maintains Jonathan Rea

Six-time world champion Jonathan Rea was eighth during practice at Magny-Cours

James Robinson

Jonathan Rea says he has ‘clear ideas’ on how to improve his Pata Prometeon Yamaha for Saturday’s opening World Superbike race at Magny-Cours in France. The Northern Ireland rider was eighth overall in combined free practice on Friday at round eight of the Championship, 0.768s off leader Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW). The six-time world champion has endured a difficult debut season with Yamaha after making the switch from Kawasaki following a spectacularly successful nine-year association. Rea is in 10th place in the Championship with five rounds left, 279 points behind BMW’s Toprak Razgatlioglu, who has been ruled out this weekend after a crash on Friday. More concerning for Rea is that the 37-year-old is behind team-mate Andrea Locatelli and fellow Yamaha contender Remy Gardner (GRT Yamaha) in the standings. He was hindered in morning practice by a minor technical problem but is satisfied overall going into qualifying on Saturday morning. “We got a bit lucky and unlucky today,” said Rea. “Lucky with the weather because it stayed dry even though the clouds have been hanging over us all day, but we managed to get some good track time. “This morning, unfortunately, we had a small technical issue that kept us in the garage a little more than we would have liked. “We maximised FP2, we made positive changes every time we exited the box. I found an acceptable rhythm, but we have to improve. We have to improve the bike and we have some clear ideas on how to do that for tomorrow. “Some clear areas, like just stopping the bike in the last part of the braking phase, but for day one I feel satisfied with the work that we’ve done. “In the dry we’re almost ready to race and understand the different tyre options that Pirelli brought. “I am enjoying riding the bike, even if the set-up is not perfect yet, I’m enjoying it. “Step-by-step, hopefully we can improve a little bit tomorrow ready for the race.” Turkey’s Razgatlioglu, who was on a record run of 13 successive victories, topped the morning session and was third overall on his BMW M1000RR but will miss the remainder of the weekend after suffering a high-speed crash in FP2 when he was on a hot lap. The 27-year-old was taken to the circuit medical centre for a check-up and was diagnosed with a back contusion. Razgatlioglu was then transported to hospital for further checks but has been declared unfit to take any further part by the World Superbike medical team. Dutchman Van der Mark was 0.149s ahead of Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega — who is second in the Championship — 92 points behind Razgatlioglu. Reigning champion Alvaro Bautista, also a faller in FP2, was seventh fastest in front of Rea. Pacesetter Van der Mark said: “It’s a track I love. I enjoy coming here and today I enjoyed it even more because, from the first lap this morning, the bike was feeling good. “We didn’t change a lot today because the bike felt good and I was just trying to be precise, have a good pace. “It’s nice to be fast, but also to finish the day fastest is very nice.” Superpole qualifying on Saturday is scheduled for 10.00am with the first race at 1.00pm. The Superpole race on Sunday is at 10.00am with the second full-length race set to start at 2.30pm. Also on Saturday, the eighth round of the Ulster Superbike Championship is taking place at Kirkistown in Co Down with the finale of the ‘Big 3 Series’, including the King and Prince of Kirkistown races. Qualifying is scheduled to begin at 9.00am ahead of a 14-race programme. Lisburn’s Jonny Campbell will be aiming to extend his title lead in the Superbike class but faces stiff opposition from McAdoo Kawasaki’s Korie McGreevy and Banbridge man Ryan Gibson on his BMW S1000RR. Meanwhile, the Scarborough Gold Cup meeting at Oliver’s Mount in north Yorkshire — England’s only road race — takes place on Saturday and Sunday, where the line-up includes Cookstown man Gary McCoy, Mike Browne from Cork and former multiple winner Dean Harrison.