FOURTH ROW FOR REA
01 May 2005 - Honda Racing

Jonathan Rea has secured his highest qualifying position to date in the 2005 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park today.

The 18-year-old seized 16th place on the grid aboard the Red Bull Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade with a time of 1:38.760, despite a small crash with less than ten minutes to go in the second qualifying session.

Rea, who missed both of last year’s events at the 2.692-mile Cheshire circuit, returned to the garage uninjured following the incident with enough time to put in one final lap before the chequered flag was waved. It was enough to elevate him from 21st position to 16th and move forward two rows on the grid.

The Ulster teenager’s debut season has already seen him collect four points-scoring finishes from six starts – a tally that he is aiming to boost tomorrow. Rea is confident that he can run with the pack that he is in, so a higher starting position is the key to his future success in the world’s leading domestic motorcycle racing series.

Jonathan Rea: “I’m delighted to be starting from fourth row on the grid. My main aim this weekend was to get a strong qualifying position and I’m happy to have achieved that. I’m hoping that it will make it easier for me to battle for good points-scoring finishes in tomorrow’s races

Qualifying: 1. M.Rutter (HM Plant Honda Racing) 1.36.436; 2. D. Thomas (Kawasaki) +0.479; 3. L.Haslam (Ducati) +0.748; 4. G.Richards (Kawasaki) +0.972; 5. K.Harris (Honda-Racing.co.uk) +1.089; 6. G.Mason (Honda) +1.146; 7. J.Haydon (Suzuki) +1.378; 8. J.Laverty (Honda) +1.531; 9. G.Lavilla (Ducati) +1.544; 10. S.Smart (Suzuki) +1.768; 16. J. Rea (Red Bull Honda) +2.324

www.honda-racing.co.uk

More News
  For May 2005
  From Honda Racing
  For British Superbike
  Biker247.com Home Page