REA BACK IN THE POINTS
25 September 2005 - Honda Racing

Jonathan Rea finished back in the points at the penultimate round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Donington Park.

The 18-year-old Red Bull Honda rider grew in confidence after finishing 19th in race one to take a hard-earned 11th and four points towards his points tally in the second race.

It was an eventful first leg for Rea, who battled for a top 20 finish throughout the 20-lap race on the Grand Prix circuit. Lapping consistently on the Red Bull Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade, the talented teenager battled with a large group of riders before taking 19th place.

The competitive nature of the British Superbike class this season may be evidenced by the fact that Rea was only three seconds off the last points scoring position. In addition, he narrowly missed out on catching the two riders in front of him – Danny Beaumont and Dean Ellison took the chequered flag only a fraction of a second ahead of the hard-charging Ulsterman.

Rea showed his growing maturity in race two as he rode with some caution and patience in the early laps, while some of the more experienced competitors crashed out of contention. A shower of rain over an hour before the start had left the 2.5-mile Leicestershire track damp in places with a dry racing line.

Joining Michael Laverty in a Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade freight train, the two Northern Irish riders stormed into the lower points-scoring positions by maintaining a consistent pace over race distance. Rea put his compatriot under increasing pressure, but they maintained station through to take tenth and 11th positions respectively.

Jonathan Rea: “The second race was much better for me than the first. I’d been searching for a good set-up all weekend and in the end we had to go back where we started! The conditions were tricky at the start of race two, but I kept concentrating and pushing hard behind Michael Laverty. In the end, I decided to settle for 11th, safe in the knowledge that I had added to my overall points total.”

Race one: 1. G. Lavilla (Ducati) 30:49.746; 2. R. Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda Racing) +2.054; 3. L. Haslam (Ducati) +11.856; 4. G. Richards (Kawasaki) +14.456; 5. J. Reynolds (Suzuki) +19.583; 6. M. Rutter (HM Plant Honda Racing) +28.931; 7. S. Smart (Kawasaki) +38.386; 8. T. Hill (Yamaha) +38.831; 9. D. Thomas (Kawasaki) +38.921; 10. G. Mason (Honda) +39.184; 19. J. Rea (Red Bull Honda) +1:09.565

Fastest lap: 1:31.718 – Lavilla (lap 16, new lap record)

Race two: 1. G. Lavilla (Ducati) 31:26.230; 2. L. Haslam (Ducati) +4.022; 3. R. Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda Racing) +5.970; 4. M. Rutter (HM Plant Honda Racing) +11.612; 5. J. Haydon (Suzuki) +14.758; 6. D. Thomas (Kawasaki) +17.401; 7. G. Mason (Honda) +29.427; 8. S. Smart (Kawasaki) +29.974; 9. K. Harris (Honda-Racing.co.uk) +51.731; 10. M. Laverty (Honda) +54.798; 11. – J. Rea (Red Bull Honda) +1:00.566

Fastest lap: 1:32.463 – Lavilla (lap 13)

Championship points: 1. Lavilla – 416; 2. Kiyonari – 403; 3. Rutter – 353; 4. Haslam – 305; 5. Richards – 231; 6. Harris – 195; 7. Thomas – 176; 8. Mason – 156; 9. Reynolds – 139; 10. Laverty – 119; 17. Rea – 52

www.honda-racing.co.uk

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