Jonathan Rea sits in a provisional front row position after today’s opening free practice sessions for the two third round races of the 2014 World Superbike championship at Assen in the Netherlands on Sunday.

The Pata Honda rider lapped the 4.542km Dutch circuit in a time of 1m35.880s in warm sunshine this afternoon after topping this morning’s opening free practice, which was held in cool, overcast conditions after overnight rain.

Rea’s Pata Honda team-mate Leon Haslam was tenth fastest today, as Italian rider Davide Giugliano took provisional pole position. The 30-year-old British rider is confident of improvement in tomorrow’s practice sessions ahead of the afternoon’s Superpole to determine final grid positions for Sunday’s two 21-lap races.

Jonathan Rea - P2, 1m35.880s

It’s been a dry, sunny afternoon at Assen, which we needed because the forecast is saying the weather is going to be changeable over the weekend, so it’s good to get some dry laps under our belts. The CBR has moved on a lot since last season and we arrived here with a set-up from Aragon; but I suffered a bit from a lack of front-end feeling and the bike felt quite foreign. We’ll go back to more of a front set-up from last year’s race which I was quite comfortable with. On the engine brake side we still need to make some progress because in the later stages of my runs I was getting pushed into the corners a bit. We’ll check the data tonight to see if that’s coming from the electronics or the chassis but for day one I think we can be quite satisfied. We’re on the pace but we can st ill improve the bike. I hope the weather conditions stay stable for the weekend, as much for the fans as for us. We’re expecting a lot of home support for the Pata Honda team so we’ll aim for the front row tomorrow, while working on a good race set-up.

Leon Haslam - P10, 1m36.709s

We started with quite a different engine brake strategy this morning because it was too inconsistent at Aragon. It took quite a bit of setting up and we’re still getting used to it a bit. It’s not working too bad but when we put a new tyre in it didn't feel quite right. I’m not sure if that was a bad tyre or we just couldn’t maximise what we had, so we’ve still got a few things to sort out. We’ve made a few changes to the chassis today, but it’s interfering with what we’re trying to get from the electronics, so there’s more to do there tomorrow, as well. There’s still a way to go but we’re not a million miles away and we’re making progress.

Pieter Breddels - technical co-ordinator

It’s been quite a successful day for Jonathan – first this morning and second this afternoon. We’ve got some work to do and some things to sort out, but it’s looking OK for now. Leon’s start was quite difficult this morning, but we made some progress with him this afternoon. We’re still not there but I’m confident that tomorrow we can find some things so he can improve. Hopefully the weather will stay dry and we’ll see what comes.



1 - Davide Guigliano - 1m35.396s - ITA - DUCATI - Ducati Superbike Team
2 - Jonathan Rea - 1m35.880s - GBR - HONDA - Pata Honda
3 - Tom Sykes - 1m36.146s - GBR - KAWASAKI - Kawasaki Racing Team
4 - Alex Lowes - 1m36.219s - GBR - SUZUKI - Voltcom Crescent Suzuki
5 - Chaz Davies - 1m36.417s - GBR - DUCATI - Ducati Superbike Team
6 - Loris Baz - 1m36.449s - FRA - KAWASAKI - Kawasaki Racing Team
7 - Eugene Laverty - 1m36.467s - IRL - SUZUKI - Voltcom Crescent Suzuki
8 - Sylvain Guintoli - 1m36.670s - FRA - APRILIA - Aprilia Racing Team
9 - Marco Melandri - 1m36.697s - ITA - APRILIA - Aprilia Racing Team
10 - Leon Haslam - 1m36.709s - GBR - HONDA - Pata Honda

.