Honda Racing’s Jonathan Rea returns to the scene of his most recent World Superbike victory last September at Imola in Italy brimming with confidence.

The Ulster rider, who narrowly missed out on a rostrum finish at the opening round of the championship a month ago at Phillip Island in Australia, is itching to get started following a refreshing break at his home on the Isle of Man.

Rea – seventh in race one in Australia – has fond memories of Imola, where he bounced back in spectacular style in 2011 to stand on the top step following a long period on the sidelines as a result of a wrist injury sustained in a crash at Misano.

An injuryb which effectively shattered his world title dreams.

However, his injury nightmare is firmly in the past and Rea is ‘excited’ at the prospect of this weekend’s race on the works Honda CBR1000RR.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am at the prospect of riding my bike again this weekend.

“It seems like a lifetime since the opening round in Phillip Island so I’m raring to go again at Imola,” he said.

“I love racing in Italy – the food, the culture, everything about it is special – and Imola has some pretty special memories for me, especially winning last year after a long injury lay-off.

“That was the first time we rolled out on the ride-by-wire system last year and we’ve done a lot of work on it since then.

“So it’ll be really interesting to benchmark where we are against our performance last season,” he added.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and a lot of research since Phillip Island.

“And I’m looking forward to putting what I’ve learned into practice this weekend.”

Northern Ireland’s Eugene Laverty is also desperate to grasp the opportunity to add some strong points finishes to the board at the historic Italian venue on Sunday.

After was has been an indifferent start to his world championship aspirations in Australia.

The factory Aprilia rider was hampered by a wrist injury sustained in testing.

Laverty was forced to retire from the opening race with a gearbox issue on the RSV4 but salvaged some points in race two when he crossed the line in eighth position.

“Imola is the most physically demanding circuit on the calendar, so I’m pleased that I’m nearly back to full fitness.

“I’ve twice finished on the podium at Imola in the World Supersport Championship.

“But it’s one of the few circuits where I haven’t won and I’d love to challenge for a victory this time around,” said Laverty.

“It’s a long season though so the most important thing for me at this stage is to build up some momentum after such a tough start to the season.

“We enjoyed a two-day test at Aragon recently where I had the chance to get more comfortable on the Aprilia

“So hopefully that will be evident at Imola.”


.