Following his recovery, the 18-year-old has made enormous progress during his debut year in the world’s leading domestic series. He became the youngest person ever to secure pole position in the championship at his home circuit of Mondello Park for the last round.



Rea has already signalled his intention to continue that form aboard the Red Bull Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade at the 2.127-mile North Yorkshire circuit this weekend. He adapted well to the track at the recent official test day and was running as high as second position during the morning session.



However, as always the Ulsterman’s main objectives will be to complete race distance over the two 22-lap British Superbike races – particularly following his frustrating double DNF at the latest round of the series – and collect more points towards his championship challenge.



Jonathan Rea: “I’m feeling good ahead of Croft because everything is coming together with the team and the Red Bull Honda CBR1000RR. I’m still learning the circuit, so I’m happy that I was able to run so high in the times at the test, although I feel that I could still have done better. It will be a difficult circuit to perfect, but I’m hoping for a good result.”




Laverty not resting on his laurels


Despite already proving his worth and talent during his debut year in the British Supersport Championship, Eugene Laverty has demonstrated that he is not willing to rest on his laurels for the remainder of the season.



A strong performance at his home circuit of Mondello Park saw the 18-year-old equal his best result of the year by finishing in sixth position. The Ulster teenager then travelled to the official test at Croft where he was one of the front-runners ahead of more experienced riders in the ultra-competitive Supersport class.



The Red Bull Honda campaigner finished first and second respectively during the day’s two sessions aboard the Red Bull Honda CBR600RR. Laverty raced at the North Yorkshire circuit last year and secured the pole position and race win in the British 125GP Championship. He is aiming to collect more valuable points this weekend to push himself inside the top ten of the series overall.



Eugene Laverty: “I’m looking forward to Croft because I seem to go well there and it suits the Red Bull Honda CBR600RR. I enjoyed riding at the circuit last year, but I thought that it would be more difficult on a Supersport machine this year. I had a good test at the track recently though and we made some decent progress with the bike.”





Jones aiming for his hat-trick


Red Bull Honda rookie Chris Jones is aiming for his third consecutive points-scoring finish at Croft this weekend aboard the Honda RS125. Following a frustrating start to the season, the 14-year-old has displayed a return to the early promise and form that he showed in pre-season testing.



At the recent official test at the North Yorkshire circuit, Jones finished inside the top three in two of the day’s three sessions despite the fact that it was the Droitwich teenager’s first visit to the 2.127-mile track. He also has the advantage of campaigning the machine on which team-mate Eugene Laverty won last year’s corresponding British 125GP Championship round.



However, the free practice and qualifying sessions have proved vital for Jones this season. His ability to learn each track, find the best lines and perfect the set-up of the Red Bull Honda machine have had a direct effect on his performances in his debut British 125GP season.



Chris Jones: “I liked Croft when I tested there and I am feeling more confident about my own ability now that I have finished two races. The Red Bull Honda RS125 is working really well and I feel like I have gelled with the team, which makes it easier to communicate how the bike feels. So, I’m hoping for more points this weekend.”



-ENDS-


Notes to editors:


Croft – vital statistics

Circuit length: 2.1270 miles

Superbike lap record: 1:21.245 (John Reynolds)

Supersport lap record: 1:23.923 (Leon Camier)

125 lap record: 1:28.578 (Joe Dickinson)

2004 BSB race one result: 1. Michael Rutter; 2. Yukio Kagayama; 3. Scott Smart; 4. Ryuichi Kiyonari

2004 BSB race two result: 1. Michael Rutter; 2. Scott Smart; 3. John Reynolds; 4. Ryuichi Kiyonari

2004 BSS result: 1. Jay Vincent; 2.Leon Camier; 3. Karl Harris

2004 125 result: 1. Eugene Laverty; 2.Kris Weston; 3. Christian Elkin