Jonathan Rea heads to “unpredictable” Assen with “clearer idea of what works”

After his first Honda World Superbike weekend in over a decade, Jonathan Rea continues to replace the injured Jake Dixon as the world championship moves on to Assen.

Rea, who switched to HRC test riding duties after retiring at the end of last season, is a record 17-time winner at the legendary Dutch circuit on Honda and Kawasaki machinery.

The six-time world champion will have more modest goals this weekend, as he seeks to build on a best of twelfth place at Portimao – which was only one place behind Honda’s best of the year so far, by Tetsuta Nagashima in Phillip Island.

“Once again, I’ll be stepping in for Jake, and first I want to wish him all the best with his recovery,” said the six-time WorldSBK champion. “I’m happy to continue supporting the team and helping with the development of the CBR1000RR-R.

“Assen is a circuit I know very well, and after racing the bike in Portimao I now have a better understanding of it. That means we can arrive with a base setup and a clearer idea of what works.

“I’ve always enjoyed Assen and have had a lot of podiums and wins there over the years, also with Honda.

“It’s a unique track, and at this time of year the weather can always be unpredictable, so you never quite know what conditions you’ll face.”

The Ulsterman became especially popular with the Dutch fans while racing for the home Ten Kate Honda team.

“The fans there are always fantastic, there are a lot of Dutch supporters, so I’m really looking forward to going back,” he added.

“Hopefully we can gather plenty more information, keep moving forward, and be a bit more competitive than we were in Portugal.”

On the other side of the garage, WorldSBK rookie Somkiat Chantra will also be competing in his second event of the season after missing Phillip Island due to injuries.

The Thai rider also knows Assen well, from his grand prix days, taking his first MotoGP point at the circuit in 2025.

Chantra matched that 15th place in the final race at Portimao to open his WorldSBK account.

“In Portugal I scored my first WorldSBK point, but most importantly we were able to improve step by step over the course of the weekend,” Chantra said. “That was really positive for us all.

“Now we head to Assen, which has been a good track for me in the past and one that I enjoy a lot. It is also quite a different circuit, flatter in character, so it will be interesting to see how the CBR1000RR-R works there.

“We need to keep working in the same way and continue building on the progress we started to make at Portimao. The goal is to understand more, continue to improve session by session, and keep moving forward together with the team.”