Jonathan Rea getting "comfortable" with Honda ahead of Dutch WorldSBK

Jonathan Rea feels he is “more comfortable” approaching his second WorldSBK round of 2026 than he was in Portugal three weeks ago.

The Dutch Round takes place at Assen this weekend and at the third round of the year Rea has been called on for the second time to replace Jake Dixon, who remains injured after his testing crash at Phillip Island before round one in February.

Rea stood in at Portimao but was only able to score four points for 12th in Race 2. Afterwards he admitted to not being physically ready for the weekend after surgeries in the off-season to address injuries from his two seasons with Yamaha in 2024 and 2025.

But the six-time champion was able to test last week, and is now feeling better prepared for his second fill-in ride of the 2026 World Superbike season.

“Assen brings back a lot of nice memories and it’s another opportunity to get more mileage on the bike,” Jonathan Rea told WorldSBK.com ahead of the Dutch Round.

“I’ve been testing last week. I’m feeling more comfortable and more prepared coming to Assen than I did at Portimao. 

“We’ve been trying to find a bike I’m comfortable with and Portimao was an opportunity to take different directions and be more aggressive with setup ideas. 

“This weekend, we can channel this in with a lot more data from Portimao and last week.”

Assen is also a circuit that has seen much success in the past for Rea, with 17 wins at the Dutch venue over his World Superbike career.

“17 wins is mega, especially at one track,” he said. “When I was 20, I signed for the Ten Kate Honda team, and we did a lot of our testing in WorldSSP here, so I knew Assen quite well.

“It’s a track that always provides great racing, and there are a few tricks to the trade here. Over the 18-year period, everyone knows those tricks. 

“I love the track and the atmosphere. As a rider, I don’t think there’s any better feeling than coming into the last chicane and seeing full grandstands.”