Jonathan Rea says the pressure of riding in front of an expectant home crowd will not change his approach this weekend at Donington Park. The Briton leads the world championship by 87 points over Leon Haslam after a sensational start to the season and although he is expecting plenty of support, Rea wants to keep as normal an approach as possible.
“Being a home race does not change how I approach the weekend, or how I ride. I do find it bizarre how some guys at home find that X-factor, but we just treat it like another race. I have a lot of family coming over from Ireland and a lot of my British fans have been telling me on social media that they are coming, so it is going to be amazing to come home and see all my supporters. Especially after the run I have. I would say that the UK is where I have most of my fan-base, so hopefully I can meet a lot of people and make them all proud.”
Having won eight of the first ten races, Rea begins the weekend as red-hot favourite for victory and expects Donington Park to suit the characteristics of the Kawasaki ZX-10R.
“I think the formula we have found in the working relationship between me and the rest of the team, my crew chief and the engineers at KHI is going very well. We need to continue that way of working because Donington has presented some challenges to me in the past, as a rider. But last year, when I look at the results and watch the races again, it is clear that it is a track that really suits the Ninja ZX-10R, thanks to the stability of the bike in the last sector and the agility and handling of the KRT ZX-10R in the first sector. I expect to be strong but we do not know how strong we can be until Saturday qualifying, after we have completed our preparations for the race.”