Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) crashed out of Race 2 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship after surging up the order, which brought out the red flags. The six-time Champion was taken to the medical centre at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and declared unfit with multiple contusions and abrasions, but he swiftly returned to his box following his check and provided an update on how he’s feeling, as well what he believes caused the crash.

Rea had endured a difficult weekend on his Yamaha debut, finishing Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race outside the points, after qualifying only 11^th in Saturday’s Tissot Superpole session. In Race 2, after starting from 11^th, the #65 moved up the order and took advantage of Toprak Razgatlioglu’s (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) engine problem to run as high as fourth at one point. However, on Lap 3 at Turn 11, Rea came off his Yamaha R1, bringing out the red flags. He was seen being stretchered away and taken to the medical centre, where he was declared unfit with multiple contusions and abrasions.

Speaking to Yamaha after the race, Rea said: “First and foremost, physically I’m okay apart from I hit my hip quite hard in the crash but no further injuries from Tuesday. I had two big crashes this week, but I’m in one piece. Really frustrated because the crash came as a big surprise. It was as I was building my confidence on the bike and feeling quite good. I took some profit when Toprak’s engine had troubles and I found myself in a good place in the race. As soon as I started to feel confident, I crashed. I just have to rebuild from zero, look into the crash, and try to improve the feeling for me. You can see from how competitive ‘Loka’ is that we can get there. I want to go home now, regroup, and reset and come back stronger in Barcelona.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com