J🦩onathan Rea has a chance to kickstart his 2024 WorldSBK campaign in a big way this weekend at Assen.

C♌omplete🅷ly lost in Phillip Island, steps forward were made by Rea and Yamaha in Catalunya. 

• Ducati hit 𒈔back at Yamaha over Bautista ciritisicm: ‘They have bigger problems’ 

• Andrea Iannone pushes for fꦉactory ride: ‘I have interest from many manufacturers’ 

However, this weekend should see that happen once again as the six-time world champion holds a st🌱unning record of 17 wins around the Dutch circuit.

Part of Rea’s a🧜daptation to Yamaha includes working with a new crew chief in the form of former team-mate Andrew Pitt.

Discussing the biggest challenges with his switch from Kawasaki to the R1, Rea said:  “It’s hard to answer. Just getting familiar with a completel💛y new crew, understanding how they work and them understanding how I work. It’s step by step.

“I really believe in everyone inside Yamaha. They’re great people, intelligent people. I had a relationship with my previous crew chief that spanned nine y🃏ears.

“There were growing pains in that relationship as well. There were times it wasn’t greaꦍt but general🤪ly, for example, if you said ‘left’, with that kind of relationship, they telepathically knew how far left.

“With a completely new crew that’s worked with different riders, it’s very hard for them to🍌 understand m꧑e without words. 

“In the previous rounds, I spent a long time in the pit box trying to explain ꦍmy feelings clearly. That’s also new for me, and that can also be a big problem; a rider talking too much as you can create more and more problems from a technical point of view. 

“It’s just step by step. I think that situation coupled with a few issues we’ve faced, and difficulties, the challenges of Phillip Island and crashes, it’s been tough to put everything together, but I do feꦿel like it’s going to come.”

While the relationship with Pitt is ♐a good one, Rea is coming from a par𓂃tnership with Pere Riba that won six titles together.

But success aside, the two share similarities which Rea feels is a good thing: “They’re more𒉰 similar than you can imagine, to be honest. Both are very clever.

“I was going to say Andrew’s worth ethic is incredible a♈nd he’s so busy and ruthlessly competitive, alway💎s trying to find something, and he’s pushing all the crew to do their best.

“Andrew’s pushing the electro🔯nics department, the cha𒐪ssis department, to improve, but Pere was the same.

“The biggest dif♔ference is I worked with Pere for nine seasons and sometimes I didn’t have to speak.

“When you look at the rider market, for example, Toprak went the other way but to꧟ok his crew chief, but they then have to learn another bi♛ke.

“Would it have been an advantage to have Pere by my side now? Not sure. Maybe from communication and understanding me✃, but he doesn’t understand the R1.

“There’s pros and cons to everything. The relationship with An𓆉drew is really good. I trust him and trust in Yamaha tha𓂃t it’s going to come good.

“Been a difficult start, to be honest. We have to have some faith. Keep my h🌳ead up and hopeful꧅ly we can get back to some normality here.”