Jonathan Rea took home his first win of the 2011 World Superbike season last weekend in Assen. It was Rea’s 7th carere win, which puts him in the top 25 of the most successful riders in World Superbike history.
Rea’s victory was also the first for the historic Castrol Honda team since its return to World Superbike racing.
"First and foremost, I'm really proud to give the famous Castrol Honda name the first victory on its comeback to this championship,” Rea said. “We spent all weekend developing the bike for the races, and that strategy paid off. I got a good start but couldn't decide whether to let Max past and let him dictate the pace. In the end I made the right decision to stay in front and take the win.
“We had to dig deep in race two because I got held up for a while and the front guys got away. I was matching their lap times but we ran into some tyre problems later in the race. I'm really happy with the weekend though, and really grateful to everyone who has helped to get me here - it's been a long hard winter coming back from injury. The team has worked really well and that's exactly the right sort of confidence and momentum that we need to take to the next races. I'm happy to be back where I belong, in the winners' circle, and I look forward to trying to get more wins for the team. "
Rea won both races at Assen last year, and took 1st and 3rd in 2011. Rea’s performance at Assen also gave him his 20th podium, and gave Honda its 110th win. Rea is currently in fourth place in the championship standings, 53 points behind season leader Carlos Checa.
