Jonathan Rea has been declared fit to race following a check-up after the first free practice session at the Cremona WorldSBK round.
The Northern Irishman was given the green light to compete in the first session on Friday morning but had to undergo further tests to evaluate his fitness.
Rea features in his first race weekend of the season after sustaining foot fractures at the pre-season test at Phillip Island.
“I’m doing well, it’s good to finally be back,” Rea confessed to WorldSBK.
“It’s been a long journey but in reality, I’ve only missed a few races. Every day I lived to try to get back as fast as possible.
“There are so many people to thank to be able to be here and finally able to spend some lap tome through Free Practice 1.”
Rea completed 18 laps in the first session and finished the first practice session 17th in the charts.
Jonathan Rea ‘confident and ready’ for Cremona WorldSBK round
Rea discussed his frame of mind in detail with WorldSBK ahead of the race weekend on Thursday, stating that he is raring to go after spending several months on the sidelines.
The Ulsterman noted that during his absence, the team made a step in competitiveness, as demonstrated by team-mate Andrea Locatelli who claimed his first WorldSBK win at Assen.
“As soon as I sat on the ’25 bike in November, I felt competitive, really good all through the winter, it felt like one of the fastest bikes on race pace, so I knew there were signs things were starting to happen.
“I feel confident and ready – Cremona is a track that I haven’t raced at before, but I was able to spin a few laps in testing last season.
“I’m just so happy to be back with my team and riding my Yamaha R1! Since I’ve been away the team has made some great improvements and achieved fantastic results with Locatelli including his first win in Assen, so I’m really motivated to start – to understand what my level is and work from there.
“Can’t wait to see everybody, looking forward to riding again with a smile on my face and trying to have a good weekend in Cremona!”
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