Rea’s second successive 2008 victory last time out at Brands Hatch was overshadowed by the circumstances of Craig Jones’s accident. However, Jonathan’s team is determined to honour the memory of the popular British racer, who rode for the team in 2005, in its pursuit of a seventh consecutive World Supersport title.

“After the events of Brands Hatch, I’ve had a good month off, just relaxing with friends and family, but I really cannot wait to get back on the bike. We had a good test at Donington earlier in the year and the team’s Honda CBR600RRs were on the pace straight away. My spirits and confidence are high right now and the points difference is still achievable. I need to throw caution to the wind slightly and do everything I can to win again”. Jonathan is only 32 points adrift of Pitt in the series, so another win this weekend will do his championship aspirations no harm at all.