CASTLETOWN resident Jonathan Rea is aiming to return to World Superbike action at the beginning of September after a successful test at Assen in the Netherlands this week.
With fine weather on Monday Jonathan was able to ride for the first time since breaking his arm and wrist in a warm-up crash at Misano in Italy in June.
The 24-year-old Northern Irishman was able to give his injuries a thorough work out and he declared himself happy with the results.
Jonathan was joined at Assen by Castrol Honda team-mate Ruben Xaus - who is still recovering from back injuries sustained in a race one crash at Brno in the Czech Republic last month - as well as British rider Alex Lowes who replaced Jonathan at Brno and the last World Superbike round at Silverstone in the UK at the end of July.
The team now makes the short trip back to its Netherlands base to prepare for round 10 of the 2011 World Superbike championship at Nurburgring in Germany over the weekend of September 2 to 4.
Jonathan said: "We didn't get to test very much today (Tuesday) because of the weather, which restricted us to a patchy track this morning before it got wet again.
"But even those laps were useful to find a good wet setting which we have lacked this season.
"Yesterday was really good, though, and I was so happy to get back on the bike again.
"The lap time was quite OK, which was a good confidence booster, and my wrist felt strong.
"My body certainly knows I've done a lot of riding, so I’ll concentrate on some conditioning work over the next week or two.
"But I've really enjoyed riding again and now I can't wait for Nurburgring, which is somewhere I've had some success in the past."
Team boss Ronald ten Kate said: "This was an important test to get Jonathan back on the bike and to find a good rhythm again and, from that point of view, it was very successful.
"We got through a lot of work yesterday but, unfortunately, the second day was wet.
"Even so, we've been working hard and used some new settings that gave Jonathan a lot of confidence.
"Ruben did not feel so good and could only do short stints on the bike, so he clearly needs some more time to recover from his Brno injuries.
"Alex got through a lot of work and did some good stuff, particularly on wet settings, so we’ll get busy now preparing for Nurburgring, which we’re really looking forward to."
