Rea Replaces Stoner at Repsol

World Superbike rider Jonathan Rea is set to replace the injured Casey Stoner for two rounds of the MotoGP series.

Northern Ireland star Rea will join the Repsol Honda team for Monday's test in Brno, and also for the two-day test in Aragon on 4 and 5 September.

Stoner is awaiting ankle surgery and if, as expected, he is unable to return in time, Rea will replace him for the MotoGP rounds in Misano and Aragon.

Ten Kate Honda rider Rea is fifth in the World Superbike standings.

"I cannot take the smile off my race right now, this is a great opportunity for me," said the 25-year-old.

Cal Crutchlow became the first British rider to make the MotoGP podium in 12 years on Sunday

"I have sympathy for Casey and wish him all the best for his recovery.

"It is still a bit of a shock but I am happy Honda have put trust in me to do some testing mileage.

"I am under no illusions about how tough a class it is.

"The bike is an animal. A proper fire-breathing racing machine. I'm really looking forward to the challenge."

Rea, from Ballyclare in County Antrim, crashed out of the first race and finished seventh in the other at Sunday's Superbike World Championship round in Moscow.

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Rea is Fastest on Phillip Island

British Honda rider Jonathan Rea had the fastest time in Friday's opening qualifying for the first round of the World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island.

The past four months of training in Australia paid off as Rea posted a lap of 1min 31.959sec at the end of the 45-minute session to upstage Ducati's Czech rider Jakub Smrz by just 0.157 seconds.

Italian Davide Giugliano was the surprise in third place on the provisional grid ahead of Ducati team-mate and defending world champion Carlos Checa.

The 39-year-old Spaniard, who will be chasing his fourth straight win at Philip Island on Sunday, fell after running off the circuit at turn 10 but escaped injury.

Other riders to fall during the session included internationals Joan Lascorz, Maxime Berger, Eugene Laverty and Australia's Josh Brookes.

Best of the Australians was Bryan Staring, 14th fastest on his Kawasaki, followed by Suzuki's Brookes at 20th and BMW pair Mark Aitchison and David Johnson 23rd and 24th, respectively.

There was better news for home riders in the Supersport category with Newcastle's Broc Parkes putting his Honda on provisional pole position for Sunday's 21-lap support race.

Just 0.275 seconds separated the top five riders.

Parkes has returned to the same Dutch team he rode for in 2004, when he finished second in the championship behind compatriot Karl Muggeridge.

"Considering I had a late start to the season, I couldn't be happier with how things are going," said Parkes.

"And what's even more pleasing is that I've really just been concentrating on trying to do long runs and working on tyre set-up, but the times are still coming. That's given me a lot of confidence."

Australia's second rider, Jed Metcher, finished 24th as he continues to iron out some of the bugs in a Yamaha he is riding for the first time this weekend.

Final qualifying for both categories will be held on Saturday.

NI Superbike Duo Set for Phillip Island

Northern Ireland's Jonathan Rea and Eugene Laverty will both be looking to put injuries behind them when they compete this weekend in the 2012 Superbike World Championship in Australia.

Toomebridge's Laverty, racing for Aprilia, suffered a fracture to his left hand in a practice session crash at the Phillip Island circuit last week.

But he now looks set to be back in action, after flying a specialist from Northern Ireland to Australia to help speed his recovery.

"Fortunately, we've had more than a week off the bike which has allowed the hand to improve a huge amount - I feel confident that I'll be fit to ride, but I guess I'll have to wait until Friday to find out," Laverty said.

"Honestly I feel that Carlos Checa and my teammate Max (Biaggi) are out of reach unless I'm 100%, but it won't stop me from trying!"

Meanwhile, Honda rider Rea will be hoping for more success this season than last - when he was sidelined for two months with wrist, arm and collarbone injuries - although he did go on to pick up two wins and finish with an encouraging double podium at Portimão,

"It's been really good just being on track with the others and I'm really enjoying riding the bike," the Ballyclare man said.

"I can really feel what the bike's doing and the electronics are working really well. I'm looking forward to Friday's sessions."

But the 25-year-old insists there's still work to be done if the team are to challenge the Althea Ducati team's defending champion, Spaniard Carlos Checa.

"We're where we kind of expected to be and we know that to win here is going to be a very big task," Rea said.

"Carlos is riding very well and consistently, but we're still changing things on the bike because I'm still not 100% satisfied with the set-up."

Checa remains among the front-runners - along with top rivals Max Biaggi (Laverty's Aprilia teammate) and BMW's Marco Melandri - despite his Ducati carrying a 6kg handicap in an effort to limit its superiority.

American John Hopkins will be out through injury, while British rider Leon Haslam is also a doubt.

Hopkins is recovering from surgery on a fracture to his right hand, just weeks after having part of a finger on the same hand amputated.

Haslam has also undergone surgery on a fractured tibia sustained in a crash earlier this week.