World Superbikes 2019: Jonathan Rea aiming to halt Alvaro Bautista's six-race winning streak in Spain

Motorland Aragon hosts round three of the championship with Rea aiming to halt Aruba.it Ducati rider Bautista’s run of six straight victories since the season opener in Australia at the end of February.

The four-time champion is 26 points behind the former MotoGP rider and ex-125cc Grand Prix world champion, but Rea has been ultra-consistent on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR, chalking up six runner-up finishes in a row to remain hot on Bautista’s heels.

“It’s been a nice break since Buriram and Motorland is a good place to get back to business,” said Rea.

“I enjoy the track layout and we made some good progress last year during winter testing. We will continue to work on making more progress during Friday’s practice sessions.

“The layout is nice and flowing with lots of challenges during the lap, so finding a good set-up for the race is crucial,” added the 32-year-old.

“It’s an important race for my team too, as their headquarters are just a few hours away in Granollers, near Barcelona. I expect lots of support and I’m excited to give it my all.”

Rea has won three times at Motorland Aragon and stood on the top step of the rostrum in race one last season.

Practice commences on Friday, with qualifying and the first race taking place on Saturday (13:00 BST).

On Sunday, the Superpole sprint race is scheduled for 10:00 BST with the second full-length race at 13:00 BST.

Following Aragon, the series moves on to Assen (April 12-14), where Rea boasts a formidable record.

The Northern Ireland rider will be hoping he can break Bautista’s stranglehold on the championship this weekend, which would be the perfect tonic heading to arguably his strongest circuit in the Netherlands the following weekend.