REA FINDS A WAY
World champ takes his power-capped Kawasaki to another epic win
World champions have the ability to win races they shouldn’t, which is exactly what reigning WSB champ Jonathan Rea did in Aragon’s opening race. The Ulsterman saw off the attentions of three hard-charging Ducatis and followed up with a strong second place on Sunday. The Kawasaki man left round three of the championship with an increased 12-point lead in the standings.
At the last round in Thailand, Kawasaki riders Rea and Tom Sykes both suffered major brake and suspension problems as they pushed incredibly hard in a bid to make up for their lack of straightline speed (brought about by 2018 rule changes, which reduces their bikes’ rev limits). At Aragon the team made big engine, electronics and suspension changes to lessen their effect and for the first time this season, Rea says he feels like he’s got his bike back. “Because of the rule changes we arrive at every circuit feeling like a new team with a new bike so first free practice is mad and really tough. This year we have to run longer gearing so the bike is lazier in many corners. In 2016 and ’17 it was a real stop-and-go bike. This year I need to reset my brain back to 2015. Any mistakes really hit us so I have to be very precise. I’m enjoying it again now, though. Racing with Chaz is cool: I always enjoy fighting with him.”
Rea has a knack of making things look easy but this is down to his impressive ability to adapt. So far in 2018, Rea has described every Friday morning practice as a ‘disaster’. He’s unable to turn up with his 2017 set-up and be competitive due to the reduced revs rule, so he must use different gears in some corners and is forced to adjust his style quickly.
It appears that Kawasaki have gone from WSB’s dominant force to having no advantage whatsoever. Rea’s crew chief, Pere Riba, pointed out that Michael Ruben Rinaldi was able to challenge Sykes on his first ever WSB race on the Aruba Ducati. Sykes’ crew chief Marcel Duinker says that Ducati have an unfair advantage. He’s frustrated not just by the huge difference in straightline speed but also believes the rev reductions are causing dangerous situations as brakes and suspensions are over-stressed by riders trying to compensate for the reduced engine performance. Duinker said: “Despite all the Ducati titles in the past, it was decided that Kawasaki was too dominant and ever since they have been trying different things to slow us down. They should start to think about the few manufacturers who are fully supporting this series and look after them, instead of reducing us to Superstock 1000 power levels.”
Aragon and Assen are the only back-to-back rounds this season and teams are already setting up at the historic Dutch track. One more win for Rea would equal Carl Fogarty’s record of 12 victories at a single circuit. Davies does not normally go well at the Dutch track. He’s never won there and has taken just four podiums.
Due to Ducati’s success in the opening three rounds with 11 podiums to Kawasaki’s five, the green bikes will qualify for an engine upgrade at the Assen round this weekend (see full details on page 84).
We arrive at every track like a new team – Rea
Ducati have unfair advantage – crew chief
Assen could see Rea equal Foggy record