GREEN DREAM TEAM RUNS OUT OF STEAM
Petrol mess-up and a Rea crash sees Kawasaki stars come up short
Team Green Kawasaki’s Suzuka 8-Hour dream team of reigning World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea and British Superbike title leader Leon Haslam stumbled during Sunday’s race. Strategy errors and an untypical crash for Rea ended any hopes the squad had of taking Kawasaki’s first victory at the prestigious race since 1993. Looking strong throughout the weekend and taking pole position as Rea annihilated the absolute lap record by nearly a second, the team made a strong start to the race. Dicing with the Yamaha duo of Lowes and van der Mark for the early hours, the ZX-10RR nonetheless looked to have the upper hand as they maintained their lead. However, it all went wrong at the half way mark. Rea was forced to push his bike back to the pits after running out of fuel before handing over to Haslam
Relegated to third, that error was compounded when the three-times world champion then crashed while following the safety car, as torrential rain fell. Staying out on slick tyres when others had already pitted, he hit out at the team after the race.
“It was so difficult, because we had so many things thrown at us that we weren’t prepared for. I’m not an endurance rider and that lack of experience showed. I should have stuck to my guns when I wanted to come into the pits, instead of listening to what the team were telling me on the pit board. I’ve no idea what happened in the crash, but I was riding in very wet conditions on slick tyres. I was asking them as I came past the garage if I could come into the pits, but the board kept saying ‘stay out.’ It was a strange crash; no throttle and not much lean, but the rear came around on me like a speedway bike.
“I was able to get the bike back and we only lost one lap, but it was frustrating because it came at the worst moment for us. I’m happy though, because I gave a big effort and we just fell short. The chips didn’t fall in our favour, and it just didn’t happen. We proved our speed though.”
But while Rea might have come away pleased with his pace through the weekend, it was a more bittersweet result for his 2019 WSB team-mate Haslam. Once again the bridesmaid, the double Suzuka winner told MCN afterwards that it just means that they’ll have a point to prove next year.
“It’s my third year with Team Green and my third podium, but I thought that this year was my best chance to win the race. We looked strong all along, we challenged for the lead, but we got caught out by the elements and it just didn’t work out for us. But I’m sure that we’ll be back stronger and better prepared next year.”