Rea grabs 4th crown
Jonathan Rea’s incredible WSB title run continues
At 31 years of age, Jonathan Rea has become the most successful World Superbike rider of alltime. The Northern Irishman claimed his 67th victory at Magny Cours on Saturday to equal Carl Fogarty with a quartet of titles. With at least two more seasons ahead of him, in his own words, ‘This is just the beginning’. Rea’s achievement was never in doubt last weekend, but that didn’t make it any less impressive when it actually happened. “I actually can’t believe it,” Rea told MCN “Winning the race is the perfect way to win the title and the difference is absolutely huge. I won my first title by finishing fourth and it was rubbish.” Despite his now unprecedented success, Rea faces criticism, but he is relaxed: “I feel I have good values. I grew up in a great family. I don’t waste time on negativity. Just good people. To be fair, I haven’t faced really big criticism. I see on social media after every race that people are struggling to be happy for me, but there has never been a personal jibe at me. It is always about the racing or the lack of competition. They’re not hating me. I can be proud of that. I just want to be known as a good guy and a great Champion, a good person and hopefully a nice role-model for kids.” The start of 2018 brought big challenges for Kawasaki. Regulations made to level the playing field saw engine revs dropped, which many in the team felt was a direct punishment for their successes. “The start of the year was tough,” Rea smiles. “Change is not always welcome. You have to react and my crew chief Pere Riba made the difference. He worked outside the box and transformed the bike. It was also Pere who created this environment. We all go on holiday together. They are the only guys who really know what I am going through. People from the outside look in. Lots can be happy for you, others see it with green eyes. But the mechanics live it with you and understand everything you’re going through.”
Rea was linked with a Ducati superbike ride and Aprilia MotoGP seat, amongst others. How serious did he think about them?
“I had a couple of quite attractive options but Kawasaki felt like home. It’s always nice for teams and riders to explore other possibilities but there was never any really serious offers that would make me leave.”
The Champion’s latest contract takes him to the end of 2020. Then what?
“In 2016 I faced some difficult moments. I was already world champion and did think about retirement. It is the best job in the world when things are going
well, but when things are going badly it can be lonely. Then, last year and this year, I have been so happy at the track and enjoying riding more than ever. “I can’t see retirement now. This is my era but I realise my time at the top is short and a faster guy will come. The problem is racing is like a drug. Right now, I can’t see retirement at all. This is just the beginning.”
68 WSB wins top King Carl’s record
Retirement not an option any time soon
Criticism fails to rile the record-breaker