‘Has Rea finally met his match?’
Eleven races done, a podium in every one, and five wins among them. Yet after the 12th, after a slither into the gravel and a distant 20th, Jonathan Rea has just lost the championship lead to the blazing Young Turk (literally). Toprak Razgatlioglu took two fine wins at Donington, bringing his total this year to three, equalling his tally for the past two years. The Yamaha man has taken podiums at every round this year. So has the dominant figure in WorldSBK finally met his match? First off, it’s important to remember that one mistake doesn’t make a disaster. And that Rea has fended off some strong challenges in the past. Notably from Bautista.
At the same time, given the pressure that the new guy is clearly able to apply… well, it’d be understandable if the head wearing the crown might be lying a little uneasily.
This situation opens up several interesting avenues. On the one side, when a dominant rider looks in danger of being toppled, a natural wish for surprise and refreshment quickens the interest. When is it ever not time for a change? This is backed by a natural support for the underdog. On the other – well, it’s Rea we’re talking about, and he’s racing’s national treasure. There’s the matter of the bikes, too. When you look at Rea’s domination, he had to switch to Kawasaki to achieve it, and certainly at the start of his reign, Kawasaki was the only factory able to devote 100 percent of its attention to Superbikes. There’s no grand prix involvement to syphon off money and brainpower. And it shows. The flip side of the coin is that Ducati joined MotoGP in 2003, and their hit-rate for WSB titles dropped.
The concentrated factory effect should also hold true for BMW, and while it’s taken some time it’s notable that with the all-new bike they achieved a first double podium at Donington for Sykes and van der Mark on Sunday morning, with the Yorkshireman adding another top three in the main event in the afternoon. Looking for trends here? Don’t read too much into it just yet. There’s still another nine rounds to go. And still a Scott Redding not a million miles out of touch, after some misfortune. For the moment just enjoy what is now becoming the spiciest contest for a while.
‘When is it ever not time for a change?’