News

When we look back on the 2016 WorldSBK season, it could be that we'll pinpoint the Misano weekend as the round when Jonathan Rea put one hand on the Championship trophy.

Rea claimed his tenth career double at the Italian circuit but this was more than just a milestone weekend for Rea - this was the weekend where he finally felt comfortable with the 2016 Kawasaki ZX-10R and asserted himself on the Championship. Having struggled for feeling from the bike at times this year and suffered a plague of false neutrals at Donington Park, the Misano weekend was calm and serene for Rea and the confidence that blossomed from that feeling was clear to see in the races.

Rea's victories could not have been in starker contrast. On Saturday he led the race from his teammate, Tom Sykes, but was never more than a couple of tenths clear of his rival. The paddock waited with baited breath for Sykes to attack his teammate...and that attack never came. On Sunday the roles were reversed and Rea didn't need a second invitation to attack his teammate when opportunities were presented.

It was this marked difference in the approaches of the two Kawasaki riders that will ultimately be the post-script on their time together on the green bikes. Sykes felt on Saturday that he was never quite close enough to Rea to attack him and that the move would have been too risky to attempt, whereas Rea on the other hand has barely needed a sniff of an invitation to attack the 2013 WorldSBK Champion.

Sykes not having tried to overtake his teammate on Saturday is what could have handed Rea a Championship lead that changes the colour of the season. While there is a time and a place to accept 20 points for second and not attempt a risky move, when you trail by 56 points and have taken the last 3 wins out of 4, Sykes' could have rolled the dice.

After the weekend, Rea said that he felt that if Chaz Davies was behind him, the Welshman would have attempted a move. That's the crux of why Sykes needed to attempt an overtake, regardless of the points deficit he could have cut - he needed to make sure that Rea has that feeling in his mind when Sykes is behind him. At this level racing can be more about the mental approach than sheer talent - having your rival know you will attack, or indeed having the confidence that you won't attack, is enough to change the results of races.

Rea clearly feels ready for a wheel-to-wheel scrap with Sykes, whereas the Englishman has been unwilling at times to risk points in the bag for the potential of greater reward – a sensible approach when leading the points standings. But, if Rea has less fear of Sykes than Davies in a straight fight, you can be sure that the reigning Champion will continue to grow in confidence and be able to continue his superb start to the season.

With the points deficit that Sykes had going to Misano, this was the perfect opportunity to take a bigger risk to change the narrative of this year’s Championship – especially given the weekend that Chaz Davies suffered, as eyes now turn to Laguna Seca on the 8^th-10^th July.