Rea’s Title Chances heading into Race 1 in Qatar
The Northern Irishman holds all the cards heading into the final showdown
The season finale of the 2016 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship sees Jonathan Rea arrive with a 48-point lead over his closest rival and teammate Tom Sykes. It may seem that with only two races to go and such a significant points lead, that the Northern Irishman is set win it. But motorcycle racing is unpredictable and as WorldSBK fans have seen in the past, anything can happen.
Rea needs to finish within the top 14 in Saturday’s race in order to secure his second consecutive title that will see him cemented in WorldSBK history as one of only four riders to win consecutive titles. If Rea is unable to finish the race and Sykes wins, then the battle will continue on until Sunday’s Race.
Considering Rea’s consistency over the season so far, a DNF result seems an unlikely situation, but if it happens and Sykes does not win, then Rea will still have enough points to secure the 2016 crown.
