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World Champion Jonathan Rea continues to discuss his successful season, this time delving into his thoughts on Chaz Davies’ incredible race winning form at the end of the season. The Welshman put up a solid fight but it came too late and Rea explains how rider psychology has a big part to play in it, as well as why he thinks the Ducati rider was untouchable in the final chapter of 2016.

“[Chaz Davies] he’s riding incredibly well, the bike is for sure not at the end of development because they’re still improving, but they have a lot of experience with this bike,” said Rea. “We were a little bit fresh and lets say, wet behind the ears this year but we can’t take anything away from his end of season form.

“Everybody starts in January with one common goal and it’s not to win the most races or fastest laps or pole positions. Three, four guys want to be world champion. So it’s important to keep this goal in mind. So when we had so many points my mentality changed a little bit. We had to be more clever in races, we had to accept third when we accepted third. Same like when Chaz was on a level pegging, he had an incredible Aragon and Imola, was completely dominant and we were thinking the same. Then he made a lot of mistakes from his part, like losing the front uncharacteristically and when he gets excited, it seems like he was making mistakes. When Chaz accepted he couldn’t win the Championship, he was almost 100 points behind and you know, running without this pressure of a championship is different.

“But there are many key reasons why they have been so strong in the later part of the year, with you know, three key tests in the summer break when we put our feet up. But there’s also a reason, I mean we were dominating the Championship at that point, not just myself, but Tom as well, one-two in the Championship with the new bikes. So we need to learn from these mistakes.”

With a wife and two young children, it’s incredible how the Northern Irishman finds the time to become a World Champion. And while Rea wouldn’t have it any other way, he admits that at times juggling his personal life with his professional life has been tough, especially when his children have been sick, meaning his family rely on him more than ever.

“I don’t say it’s hard to be a sportsman at the top level with a family,” said Rea. “I find that my family, especially with my wife being so strong, has been an advantage to make me more balanced at home. But it’s true that when Tyler was born he really suffered from a sever condition of silent reflux, where he was constantly being sick. Before this was diagnosed he was burning the whole insides of his oesophagus and he was in a lot of pain. So this pain coupled with being sick 15-20 times a day, we weren’t getting sleep and it was a real nightmare.

“I remember having a moment before Phillip Island at the start of the year, of weakness, and talking to my wife thinking, ‘I could never win a championship this year’ and everything was just getting too much because I felt so much for him. Before we got him on the correct medication to stop the burning inside and whilst he continued to be sick, he became affectionately known as the happy chucker. So I mean sort of 6-7 months later, in the middle of the season he got into an amazing pattern during the summer break, sleeping like a baby, not being sick and he’s such a really happy kid now. Now at the end of the season he’s growing up, maturing and life’s much easier and more calm and I’m happy to go into next year knowing that we have found a nice balance between life at the track and life at the home.”

With title number two under his belt, what’s next? To defend it of course! However, Jonathan Rea is unassuming and admits he’s excited about the challenge ahead.

“We talk about me being champion but it’s not done,” said Rea. “I mean these guys can be Champion. I think that the Championship is at such a competitive level and everyone has their day, every manufacturer has their day, but with added spice, added manufacturers, added riders, it’s going to be really exciting for me to try and defend my number one.”