Rea reflects on decade of winning, seeks more at Misano!
The reigning WorldSBK Champion won his first WorldSBK race at Misano 10 years ago, and wants more of the same this weekend!
It was a strong opening day at Misano for Reigning four-time WorldSBK champion, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who finished the day in second position. Theoretically, he’s on top after Michael van der Mark, who was P1, was ruled out through injury after a massive crash in FP2, meaning out of riders who are fit, Rea is the leading name again.
It was an impressive start from the Ulsterman, who set about his business in a strong fashion, leading for the majority of the day before a late challenge from van der Mark saw him pipped at the end. However, Rea suffered late session drama too, with a small crash at Turn 2 making for the only error so far this weekend.
10 years on from his first win that came at Misano, Rea is positive ahead of the remainder of the round: “We had a test here a few weeks ago, albeit in different conditions but today, it felt like it was more of my own bike. They were more normal than in Jerez, as in Jerez there was a lot of grip on the track and it was difficult to understand and difficult all weekend.”
Rea’s first victory came aboard the Ten Kate Honda in 2009 at Misano, beating Michel Fabrizio on the last lap to take his first win. Since then, Rea has been a busy man, taking a further 72 wins, four WorldSBK titles and becoming a name synonymous with the sport. You can watch his first race win here!
Continuing looking ahead for the rest of the weekend, Rea said: “We just need to work on a little bit more pace, as the consistency seems to be there. Of course, in the heat, the tyres are moving that little bit more but for me, my bike is really stable, and I can ride in the way that I need to.”
Reflecting back on his first win, Rea stated: “It was an incredible win in my rookie season in WorldSBK too! It was a great battle on the last lap with Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio, I really had to work hard to win. My mum was there, my friends too, and I have the highlights video in my head and on the slow down lap, there were great emotions!”
Watch the Pata Riviera di Rimini Round with the WorldSBK VideoPass!
