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The 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is completely wide open and ahead of the inaugural Catalunya Round, there’s plenty of big topics to be discussed. Shedding some light on the action was 2011 WorldSBK Champion Carlos Checa, who looked at the battle for the Championship lead, the performance of Honda and the prospect of Michael Ruben Rinaldi moving to the factory Ducati squad in 2021.

Rea vs Redding: Chapter 6, Catalunya

“The reality is that it’s never easy to stay in front. You can’t judge someone after three or four races; you need to give more time to a guy like Scott Redding to adapt and to build himself with the team and the bike. Teams are fighting against Jonathan Rea, the best rider in the history of WorldSBK and with one of the best structures in the Championship. They’ve been working for a long time with the same people, the same team and the same bike. To be in front of this combination, it’s not easy after three or four races, nor in a special year. Scott is very fast, very strong and very aggressive and he has a strong ambition to win and this is important; this is the base to go on and to give more time to winning in the future.”

Honda “will be fighting for wins sooner or later, maybe even here”

“I think this weekend, it will be difficult to say how Honda will go. If you look at the times this morning, then they have a very strong pace and I think that the bike this year. I think they still have time to improve but they started this year very strong. It was very positive, and it isn’t easy to reach the level of Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki or Yamaha, who have invested a lot. It is hard to beat teams and riders who stay together and continue to improve, versus when you join. When you join at a high level like in WorldSBK, it’s those small details that make the big difference. They will be fighting for wins sooner or later, maybe even here.”

What do you think about Garrett Gerloff’s chances for success in Catalonia?

“I know Garrett really well, from going cycling together and having the opportunity to meet. He is a nice guy and very young, and it is good to have an American in our sport who is fast. We will see how he goes, because he will need more time in the Championship, but anything he can do will be positive. What is clear is that whether you are in the official team or not, the bikes are quite similar, and this is really good for the sport.”

There’s rumours about Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s future…

“My feeling about Michael is that he is Italian, he is young, and he seems like he is able to manage and understand the potential that the bike has. I think it is time he gets a better opportunity because the races I saw in Aragon, were amazing. I think he has the talent, the edge and the personality to take a place in the ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati team.”

New track, fresh surprises: how easy is it to adapt?

“Many of the teams have connections with MotoGP™ and when you arrive to a new track with the technology and the data, they can adapt quite fast. Of course, the riders need to know, and to test, but all the tracks are straights and turns and there’s nothing that you find there that you didn’t expect.”

Rain in Spain, but who will prevail?

“For sure, riders that have more experience in the rain with the same bike and the tyres. Then, you know more or less how the bike will react and you will have a good base set-up. It’s not the same level of wetness from track to track, but those riders who have experience with the same bike in the rain will be good. British riders are really good in the rain! Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) for sure will be there, but British riders in general should be really good.”

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