The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) reminded fans and competitors alike what he is capable of as he landed two of his season’s best results in France. After being caught up in a several-rider crash ending his Race 1 without scoring, he battled back from P13 in the Tissot Superpole race to finish in the points in P7, and capitalised even further in Race 2 to finish in P6.

REA AND THE R1 MAKING AMENDS: “I feel like I’m starting to ride the bike the way the bike wants to be ridden”

It’s no secret that Rea's time with Yamaha hasn’t been exactly what he had hoped for. One podium in two years is a far cry from the regular race winner and a safe bet for the podium on any given weekend over the last decade of WorldSBK racing. However, late is better than never for the Ulsterman as at Race 2 in Magny-Cours, he finally had the track position to suit his Yamaha R1 and gave viewers one of the most thrilling battles we’ve seen from the six-time Champion in recent memory.

On his Race 2 fight for the podium spots, Rea said: “It was a good Sunday for us. In the Superpole Race, I started well from P13 to be in that group and finish in those front three rows, which gave me a good starting position in Race 2 and ended up in P7. It was a great opportunity to get a good start and see what my rhythm was like. In Race 2, I got a good start, and I found myself in a battle with Alex and Petrucci. I think I just got caught a bit too far behind Danilo, then I started naively fighting with Alex for the podium. I started to get very excited, but I made some mistakes. Without that rhythm, I couldn't pass, which allowed Mikey and Alvaro to join the group. It was a nice fight to the end, and P6 is a really positive result for us. To get to this point after the way our season started, with injuries and tough races, means a lot, and I feel like I’m starting to ride the bike the way the bike wants to be ridden. I enjoyed riding here at Magny-Cours, and it’s given me some confidence to go on and finish the year strong.

The excitement that Rea mentioned in his Race 2 battle for the last podium spot was no joke. In fact, in his media debrief on Sunday, Rea continued: "I registered my highest heart rate this season… I was at 215bpm max for a bit in that race. I was full of adrenaline and excitement. I’ve got a really low resting heart rate, but my max is crazy; even doing a bicycle race or motocross, it goes quite high. I feel like I could have a conversation while riding, but it must be adrenaline-based and not just aerobic."

OUT WITH A BANG: “We can be satisfied with the job we did here this weekend, but I want to fight at the front”

Rea’s Magny-Cours weekend trajectory was in many ways a microcosm of the trajectory his season has had on the whole, after a gut-wrenching start in Australia saw him miss the first three rounds of the season,  Rea started his season instead at Round 4 in Cremona, having seen much of his intense off-season work thrown out the window, initially he struggled to get his footing atop the Yamaha R1 again. Misano saw him break into the top 8, then at his home round at Donington, into the top five. Balaton was something of a wildcard as it was a new circuit, but he still finished top 10 in the Superpole Race. Most recently, Magny-Cours announced loud and clear to the paddock that Rea may be retiring, but until then, he is still a force to be reckoned with.

On his sensation going into his final three rounds before he retires from WorldSBK, Rea said: “If you thought I was going to wait quietly to retire, you’d be mistaken. I still have that burning passion to compete. Competing for the podium is nice, and it’s given us a little bit of fight. We can be satisfied with the job we did here this weekend, but I want to fight at the front. Getting a sniff of that today was quite nice. I had a bike that enabled me to do that this weekend. Now that we have addressed some of the front traction issues, I feel more confident with the bike. So props to everybody with the team, and we’ll be back at Aragon.”

Can Rea taste podium glory one last time before his retirement? Tune in for the final three rounds and find out with the WorldSBK VideoPass - now only €9.99