For five years the Superbike was a green planet, cut into sections regulated by the blade of a Ninja from Akashi and handled by a Northern Irishman called Jonathan Rhea. But since the start of this season, everything has turned Ducati red under the rule of the toreador Álvaro Bautista parachuted from MotoGP with a machine also with Grand Prix genes, the Panigale V4R. With eleven victories in as many races, the ears and tails of the masters of recent times are already cut off. They would prepare their revenge for 2020. But the former rulers are throwing stones at the new leaders...
Jonathan Rhea thus believes that the domination displayed by Alvaro Bautista and Ducati in World Superbike is a real “ disaster » for the destiny of the championship. The Kawasaki rider fears that Ducati's strategy of building a road bike directly derived from MotoGP could become the norm in Superbike. According to his reading, it would be bad for the championship.
« I'm not happy about not winning, but you have to accept it, even if it's mentally difficult to do so" , said Sale at Marca. “ Luckily for me I won the last four titles, but for a lot of people they were predictable and boring successes, even though I won by a second or two. The same people must be happy because now there is a different winner, because they wanted to change things, but it is a disaster for the championship"
Then he added: “ The V4 has an incredible level. Their own marketing said it was a MotoGP when they presented the bike. Congratulations to them, but this championship introduced a balance of performance to help private teams be competitive. I'm worried about the future, if Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki also start competing with road bikes that cost 40 euross. "
When asked if he was worried about being seen as a whiner, Rea replied: “ no, because I don't always complain, I just talk about reality. If you talk to other drivers, they will tell you the same thing. At Phillip Island I said Ducati had a huge advantage and everyone told me I was complaining. Simply, many are perhaps happy to see that I am not winning”.
