When we listen to Jonathan Rea take stock of his Race 1 in Catalonia, we understand that he already doesn't expect much from this season with his Kawasaki. The idea of going after Alvaro Bautista and his Ducati is not on the agenda. It's more about working for 2024 while maintaining your competitive spirit by occasionally measuring yourself against Toprak Razgatlioglu's Yamaha. A resignation which saddens Jorge Lorenzo who watches the WSBK from afar but closely enough to form this opinion: the six-time world champion must risk more...
Jonathan Rhea finished third in Race 1 of the WSBK in Catalonia, far behind the winner Álvaro Bautista, untouchable on his Ducati, but also just in the wake of a Toprak Razgatlioglu who followed him throughout the event to better exhaust him and give him the final blow in the last two laps... Seen like that, the official Kawasaki seems to be the joke, but he doesn't take offense. It’s been a while since he passed this milestone, opting instead for the fatality card rather than the revolt one…
Public chat speedweek, he explains his point of view as follows: “ when I think about where we are with our performance, I would have cut my hand in advance for a place on the podium. We must rejoice ". If that’s not resignation… “ This is a new situation for me “, admitted the six-time WSBK world champion. “ In 2019, I was pissed when he won. Mentally, I didn't really handle it well at the time. He is fast. He does a good job ».
Jonathan Rea: “ once you accept that you are where you are, it becomes easier to manage »
Jonathan Rhea precise : “Once you accept that you are where you are, it becomes easier to manage. We are now in a different competition. For us it's about developing the bike. It's less about winning and more about going far and closing the gap. He is miles ahead, we have a lot of work to do. But there are six big trophies at home that remind me ».
A state of mind that Jorge Lorenzo also knew and humbly, he proposed to the official Kawasaki a solution to combat it… “ I was a bit in this situation in the past, especially in 2011. Honda had taken a clear step forward with their seamless gearbox, they were so fast in a straight line, and I tried to risk a little more with the Yamaha and I crashed a lot. I had a terrible accident at Phillip Island and I lost part of my finger. Everything gets complicated when you need those extra two or three tenths ».
Por Fuera adds: “ like Marquez, with the Honda and it looks like it also happened with Rea, especially because Bautista and Toprak are very good riders and they have a very strong package. If your bike is a little weaker and you have very strong rivals, if you want to win you have to take more risks ". An advice that, a priori, did not carry but during this time Jonathan Rea keeps all his fingers intact.
