Everything started ideally between Yamaha and Jonathan Rea in WSBK, a dynamic which was put in place from the reception in the box during the two days of testing in Jerez already opening the off-season of the category reserved for motorcycles from the series. The lap times were more than adequate for this great first of the six-time title with Kawasaki on the R1. And the technical feedback was just as encouraging. The pilot has apparently already turned the page on his epic with the Ninja as the tuning fork brand apparently quickly put the Toprak Razgatlioglu file in the archives. A general feeling that emerges in everyone's comments while Jonathan Rea welcomes a Yamaha system in Superbike that the brand regrets no longer having in MotoGP...
Moreover, Jonathan Rhea does not hide the fact that his adaptation and his rapid progress on the R1 also reflect the other R1s that Yamaha offers on the track. This season we saw Toprak Razgatlioglu et Andrea Locatelli in the Pata factory Yamaha team, Dominique Aegerter et Remy Gardner form satellite team Giansanti Racing while Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94) and Bradley Ray (Motoxracing) also had a contract with Yamaha Motor Europe. And all this driver data circulates between all these structures Yamaha .
« Yamaha's main strength is that the satellite teams also receive a lot of support ", said Johnny Rea in an interview with speedweek. " With Remy Gardner and Domi Aegerter they also have two fast drivers, we saw this in the last round when they were at the front until the end. Developments and data exchange benefit everyone. Yamaha test rider Nicolo Canepa compared my data with other Yamaha riders from the start ».
Jonathan Rea: “ Toprak Razgatlioglu did some things very well »
A partir de là, Jonathan Rhea can know where he is with his new frame, adapt and apply corrective actions in record time. And, above all, he knows very well where he stands in relation to a Toprak Razgatlioglu who was the former boss in the Iwata brand box: “ of course I look at his data » said Rea. “ He did some things very well. If it is useful to us, why not? He was the most successful Yamaha rider ».
The study was so thorough that conclusions can already be drawn: “ in some areas I am already faster than him, in others I have to improve. But we have many drivers with whom I can compare myself. In some races, Ray and Baldassarri were also fast in certain sections. How this is communicated between teams is another strength of Yamaha. It's not just me who benefits, but all Yamaha riders ».
Yamaha has six pilots engaged in WSBK who exchange data. Enough to make MotoGP colleagues green with envy who were unable to keep the RNF team at their side. And they are the only ones responsible.
