The Kawasaki rider doubts the competitiveness of his future rival from Honda, unlike the arrival of the new Ducati rider who should prove to be fast very quickly.
The 2019 WSBK season has just ended, and Jonathan Rhea can finally truly savor the progress made since its launch last February. Totally dominated by Álvaro Bautista, he was able to reverse the trend to finally claim his fifth consecutive world title, a record in the category.
But barely a year has ended when a new one is looming on the horizon, and within ten days the Northern Irishman will find all his opponents on the track for the first winter test which will be held on the Aragón circuit. While at the EICMA Show in Milan, he spoke with GP One about the new machine with which he will make his first laps: “The bike will be the same as usual, but with improvements, obviously. We'll have to try to make it even simpler. During the last two races we managed to gather important information for 2020 and this will be the road ahead. However, the situation is different from racing during winter tests because the temperatures are lower and there is better grip. »
In addition to the weather and grip, another factor will certainly reshuffle the cards: team changes. And in this area, the biggest question mark concerns Bautista, who leaves Ducati for Honda. Will he be able to play for the title again like this year?
" I'm not sure of it ", comments Rea. “We are all curious to see how competitive the CBR will be. It's always difficult to start from scratch, but at Phillip Island we will have the opportunity to understand the situation. What is certain is that they will have two experienced drivers with Álvaro and Leon, and HRC is doing everything to work in the best possible way. I'm happy for Haslam, he's been a great teammate. »
The other question will concern the Spaniard's replacement at Ducati, since Scott Redding will arrive as British Superbike Champion and he also has great experience of MotoGP, in addition to his title of vice-world champion of Moto2. “I am sure he will be fast with the Ducati, he has always been strong in all the categories he has raced in the past and I consider him a top rider”, continues the Kawasaki rider. “I have to say that what he did in BSB was impressive, he adapted extremely quickly to his new bike and the circuits. This year we have all seen what a rookie like Álvaro can do so he will be able to do it too. »
