WSBK Superbike Aragón Race 2: Jonathan Rea the champion who wins twice

De Paul Gozzi / Corsedimoto.com

With an extraordinary level of performance, the Kawasaki champion folds the Ducatis and returns to the lead of the World Championship. After four years, Honda returns to the podium with Bautista.

This weekend, Jonathan Rea conquered the Ducati kingdom twice, overturning Saturday's defeat and resuming his usual leadership in the world championship. Scott Redding has to settle for fourth place this time, behind a wild Chaz Davies and also the returning Alvaro Bautista, who inaugurates the first Honda HRC podium. The straight line of more than a kilometer was a thorny trap for the Kawasaki. But the Cannibal made up for the obvious gap in top speed by flying through the twistiest part of the track. There are now 94 victories in the World Championship for Jonthan Rea, who has always been on the podium in Aragon with Kawasaki: 14 times in a row, since 2015. The fourth of seven rounds marks the champion's regaining control of the general classification. in title, who now has a 10-point lead over Scott Redding. It's a small break that could have a significant impact on the final result.

Jonathan Rea: the alchemy of the magician
The Cannibal had set the record straight in the morning, dominating the sprint race. But over the short distance, his triumphs are nothing more than little news and, above all, are only worth twelve points. The shot that mattered was the one in the afternoon, and Jonathan Rea knew that very well. Running into the Ducatis again would have been a bad sign, especially since here in Aragon there will be three other races next weekend. The 34-year-old Northern Irishman therefore started from pole position to take the lead and accelerate his pace. The objective was to keep Scott Redding at bay, and above all to take advantage of the second row of Chaz Davies, even more dangerous in Aragon (seven victories). Jonathan Rea's performance was a game of apothecary, an alchemy of thousandths gained on the hillside to defend himself in the fast part, where the Ducatis always made two tenths of difference each time. This time, Redding didn't see much of him (fourth at the end), but Davies was very dangerous until the end.

The prey launched a counterattack.
Chaz was inexorably getting closer, and Jonathan had to walk every meter on a razor blade. So much so that with five laps to go, the latter missed the line in the last corner, allowing Davies to take the lead. It looked like the start of a Ducati parade. Instead, Rea brought his claws out on the hill and, in a double passing play, returned to the lead. Powerful, fast, determined: the Cannibal, after five world championships in a row, made it clear that he was hungrier than before. Chaz got the message and, on the last lap, relaxed his efforts. But what a race the Welshman was on: his bad luck was just to be faced with the best Rea of ​​all time.

Honda roars again
After a dramatic Friday, between accidents and repeated mechanical problems, Alvaro Bautista had put the Fireblade in the sand, a little more than halfway through race 1. But, as if by magic, the driver and the team found the form. With the same SCX tire as the day before, which the others use for the ten laps of the sprint race, Bautista celebrated the first podium of the new official HRC adventure, placing himself between the two Ducatis of the Aruba.it team .
Next weekend, on this track that he particularly likes, Bautista could become a very bad customer for everyone, even for Rea. At Honda, however, only one engine remains usable for the rest of the season...