Jonathan Rea took his first victories of the 2019 season at round five in Imola, and has outscored Alvaro Bautista at every round since, with consistency paving the way for those results.
When Bautista was out front taking victory in his first eleven World Superbike races, Rea was quietly racking up the points finishing second in all but one of those races.
However, with recent errors from Bautista, the four-time champion has shifted the momentum in his favor heading into his home round out Donington Park.
Rea himself had a crash at Misano, but luckily for the Kawasaki rider it was in the Superpole race, which is the reduced points race which he managed to remount and finish fifth.
“Winning two races at Misano was good for us, especially the two important races. Unfortunately in the Superpole Race today I made a big mistake in turn ten, when I lost the front.”
“But I restarted to finish fifth which was all important for the weekend. Race Two today was a tough one because the temperature was hot. I was very unsure of the pace. I felt like it was slow but I did not want to push any faster.”
“I saw Alvaro go down very early in the race and the conditions out there were very tough, especially for the front tyre. The rear was just not digging in and going forward, it was just spinning so much – but we won, which was the main thing.”
An area that could be decisive in the 2019 season, is the fact that Rea is used to being in a championship battle and knowing what it takes to win, with all four of his titles coming in the last four years. This could be pivotal as the pair get into the closing stages of the season, and will be a new added pressure for Bautista to contend with.
