Jonathan Rea went to the Algarve in hopes of ending a streak of fasting victories that stretched back to his May appointment at Estoril, but instead found himself beaten by title rivals Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu in all three. the Portimao races. The result is a huge gap of 82 points from the leader of the standings, the Ducati rider. But now only the three races remain at Villicum in Argentina, Mandalika in Indonesia and Phillip Island.
The Northern Irishman took pole on Saturday and was leading in the early stages of Race 1 and Race 2, but in the long run the Kawasaki ZX10-RR disappointed him and was unable to fight for the final victory. He finished three seconds behind the winner Razgatlioglu in the first heat, and nearly five seconds behind Bautista in Sunday afternoon’s race.
“I’m definitely a bit disappointed with the results,” Rea said. “I came here with the intention of trying to get back to winning a race. In Race 2, when I was leading, I tried to be a little careful to manage the tire and not risk too much. But when Alvaro overtook me and he took the lead, his pace was fast. I also saw Toprak’s urgency to try to disturb Alvaro’s pace a little. This allowed me to stay in the fight, but as soon as he found a clear track he ran away . Then I thought I could catch Toprak, so I kept my pace, but it wasn’t enough. I struggled a lot, and when the tire dropped it was even worse. But I have no regrets: I did my best and I was beaten by better riders. I was frustrated to be so far behind, but this is our reality. “
Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing Team WSBK, Toprak Razgatlioglu, Pata Yamaha WorldSBK, Alvaro Bautista, Aruba.it Racing Ducati
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Rea also underlined how much faster the pace was on the Portuguese circuit than in previous years: “If I look back at the years past, when we raced here in Portimao, the pace needed to win a race is now phenomenal. ’40 “and 1’41” for the entire duration of the race is the demonstration of how much the Superbike World Championship has improved. It was nice to participate in this battle, it is a pity not to have been a little closer “.
With title hopes starting to fade, Rea said he will “forget the standings and focus race by race” as the final trio of events that will determine this year’s champion begins. “What will be, will be,” she added. “Alvaro and Ducati are a really formidable package right now and they are doing a great job, hence the gap in the championship. And Toprak too. Both of their packages work differently. So, I have to focus on myself. I can only look at my result, do my best and, in the end, we’ll see what happens after Phillip Island. “
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