He can smile Jonathan Rea, at the end of the Portimao race-2. A tremendous weekend from a sporting point of view, in some ways the worst of his season, however, ends with a victory. The Northern Irish champion had fallen in both Race-1 and Superpole Race, ‘giving’ his rival for the title, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, a ‘bonus’ of 29 points that seemed to have definitively directed the world race. Instead, in the last leg of this Portuguese weekend, here are the destinies of the championship overturned again. In fact, this time it was the Turkish rider from Yamaha who fell, betrayed by a technical problem, while Rea, who started only tenth after the morning crash, was the first to pass under the checkered flag.
Crucial was the start, with the Kawasaki emblem already second at the end of the first lap. Obviously then the crash of Razgatlıoğlu, which took place while Rea was already in command of the race, further simplified the work of the British. Interviewed after the race by the official website of the WSBK, the Cannibal underlined the difficulties, including emotional ones, resulting from a weekend full of mistakes and twists. “Complicated weekend? The best word is disappointing – He admitted – I am really frustrated because my team put me in such a good position to capitalize on this weekend and I threw it away. I made two stupid mistakes. I was impatient as my bike was working well and I had a rhythm. I have already apologized to them. I was really angry with myself after the Superpole Race. I just told the kids we had nothing to lose. We have been in this position before. I just wanted to enjoy the bike“.
Blindfolded goddess, this time, gave a hand to the reigning champion. “I sat on the grill without any pressure. I just wanted to make a really good start – explained Rea, analyzing the start of Race-2 – I had a perfect deadlift. It was my best start of the season. From that moment on I was able to gain a good position on the track, be smart in my passes and tried to make the most of sectors two and three. On the other hand, I really struggled on the starting straight, with the headwind. When I managed to stay in the front for a few laps, I realized I had to try and keep my pace. Then I saw that Toprak was out and that gave me some breathing room – he concluded – I was able not to force the pace and enjoy the race. It was a good feeling “.