Jonathan Réathe best driver in the history of Superbike World Cup With six consecutive titles, he is on track to achieve the worst result of his sporting career.. Since the Northern Irishman moved up to the premier category of the series' derivative motorcycle championship in 2009, he has always finished in the Top 10 in the general classification. But he is currently 14th, and is 49 points behind his Yamaha teammate, Remy Gardnerwho is the tenth. It is therefore predictable that this will be his worst year in WSBK.
A fifth place is the Northern Irishman's best result so far this season in the main race. The highlight of its 2024 was third place at the Donington Park Superpole Race and pole at Assen, on a wet track.
However, Rea expected much more from the change since Kawasaki to Yamaha. And those at Iwata also thought about other goals: “We are certainly not in the position we thought we would be in before the season,” admitted Andrea Dosoli.motorsport leader of Yamaha Motor Europe, in an interview with 'Motorsport-Total', sister site of Motorsport.com.
“We lost competitiveness compared to last season, even though we improved the bike and the whole set.“he continued.”With Jonathan, we are behind expectations. We expected him to make a difference“.
At the start of his career at Yamaha, everything seemed to indicate that Rea would be one of the contenders for the world title this year. During post-season testing at Jerez he was among the front runners and his good times gave the impression that he had quickly adapted to the R1.
“We were very satisfied with their feedback,” remembers Dosoli of these winter tests. “The reality is that the R1 is a very easy bike to ride. That's why it is so popular among track users. It gives the rider a very comfortable feeling. But it takes a while to get the last tenths of second.. We could also see him with Remy Gardner. It took him a year to really understand the bike. »
But it seems like number 65 got lost. At the start of the season, in Australia, the six-time champion fell twice from the top, damaging his body and his self-esteem: “He was unlucky, as the heavy crashes at the start of the year had a negative impact on his adaptation to the bike.. It should be remembered that Jonathan raced for another manufacturer for many years. It wasn't just the bike that was different. The whole work environment too. “He had to get to know his team, and the team had to get to know him to better understand his needs.”
After a tough few weekends of racing, the Ballymena champion's form has shown an upward trend this summer. “Some positive progress has been noted. It's about giving you more confidence on the bike.“, says Dosoli. But a fall in Magny-Cours at the beginning of September, where he was injured, set him back again. He was only able to return to competition in Aragon.
When Rea won his world titles with Kawasaki, he became a benchmark for other manufacturers, teams and riders. Yamaha also took an example from him, as they were a fierce rival to the Japanese especially during the 2021 season, when the title was up for grabs with Toprak Razgatlioğluwho ended up getting it.
But despite this battle, Dosoli is enthusiastic about the collaboration with his former rival: “This has always been our benchmark. We study him a lot to be able to beat him. Now that we work with him, we understand very well why he has been so successful. It's also great to find out what a good person he is.“.
Critics say Rea's golden age has passed and he is no longer motivated. What does Yamaha say about these comments? “Your decision [de cambiar de fabricante] This clearly shows how determined he is. It would have been much easier for him to stay in his comfort zone rather than take on a new challenge. Accepting a new task shows that your motivation is still very strong” concluded Dosoli.
