SBK, Rea: "I'm thinking about retiring, but to avoid divorcing, a role in Kawasaki."

 In 2021, Jonathan Rea will enter his seventh season with Kawasaki, aiming for his seventh consecutive world title.

When Kawasaki extended the soon-to-be 34-year-old's contract last June, he spoke of a "multi-year deal". They say that Rea has a deal with the Akashi constructor at least till the end of 2022.

Whether or not, and how, the world champion will continue afterwards, when it comes to sports, will also depend on other factors.

"I don't need to race for the rest of my life. I’m financially stable,” he told Speedweek “I also have a good life away from racing. I like racing motorcycles, I like competing. It’ll also depend on what ideas Kawasaki has. After that, I can also think about retiring. I’ll speak with them to find out if there’s a role for me in the company after the races. As a test rider, as an ambassador, in team management, whatever. If I were to sit on the couch with wife all day, every day, we’d end up divorcing. I need to also have something for me. It’ll probably take me a year after retiring to think about my future. Maybe we’ll go to Australia, I don't know."

Rea can’t see himself riding any other bike in the Superbike world championship.

"At the moment, no. Most of my good memories of my career are from my days at Kawasaki."