SBK, Rea: "I never liked Donington, but this weekend was perfect."

Game, set, match. Jonathan Rea at Donington was just perfect. He left his opponents scraping the bottom of the barrel and regained that lead in the championship that has actually been his for years. Johnny is a real prophet at home and makes his hard work his weapon.

"It was undoubtedly the best weekend of the season. I'm very happy with the work done because we were in trouble in the FP1, almost a second from the fastest time but, step-by-step, we improved incredibly."

Rea's first victim of the day was Tom Sykes, who was then struck by bad luck.

"Tom was really fast this morning, but the red flag ended the battle. I was very sorry for him later and, honestly, before I got to the point of the fall, I didn't see any flags indicating the presence of oil or similar substances on the track. Personally, I was lucky because I managed not to fall, helping myself with my foot."

In Race 2, it was Razgatlioglu's turn to try to counter Johnny, without success.

"With Toprak, it was a good duel. He's a really skilled rider, especially when braking. He was strong in some places and I in others. I didn't expect to win all the races on this track that, in the past, was not my friend and where I often suffered from pain in my arms, but I was really in shape today, and my rear tire remained in excellent condition until the end."

The rider who never managed to get close to n.1 was Alvaro Bautista, who now seems to be in real trouble riding the Ducati. However, Rea doesn't lower his guard and remains aware of the potential of the Panigale V4.

“Ducati has a great advantage on the straight, and it certainly doesn't console me to think of tracks like Argentina or Qatar. But we must always do our best and attack on tracks that are favorable for us, such as Laguna, Donington or Portimao.”

In conclusion, Rea tells us his opinion on the current Superbike format, maybe hoping for a return to the past.

"I think three races are too many. I love to ride, but the weekend is very challenging like this. When you try to regenerate, it's time to race again. Certainly, a third race is useful for accumulating points, but the formula of the two races on Sunday remains the best. The TV stations disagree, and I respect that decision, but I think that formula embodies the SBK spirit. In any case, I'd even race four races in a weekend."