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Jonathan Rea applauds Alvaro Bautista, the new SBK champion. During the season, the Kawasaki rider has often turned his nose up at Ducati's regulatory advantages; he hasn't changed his mind, but he knows how to recognize the value of an opponent.
“You don’t become world champion for nothing - he said - It is clear that Ducati has worked hard and that Alvaro has understood what is the best combination between his riding style and the bike. Of course they have an advantage, but it was Bautista who did the magic, so I congratulate him. I know how he feels and I hope he enjoys this moment ”.
Pressed on the subject, Johnny expressed his point of view in more detail.
“I think the advantage Ducati has in top speed is not because of the bike but because of Alvaro, because he is very light. He also does a great job, because he comes out of the corners better than all the other riders - he explained - In the Top 10 there are many Ducatis, but it is Bautista who makes the difference. This is a championship for production bikes and it is difficult to find a balance, but in Supersport and in 300 the minimum weight given by bike plus rider works ”.
Waiting to find out if this proposal goes ahead, Rea talked about his Sunday at Mandalika.
"We took a step forward over yesterday, I was a bit more competitive – were his words - Yesterday, already in Superpole, I felt a long way from the best and I just thought about getting on the podium. Today the improvement on the bike was enormous, they worked a lot in the garage, and we went back to the setup on Friday morning, and the track conditions also improved. Yesterday I was afraid of making a mistake and getting out of the clean line, today I was able to really push ”.
In the sprint race he got on the 2nd step of the podium, in the second one on the 3rd.
“I was able to understand how the bike behaved, in the Superpole Race I was able to exploit the potential of the new tyres and I thought I could fight for the victory until the end, but I didn't succeed, Toprak was a bit faster - Jonathan said. - Then, in Race 2, I got a good start, I was keeping a good pace, Toprak and Alvaro passed me and I made some mistakes. I managed to get back close to them, but at 5 laps to go I had no tyres left, I risked crashing a couple of times, and I knew it was time to just get the bike to the end, on the podium. As I said, we took a step forward and I'm happy, but it wasn't enough ”.
