Jonathan Rea will want to ‘reclaim authority’ in 2023 at Superbike World Championship says James Toseland

James Toseland believes Jonathan Rea will want to “reclaim his authority” at the Superbike World Championship in what he thinks will be “a real treat” of a season. The last two years have seen some stunning racing in the series, with Rea, Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu fighting at the front of the field with three different teams. Ad Bautista won last year’s thrilling three-way battle, whilst Razgatlioglu beat Rea to the title in 2021.

SuperbikesExclusive: ‘The field has never been so deep’ – Rea believes quality is at all-time highYESTERDAY AT 13:21 “Rea will revel in that,” Toseland told Eurosport when asked about whether the Kawasaki rider will be more motivated, having not won the championship since 2020. “To win it a seventh time is obviously something that he'd like to do. But to beat Toprak and Bautista will be more important to him, reclaiming the authority in this championship again.

“I don't think he would be worried about getting the number one back, he loves that 65 just as much. “What he will want to do is get it back from the two people that have taken it from him in the last two years regardless, that will definitely help the motivation. “But Rea has never had a problem with motivation.

If you're a six-time champion, you have not got a problem with motivation because it's the consecutive championships that really show the true character of someone. “It doesn't matter if they win absolutely everything in their sport. They have to do it again and you can't teach that.” Toseland believes the championship is in the best place it has ever been, pointing to the strength in depth of the series with the likes of Danilo Petrucci, former Moto2 champion Remy Gardner and Supersport world champion Dominique