Misano WorldSBK: Frustrated Rea - ‘pace wasn’t good enough’

After no WorldSBK race wins on Saturday or in the Superpole Race on Sunday KTR’s Jonathan Rea was finally pushed into fourth place in Misano’s final action, giving him a two-three-four range of finishes.

He lost more ground in the championship to Alvaro Bautista as a result, and is now 36 points behind the championship leader.

After the intensity of Sunday’s clashes Rea could not initially remember much about the Superpole race, but got there in the end.

“Honestly, I struggle to remember the Superpole Race,” Rea admitted, before moving on to say, “I felt in the beginning it was okay, but as soon as the pace stepped up, I couldn’t really go with Toprak. He was on it. Really good rhythm.

“With Alvaro, I was okay, but then as soon as he got clear track, he was gone. I felt like I was getting the maximum from the bike, but it wasn’t enough. So, I was getting frustrated because they were just going away. So, I was going away from the guys behind me, so third was the position.”

Race two was clearer in Rea’s mind but also more complicated and certainly less rewarding in fourth place. “In the long race, I didn’t make a great start. I was like fourth in T1 and then I got track position behind Toprak and Bautista. I had a grandstand view of them going at it in T14. That was aggressive! I just settled into my rhythm. I thought it was okay. I was really struggling with my entering the corner. A little sliding and then that was closing the front, the chatter. I just didn’t feel comfortable. I just had a pace that wasn’t good enough. Struggled with grip.”

The Northern Irishman felt there were actually maybe too many tyre options to choose from this weekend, including the SCQ that the Honda riders opted to use in the Superpole race.