WorldSBK Most: ‘Like a game of chicken’ - Rea

Most WorldSBK pole man Jonathan Rea is one of those rider for whom a non-podium day is noteworthy. He and Toprak Razgatlioglu looked set for a podium each, at least in the early laps, even if the following Alvaro Bautista was odds on favourite to catch and pass them on superior speed down the long-ish main straight.

Too much fight in the early laps? Maybe, but even if Kawasaki’s Rea was off podium it was not a disaster, and with a repeat of his recent front brake fade problem, he had reasons to be happy.

“The race was quite good, to be fair,” Rea acknowledged. “I had a good rhythm, good pace. I was fast. Not fast enough at the end when it counted.

“A little bit like Donington, I ran into some brake fade issues. The lever was coming right back to my fingers and I couldn’t keep the pressure.

“So, stopping the bike was a problem, but also putting the bike into position for the corners, because I couldn’t make that pressure. Just struggled. Then I felt - not unsafe - but in traffic I was worried about hitting somebody because if I braked on my normal brake point, the chances were I couldn’t stop the bike. So, just that, really.

“I think position is not reflecting our true potential this weekend. I felt like we were strong. Unfortunately, we were off the podium, but only two seconds from the race winner. It’s good and a bad thing when a fourth place you’re disappointed with, and you’re only two seconds off. But that’s the reality today. I hope to make some amends tomorrow.

“Clearly we need to get faster at the end of the race. Alvaro is setting his personal best with only a few laps to go. We’ve seen 31’s. So, that’s an incredible pace. Congrats to him and Ducati. He came past me so fast in the straight. I felt like I could do