Jonathan Rea is not human: he beats all his opponents and also the crazy regulation of World Superbike. This time he killed Ducati’s dreams Ducati in spite of starting two rows behind: Rea in third row, Chaz Davies in pole position after being 4th in Race 1. Rea recovered quickly and wonderfully and the he tried to pass Davies twice, at Tamburello and Tosa. Davies managed to keep the KRT rider behind him in both moments, but during the 14th lap he was passed at Variante Alta and there he could not do anything, because Rea then escaped.
RECORDMAN – This is Jonathan Rea’s 17th double in World Superbike and today’s win takes him to the same level as Carl Fogarty: 59 wins. At Donington Rea will surely overtake “Foggy” and now 2018 season seems already decided, since Rea has a 47-pint advantage on Chaz Davies (almost one round). Rea is more and more likely to equal Fogarty also about titles, because the fourth one seems to be very close…
STRATEGY – Rea had planned it all since the beginning. He knew he was the fastest in the first laps and he also knew that he had to be quick in overtaking slower riders. So, few moments before the start, Pere Riba asked special guest Leon Haslam to let Rea pass. It didn’t work, because Rea climbed no position at the first corner. But then he passed all of them easily and quickly. At the fourth lap he was already behind Chaz Davies, who was leading the race after being behind Rinaldi in the first few laps (then Rinaldi lost positions as in Race 1). The fight with the Welsh was spectacular, but we know how it goes when Rea is involved…
MELANDRI OUT – Bad day for Ducati: after missing the win in both races, in Race 2 Marco Melandri crashed at Rivazza after being hit by Michael van der Mark. The Yamaha rider went to the Ducati box to apologize, but Marco Melandri said: “I don’t care, the race was already over” . Now Melandri has also lost third place in championship standings because of Tom Sykes, who ranked third. Sykes has 72 points less than Rea. Kawasaki is a great bike, but it’s not the only reason why Rea wins…
Photo Credit: Marco Lanfranchi
