What will Jonathan Rea do, when his contract with Kawasaki Racing Team expires? The next WorldSBK Test is scheduled on 23rd January at Jerez and in the meantime, German website Speedweek interviewed Rea about his future. “I don’t need racing for the rest of my life” said the 31-year-old Northern Irish. His contract with Kawasaki will last till 2020 and then, Jonathan Rea will be too old for a MotoGP move. “I belong to Kawasaki and I don’t see myself somewhere else” says Jonathan. “The best memories I have are related to Kawasaki, I remember less and less about my time with Honda.”
MONEY – Such words sound odd: the four times World Champion spent a lot of years as Honda rider, as he rode CBR machines in BSB, World Supersport and World Superbike. Rea became the youngest BSB race winner in 2007 and then he scored 14 wins in WorldSBK on the least competitive bike on the field. According to what he said to Speedweek, Jonathan Rea may even retire at the end of 2020: “Well, I’m not short of money…(he earns 2 million euros per year, ed)“.
SOFA – “I may also be employed by Kawasaki as test rider, team manager, brand ambassador…And I wouldn’t say no! For sure I don’t want to sit on the sofa next to my wife, since we would divorce the week after. When I get enough of racing, I may take a gap year, or move to Australia and enjoy life under the sun. We’ll see…”
Translated by Alessandro Palma