Jonathan Rea does not give up and, after losing points both in race-1 and in the Superpole Race, he again shortens the distance from the top of the Superbike World Championship bringing to 30 points behind Toprak Razgatlioglu with only the round of Indonesia to be played. The second place in race-2, the result of a very hard fight between the two title contenders and Scott Redding, replicates what we saw yesterday in race-1, with the difference that Rea had better sensations today than what he saw in the first. heats of the weekend.
“More than for the result, I’m happy with how I felt on the bike – Rea told – We chose something weird that we don’t usually consider and we transformed the bike, especially from a grip point of view. We struggled all weekend to get the rubber to work, especially in the early laps. Today the chosen tire combination went well. I’m happy, can’t wait to go to Indonesia. Yesterday I struggled to generate grip, but today I had traction and good sensations. In some key areas I was losing but I was able to fight with others. I lost some time behind Toprak, Scott managed to escape and there I told myself to rest assured and to wait for a mistake from Toprak, I concentrated on both him and the victory. Maybe I should have tried with a little more conviction, in the end my pace was excellent and I could have played it. I congratulate Scott, he had an excellent pace today, while I was the best of the others ”.
We saw different conditions over the weekend, we started with a sandstorm while today we had heat and wind: what has changed for you and the bike?
“Compared to yesterday when we had a favorable wind, today there were moments in which we had against it. It was difficult to get to the end of the opposite straight, but otherwise it wasn’t a big problem. It was a steady wind but it brought no dust. The most difficult point was just before turn 1, when you pass the pits and there is the descent, there was some wind from the left that moved you and it was incredible to understand how to drive in these conditions ”.
Today we saw you, Toprak and Scott doing different lines on the track, just as we have already seen Kawasaki, Yamaha and Ducati being very close on the flying lap but capable of generating their performance in a different way.
“We lose a lot on the straight, I think we did our best. Being with the others for the rest of the tour shows that we have maximized the package we have available. However, it seems to me that the moment I make a small mistake, we lose more time, so I have to drive very cleanly. I have to be happy, we fought until the end and we went better than yesterday. I have to thank the team who never give up and always try to find something better. We hope to have learned the lesson and to treasure it in Indonesia ”.
How do you prepare a race like that of Indonesia?
“We will go there and try to have fun and enjoy the atmosphere of the weekend. I like to tackle new tracks, as well as here in Argentina or Buriram. From aerial photos and other shots it looks like a very nice track, I can’t wait to go there, it looks like a nice place to end the season. It is a true World Cup being able to race outside of Europe. It would be better if I were ahead at this point in the championship, but we have nothing to lose. I’ll go there with a lot of optimism, let’s see what can be done ”.
Fighting like this must have been even better in front of the fans here in Argentina.
“We have to thank everyone who came here, it’s great to see the passion that the fans have. Sometimes we see people on the track who don’t know much about the bikes or the events, but it’s nice to see the people in the paddock calling the riders by name. I think the presence of Tati Mercado helped, there was a good atmosphere on the grid, people were singing his name and cheering for him. It would have been nicer if they had sung mine, but the home cheering for him was good ”.
In view of Indonesia, you will have the last chance to win the title, between you and Toprak it will be a great fight. This was also a season that caught everyone’s attention: what does it mean for you to run the last few races in this condition?
“I don’t want to think about it too much, I will try to do my best, which means that I will try to win all three races and keep an eye on what happens. Obviously mine is not the best position for the last race, but the pressure will not be on me but it will be on Toprak and his team. Mentally, last year the games were almost done when we went to Estoril, Scott was behind me by many points, but if you are in charge you always have some dark thoughts wandering through your head ”.
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