EXCLUSIVE - Should Rea move? Fogarty: ‘It’s a mistake that I made’

Rea earned three podium finishes in an exciting weekend at Donington Park but his future heading into 2023 is far from certain - he will be out of contract with Kawasaki at the end of this season.

Each of his six championships have come in the green of Kawasaki so swapping to a rival team, at the age of 35, in search of a seventh title would be a monumental decision.

It is something that Fogarty, the four-time champion and icon of 1990s motorcycle racing, advises him against.

“There are rumours he might leave,” Fogarty exclusively told Crash.Net. 

“I think: ‘Woah, wait a minute!’

“It’s a mistake that I made in my career.

“I broke up a winning team and it took me two years to bring it back around again.

“I lost two titles because I broke up a winning team from 1995 to 1997.”

Fogarty left Ducati, after two consecutive championships, for Honda. But he failed to replicate his success in a sole season with the Japanese manufacturer, then upon his return to Ducati, was forced to settle for second-place behind Honda rider John Kocinski.

Fogarty eventually won an additional two titles with Ducati, where he remained until retiring in 2000.

He said about Rea: “Kawasaki have had a fantastic bike for a lot of years.

“Jonathan has won six titles and he won’t go on forever. A few more years? I don’t know. He is still motivated to win.

“He has a job for life at Kawasaki, as an ambassador, so why risk it by going to another team in his mid-30s?

“You don’t know how it will work out.

“He's better off staying where he is.

“People think that the grass is greener.

“Look at people who have tried it - Alvaro Bautista, Valentino Rossi, myself - it doesn’t always work out.”

Rea trails Alvaro Bautista in the 2022 standings, while Toprak Razgatlioglu dominated Donington weekend with three race wins.

Fogarty: 'Redding to BMW not a bad move!'

Fogarty has backed Scott Redding to turn his fortunes around at BMW.

The 2019 British Superbike winner spent the past two seasons in WorldSBK with Ducati before switching.

“I actually didn’t think it was a bad move,” Fogarty said. 

“I don’t know why he didn’t stay at Ducati - whether he didn’t want to be there, or they didn’t want him.

“But when I saw him on the BMW I thought: ‘He will be a threat, he will be battling the top three’.

“The BMW looked strong on road circuits. I thought BMW would get it right with him.

“He’s got this year to get it right for next year.

“He needs to get close to the top three.”

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