Rea ‘pushing to my maximum’, claims P3 in Navarra race two
Jonathan Rea’s third place finish during Navarra WorldSBK race two has seen him joined atop the championship standings by race winner Toprak Razgatlioglu.
Both riders are on 311 points following round seven, however, it’s Razgatlioglu who has taken over top spot - results in Rea losing the lead for the first time in 2021.
While Rea took three podiums from three this weekend, worrying signs remain with the Kawasaki ZX10-RR as the six-time world champion had to make front end saves in all three races.
Rea was particularly struggling at turn nine and with stopping the bike, while it also seemed considerably more nervous over the Spanish circuit’s bumps compared to the Ducati of Scott Redding and the Yamaha of Razgatlioglu.
Following race two, Rea added: "Solid weekend really. Those guys were just better today. Both Toprak [Razgatlioglu] and Scott [Redding] did an awesome race.
"I tried to go there for about ten laps but I was just there. It was ebbing and flowing; I was good in (turns) 4, 5, 6, 7, but as soon as my front tyre started to go I was just losing where they were strong.
"Then I made a big slide at the last corner. I actually hit something; there was something hard on the ground like a big screw and I thought ‘ahh that will give Scott a chance’.
"When he came through he had much better pace and I couldn’t go with him. Good job to the front two. The competition is really hot and I’m pushing to my maximum."
