VOLUME 58 ISSUE 21 MAY 25, 2021 P77
BY GORDON RITCHIE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
W
orldSBK racing has never started so late
in the season as it has in 2021, but it very
much started with history on day one
when Jonathan Rea scored his 100th career victory
and his 85th since joining Kawasaki in 2015.
In race one, the only rider who could stay even
close to his orbit was Alex Lowes, Rea's own Kawa-
saki Racing Team (KRT) teammate, on a new bike
which was new enough for a fresh homologation,
but not thought by the FIM to have a whole new
engine. So, peak power was the same as 2020.
Rea was in a class of his own on Saturday for a
full-distance 18-lap race one. He had been steady
on Friday but come Superpole before race one on
Saturday, he set a new track record of 1:48.458 to
record his 28th career pole position.
Mr. 100 does it in style.
Jonathan Rea crosses
the line on the back
wheel after taking
his 100th WorldSBK
race win after the first
encounter at Aragon.
