WORLDSBK CHAMPION JONATHAN REA
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INTERVIEW
in recent years, Rea's MotoGP
resume consists of a mere two
races. Slotting in for an injured
Casey Stoner at Repsol Honda
in 2012, he rode admirably on
the RC213V to place eighth
at San Marino at Misano and
seventh at Motorland Aragon in
Spain. From there it was back
to Ten Kate Honda and World
Superbike, and in 2015, to the
Barcelona, Spain centered Ka-
wasaki Racing Team. Three FIM
titles, 37 wins and 68 podium
finishes later, he's still there.
And, at least for now, he doesn't
plan on going anywhere.
But never say never.
"Next year I'm staying with the
same team, which I'm really ex-
cited about, but 2019 and 2020
are kind of up in the air," says
Rea. "A lot of seats are open
in MotoGP and also in World
Superbike. It seems like every
rider in the motorcycle world
is out of contract at the end of
next season. It's going to be a
fun time for team managers and
rider managers and the transfer
market, if you like. Yeah, my
focus is all on 2018, but thinking
past that, I have no real idea to
where my future lies. Most mo-
torcycle racing athletes sort of
have to always work year to year.
Nothing can happen in the next
12 months so now I'm trying to
get another crack at trying to win
another world championship."
2018 will not be easy, how-
ever, because on Tuesday,
" I know if I went MotoGP with the right bike,
I could do a really good job and
show my full potential."
