WORLDSBK CHAMPION JONATHAN REA
P156
INTERVIEW
"Right now it's 11 o'clock in
the evening here and I've got
three interviews lined up—includ-
ing yours right now!—and then a
paddock show and then a tech-
nical debrief with my mechanics,
so hopefully I get to bed before 1
A.M. tonight."
So dominant has the resident
of Larne, Northern Ireland,
been throughout the 2017
season that he actually clinched
the WorldSBK Championship
two rounds early when he
flashed across the finish line in
race-one at rain-lashed Magny-
Course with an astonishing lead
of over 16 seconds. Still not
enough for the Kawasaki Rac-
ing Team ZX-10RR competitor,
three weeks later at the Circuit
de Jerez in Spain—a place he
had never won—he absolutely
dominated both races to spool
up his '17 win total to 14 races.
Yes, 14 wins in 24 races! So,
and understandably, he knows
why everyone wants a piece of
him at the year's curtain drop-
ping event.
A good problem to have, huh,
Tom?
"Well, not a good problem,
but it's an acceptable problem
and you can deal with it with a
smile on your face when you're
winning as opposed to when you
have tough days or when things
aren't going your way and you
have to put a brave face on in
front of the media," he reasoned.
"It's easy to do when you've got
a good bike and you're winning."
All fun and games and late
nights aside, all is well in Jona-
(Left) Everyone
wants a piece
of the three-
time WorldSBK
Champion.
