WorldSBK
Well-known member
... I have been a long time fan of Chaz Davies, Tom Sykes, Michael van der Mark, Alex Lowes just to name four.
For the past few years, I've been rooting for these four ... and basically any rider like Bautista who could beat Jonathan Rea. To be honest, I have not been a fan of Rea, not because of the man, but because he has been dominating the championship for years, and I wish for more fights.
I like Chaz Davies because he was able to give Johnny a hard time two years ago. I like him because he usually starts at 7th-10th position on the grid and then fights back to come to the front and sometimes wins the races, sometimes is 2nd or 3rd. Thus, Davies puts up pretty good shows.
Tom Sykes was one of my big hope to beat Rea as he had the same bike (arguably) and a lot of experience. But he could never come close to the consistency of Rea.
The Yamaha folks could have some nice race but was never a threat to Rea.
Last year, Bautista gave me hope. But we know how it finished.
This year, Redding has been giving Johnny a hard time and again gives me hope. But we can he how things can quickly go south even for the favorite one, and former MotoGP racer.
This weekend Rinaldi also brought the fight to Rea, but the latter quickly showed him that he still have a lot to learn.
So, overall, this season and the previous one have had good fights at most races.
Now, seeing what I've seen so far, I have to admit that Rea forced my admiration and I may become one of his fans for the following reasons:
- He has shown for many seasons that he has had good strategies to win the championships. If he doesn't win then he would score 20 points.
- He makes very few mistakes. Almost no crash.
- He manages with a bike that is not as fast as the Ducati.
- He is good at almost anything (I explain below)
Davies is good at putting up the fights to come to the front during races, but lacks in qualification, consistency and crashes a lot more than Rea.
Sykes has been a disappointment, as I wish he fought at the front.
Bautista and Redding have been the paddock sensations in the last two years, but Rea shows that he can, at the mid season, take the gloves off and finish off his opponents.
Rea has shown that it takes A LOT more to win the championship than just winning some races.
To me, he has shown me that he deserves to win and he has forced my admiration. As long as he's around, I think he will continue to set the bar very very high for World Superbike. I am glad that other teams are catching up in the last two years, but Rea still shows that he is the master.
I have never raced so I don't know all the details about what it would take to win. But as a spectator, the above summarizes what goes in my mind after watching races in the last few years.
I would be very interested in knowing what you folks think as you know much better about racing than I do. I'd like to know if my assessment of the situation is close to reality, or whether I have been completely naive.
For the past few years, I've been rooting for these four ... and basically any rider like Bautista who could beat Jonathan Rea. To be honest, I have not been a fan of Rea, not because of the man, but because he has been dominating the championship for years, and I wish for more fights.
I like Chaz Davies because he was able to give Johnny a hard time two years ago. I like him because he usually starts at 7th-10th position on the grid and then fights back to come to the front and sometimes wins the races, sometimes is 2nd or 3rd. Thus, Davies puts up pretty good shows.
Tom Sykes was one of my big hope to beat Rea as he had the same bike (arguably) and a lot of experience. But he could never come close to the consistency of Rea.
The Yamaha folks could have some nice race but was never a threat to Rea.
Last year, Bautista gave me hope. But we know how it finished.
This year, Redding has been giving Johnny a hard time and again gives me hope. But we can he how things can quickly go south even for the favorite one, and former MotoGP racer.
This weekend Rinaldi also brought the fight to Rea, but the latter quickly showed him that he still have a lot to learn.
So, overall, this season and the previous one have had good fights at most races.
Now, seeing what I've seen so far, I have to admit that Rea forced my admiration and I may become one of his fans for the following reasons:
- He has shown for many seasons that he has had good strategies to win the championships. If he doesn't win then he would score 20 points.
- He makes very few mistakes. Almost no crash.
- He manages with a bike that is not as fast as the Ducati.
- He is good at almost anything (I explain below)
Davies is good at putting up the fights to come to the front during races, but lacks in qualification, consistency and crashes a lot more than Rea.
Sykes has been a disappointment, as I wish he fought at the front.
Bautista and Redding have been the paddock sensations in the last two years, but Rea shows that he can, at the mid season, take the gloves off and finish off his opponents.
Rea has shown that it takes A LOT more to win the championship than just winning some races.
To me, he has shown me that he deserves to win and he has forced my admiration. As long as he's around, I think he will continue to set the bar very very high for World Superbike. I am glad that other teams are catching up in the last two years, but Rea still shows that he is the master.
I have never raced so I don't know all the details about what it would take to win. But as a spectator, the above summarizes what goes in my mind after watching races in the last few years.
I would be very interested in knowing what you folks think as you know much better about racing than I do. I'd like to know if my assessment of the situation is close to reality, or whether I have been completely naive.