Rea makes WorldSBK history in Brno but says four titles is the goal as Lowes also triumphs

He has now arrived to the special ‘60’ - 45 of which were claimed since he joined the Barcelona-based Kawasaki Racing Team in ‘15. Brno represented his sixth success from fourteen and the seven rounds of thirteen in 2018 so far. Crucially for the current championship picture it delivered a hefty quantity of points and allowed his lead at the top of the standings to hover at 65 over Chaz Davies.

When pushed on his new status as the most prolific racer in WorldSBK (and the story hasn’t finished yet) Rea recognised the accomplishment but also says Fogarty’s other distinction remains firmly in view. “I don't have many words really: if someone had told me when I was young that I would beat Fogarty’s win record then I would have snapped their hand off for it. It is unbelievable but I’m focused on trying to beat that record and I don't want to measure myself with Foggy until I have four championships like he has. We can keep our win account open until the end of the season but the goal is those four titles.”

At Brno Rea bounced from a high to a low after a tangle with Sykes put both riders onto the floor. The opportunity was seized by Pata Yamaha’s Alex Lowes to record a fantastic maiden race win. “The bike worked really well for me today, I really enjoyed the race, which is not easy when it’s so hot and slippery!” #22 beamed. “I focused on being as smooth and consistent as I could be and now I’m over the moon. A massive thank you to Yamaha, I feel honoured to be part of this project and now we need to keep trying to win more races!”

WorldSBK moves to the scratchy splendour of Laguna Seca in California in two weeks time for round eight of thirteen.