Breaking news
World Superbike Assen
Rea: No WSBK tracks where I can beat Bautista right now
Jonathan Rea admits there are no upcoming World Superbike tracks where Kawasaki can beat the dominant Alvaro Bautista, and feels Ducati is not its “full potential” yet.
Lewis Duncan
Published: Apr 17, 2019, 1:59 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Rea fought with the Ducati rider in the opening stages of last weekend's second race at Assen, but could do nothing to stop Bautista from securing his 11th straight win.
It had been hoped the nature of the flowing Assen track would help bring an end to Bautista's dominance, and though his winning margins were smaller than they had been at previous tracks, he still finished 3.1 seconds clear of the pack in Race 1 and then 4.6s in Race 2.
Asked if he could see any other upcoming tracks where he could have the chance to end Bautista's winning streak, four-time series champion Rea replied: “No. Right now, no. Right now we're too far in performance, from a machine point of view.
"But also Alvaro is riding very good. So when you have both combinations working good, the result is how it is. It should be this way.”
Kawasaki rider Rea now finds himself 53 points adrift of Bautista in the standings, having had his own streak of second places ended by Michael van der Mark at Assen in Race 2.
Michael van der Mark, Pata Yamaha, Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images
The Ulsterman conceded it was “the same story” in terms of Bautista's pace in most of the track, and saw only one “evident sector” where his speed advantage had diminished.
When asked if the gap was closer because of improvements made to the Kawasaki ZX-10RR, Rea said: “No, only because of this type of track.
“Sector two is the only acceleration from Turn 5 until the flip-flops, and consistently they are [only] one or two tenths faster per lap. So that's the only one evident sector [where we were closer]. The rest of the track is the same story.
“So that's why I felt really good in the fight, because I could make the difference. The team gave me a good bike to really fight with him for a little bit [in race two], to keep the gap stable.”
While “open” to the possibility of closing down Bautista in the next round at Imola next month, Rea says he is “sure” the Ducati rider can be faster.
“Right now it's still a little bit too much because I'm sure he can be faster, 100 percent," he added. "Where they are making the time, I don't feel like they are at full potential."
Bautista: Nobody is unbeatable
Ex-MotoGP rider Bautista did not share Rea's view about how likely his winning streak is to last, saying how the V4 R performs from circuit to circuit remains a “mystery”.
“I don't know [if we can remain dominant], it's a mystery, because this bike has no reference in any track,” he said. “So every track we go is a new thing for this bike, also for me with this bike.
"I think for him [Rea] here it was a good place to beat us, but fortunately we had a good feeling and we can be competitive.
“We have to see the next race because I've never been there. It will be a good challenge for us to be as competitive as we are now. But I think all places are good to beat other riders. I think nobody is unbeatable.”
Additional reporting by Mark Bremer
Alvaro Bautista, Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / LAT Images
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Assen WSBK: Bautista wins again, Rea's P2 streak broken
Next article Bautista's dominance a "disaster" for WSBK - Rea
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Lewis Duncan
Marquez “comfortable” on Ducati MotoGP bike “but not ready for podium”
MotoGP
MotoGP
Qatar GP
Mar 7, 2024
Marquez “comfortable” on Ducati MotoGP bike “but not ready for podium”
Brivio: Trackhouse offers 'great opportunity' for MotoGP and NASCAR worlds to collide
MotoGP
MotoGP
Qatar GP
Mar 4, 2024
Brivio: Trackhouse offers 'great opportunity' for MotoGP and NASCAR worlds to collide
Marini urges patience at Honda as new MotoGP season approaches
MotoGP
MotoGP
Qatar Official Testing
Feb 22, 2024
Marini urges patience at Honda as new MotoGP season approaches
More from
Alvaro Bautista
‘At Balaton, MotoGP bikes might not even use fifth gear’ – Alvaro Bautista
MotoGP
MotoGP
Hungarian GP
Jul 31, 2025
‘At Balaton, MotoGP bikes might not even use fifth gear’ – Alvaro Bautista
Bautista clinches second WSBK title in Jerez opener
World Superbike
World Superbike
Jerez
Oct 28, 2023
Bautista clinches second WSBK title in Jerez opener
Bautista's WSBK win streak finally broken after Imola crash
World Superbike
World Superbike
Imola
Jul 16, 2023
Bautista's WSBK win streak finally broken after Imola crash
Latest news
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
3 h
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
4 h
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 8 h
“I was getting beat up” – How Daniel Ricciardo burned out on ‘humiliating’ F1 return
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe