Jonathan Rea has been the dominator of WorldSBK with Kawasaki for more than half a decade, winning six titles in a row from 2015 to 2020 and tallying more than a hundred wins.
The Briton took part in two MotoGP races in 2012 with Honda , substituting for the injured Casey Stoner at Aragón and Misano , where he managed to finish in the top eight and greatly impressed the team.
However, despite some rapprochement, Rea has never quite made it to a full season in MotoGP, which is currently locked in a thrilling battle with Toprak Razgatlioglu in WorldSBK for the 2021 title.
Valentino Rossi believes it is “an enormous shame” that Rea never had a proper opportunity in MotoGP, and believes that even now, at 34, the Ulster rider could be fast in the premier class.
“This year the battle with Rea [and Razgatlioglu] is a lot of fun, great to watch because I think they are two great Superbike riders at their peak [moment and talent] and the battles are always good to watch,” said Rossi.
“And I think it’s a great shame that Johnny Rea didn’t have the opportunity to be in MotoGP maybe five, six years ago, because I think he rode very well and had the potential to be strong in MotoGP, but maybe also now [it could be Quick]”.
(Before reading on, click on this link or on the photo to see the riders who have won races in MotoGP and SBK)
Both Rea and Razgatlioglu have won 11 races and scored 25 podiums each in 2021, but two crashes at the final round in Portimao have allowed the Turk to lead by 24 points in qualifying for this weekend’s round in Argentina .
At the end of the year, Razgatlioglu – who was linked with a MotoGP handlebar in 2022 with the Petronas SRT – is going to test drive a Yamaha M1 , something Rossi thinks will be “very interesting”.
“I really like Toprak because he’s a very modern rider, he’s young, he’s very, very physically prepared,” adds Rossi.
“He’s fast, so it will be very interesting for him to try the M1, because I think he can be competitive, and he can also be competitive in MotoGP because he’s still young and has a lot of potential.”
Rhea’s response
When asked about Rossi’s words, in an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com Rea replied: “Hearing that from Valentino is great, because he is the best of all time in motorcycling and we respect each other a lot.”
“Sometimes he messages me after a race or vice versa. I’m a big fan of him and what he’s done in his career.”
Rea added: “Of course it’s a shame because I never had the opportunity [to race in MotoGP full-time]. I had the option of two wild cards in 2012, and I was seventh and eighth, not bad.
“But that’s the way it is. I had some tough times with my previous team [Ten Kate Honda], and some good times. But when I joined Kawasaki I was very happy.”
“Life has been very good to me, I have won a lot. The only question I have is what I could have done in MotoGP, because I don’t know.”
“I can’t know because I never had the chance. But that’s life.”
“Drivers can’t work their way through life, you have to take opportunities and unfortunately for me I never had that opportunity.”
