RideFast Dec 2019

PADDOCK NEWS
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In-depth with Jonathan Rea.
From being a World Champion
to a proud husband and dad,
Jonathan Rea reveals what he
took him to become the most
successful rider in WorldSBK!
Jonathan Rea doesn’t need an introduction.
His records speak for himself. With five
consecutive World Titles since 2015 and
88 wins, and after an incredible 2019 that
saw him scoring points in every single
race, he has become the most successful
rider in WorldSBK. Born in Northern Ireland
in 1987, Rea started racing on the tarmac
only in 2003 following an early career in
motocross, and since then he has become
a Motorsports legend. Besides being a
professional athlete and a star, Rea is
100% dedicated to his family and he still
manages to be a “normal” guy away from the
track! Meet the five-time WorldSBK World
Champion as never before!
Most of the riders find their ways to the
top quite fast, but I had to fight every
weekend for survival. Geographically, it
was difficult coming from Northern Ireland.
When I started road racing, my father
and I had to take a boat to England every
weekend and then drive all around to find
competitions. Dad perfectly managed me, he
understood me even in the most challenging
times, and I think he moulded me, and
whatever he did had a massive effect on
what I have achieved.
The biggest lesson in my life has come
from years of difficulties. My upbringing
in motocross also helped me achieve what I
have achieved. I had to face almost endingcareer
accidents, had to deal with hard
moments before becoming a champion.
Now I can look in the mirror and think
“I am doing the best I can”. Now that I
am 32 years old, I have started to learn to
like myself. When I was young, I used to
get angry when I had a bad day. Becoming
experienced, older and having a family
makes you rationalise things a lot better and
I think I have become wiser.
When I am at the track, the spotlight is
on me, while at home is all about the kids
and survival. When I am home, I try not to
think about bikes at all. I am a real foodie,
and I love preparing food. Sometimes Tatia
and I work hard to be like Master Chef! I like
normal things. I like sharing a bottle of wine
with my wife and putting the kids at bed.
Both are playing football, and so weekends I
am at the football ground with them.
The balance in WorldSBK is perfect
for me. You can get to retain a certain
level of normality at home. The biggest
difference between winning my first World
Championship and now, is that more people
are interested, and I am busier for marketing
reasons. But I can still be a dad, a husband
and a normal guy, whilst doing my training
and all the media activities.
Having a family is the most difficult
thing you can do in life, and it makes you
realise that there is more in life than
racing. I love this sport. Bikes is all I have
known, but I know that this is a very selfish
life. You are always travelling, and that is
not normal when you have two kids. I feel it
would be a shame to put my experience on
a shelf in the future, but I also think that it
depends on what the kids will do. If they’ll
continue in football, or whatever, and they
want to travel, then I should help them. I
feel like my family are putting their lives on
pause for me to live my dream.
“Surround yourself with good people”
is the first advice for those who are in
our environment from the family point
of view to the crew chief. The guys in the
KRT team are like my brothers to me, and it’s
easy to enjoy every weekend even if you are
struggling. If I had a bad performance then I
look forward to going to dinner, sit with the
guys and joke about normal stuff.
In WorldSBK, engineering is important,
but the human still makes the
difference. I won the World Titles because I
have a good package, but there is more. You
also have to manage the expectations and
most importantly enjoy riding.
I was thinking about retirement in
2016. My goal in the past was to win at
least a World Title. My grandfather always
used to tell me: “One day you will become
a World Champion” and I have always kept
this with me. It was something for me to
hang to. I could have happily retired at the
end of 2015, but I am enjoying riding too
much that I can’t let go of this feeling. My
goal now is to keep trying to win because I
am having so much fun!
I still haven’t realised that I won the
championship again. It was so unexpected
to win in Magny Cours that when it
happened, I wasn’t prepared for it. I think
that when I’ll go to the FIM Awards, and I
will take the real trophy and my medal with
all the other champions in the room, that’s
when it will become real.
This year I have learned never to give
up and to believe in myself more. From
the outside I looked like the ice-man, but
it was hard. Especially when we realised
how strong the new Ducati was in areas we
couldn’t be strong. Alvaro brought a very
high level, and we had to do our maximum
all the time. We scored in every race this
year, and I am so proud of this.
I am not stupid enough to think that I am
going to win forever. I know that some
racer is going to come or maybe a new bike
or package, perhaps an injury, there is going
to be difficult moments, but I want to try and
keep what I am doing now. Let’s see!
There is a little part of me that wishes I
had the chance to go to MotoGP with a
competitive package. But I have never had
this opportunity so I can’t regret it. I made
lots of mistakes but anything I can regret.
Every season I treat myself to an end of
the season bonus. I have a collection of
watches, and I bought the first one in Qatar
when I came first to WorldSSP. It is a sort
of present that I do to myself at the end of
the year.
Something that nobody knows is that I
have quite a strong faith, and I feel like
someone is watching over me. When I am
confused about something, I always ask
for help, and I get some very good advice.
This year I remember in one race exiting
the pit box and asking for some help, and
something happened that I can’t tell, and it
changed the year entirely. That is why in the
slowing down lap I am always pointing to
the sky.
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