SBK | Acerbis Czech Round, Race 2: Rea comments on the first zero of the year

After the victory in Race1 of the Acerbis Czech Round, in Brno, with which Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) set a new record of successes in the top series derivative championship, overtaking Carl Fogarty, 60 against 59, he was obviously at shotgun hunting.

The Champion was however aware that starting from a rear position, third row, combined with the dangers of the very slippery track, could create some problems for him: he had a cautious approach to the race, taking his time to get out of the group of riders.
In overtaking Tom Sykes he waited for the right moment but unfortunately it didn't go according to his plan: from his point of view, he was thrown out by his teammate at the entrance to Turn 12 as he took the outside line.
For Rea it is the first zero of the season, the last time it happened at Magny-Cours in 2017, with which he still maintains a 65 point lead in the general classification.

S“It's not the end of the weekend we expected, it was a great weekend for many reasons, but we didn't end it the way we wanted. It's not nice to get kicked out of the race, but that's how it happened. I felt good on the bike, I asked my mechanics to write 'smooth' on the bike to remind me that the race had 18 laps and that my pace throughout the weekend had been faster than everyone else's. I had no urgency to go to the front and take risks" – he stated Jonathan Rhea – “Unfortunately, on the first lap I took a look at Tom at the last corner and the door suddenly closed. I touched his rear wheel, so I decided to wait, but what happened next ended my race. We have to try and start from here, we have increased our lead in the standings, that's the only positive thing about today. But let's move on."