Back on the podium at home after a tricky round at Misano, Jonathan Rea continues to write records
The Prosecco DOC UK Round saw the ‘Titanic Trio’ of the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship renew their rivalry in the early stages, with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) at the thick of the action. After being relegated to third place by his rivals, the 36-year-old held on to third place in the closing stages of Race 1 and resisted constant pressure from behind to take a 250th podium, the first rider in WorldSBK to achieve it.
However, it was a 250th podium from Rea that served as one of the big take-aways from the opening duel at Donington Park. Rea first mounted the WorldSBK podium way back in 2009, at Kyalami with third in Race 2. That was back in his Honda days, and he racked-up an impressive 42 in total by the end of spell with the Japanese brand. Since moving to Kawasaki though, it’s been all about re-writing history, and the 250th podium is the latest chapter in an illustrious story. His nearest rival behind the 250 is Troy Corser on 130, whilst the nearest active rival is the Ulsterman’s arch-rival but good friend Toprak Razgatlioglu, who is on 97 and can be on 99 if things go his way on Sunday in the UK.
Speaking of the achievement, it came as a surprise to the #65 but he was happy with his achievements in what is his 14th full-season of action: “It’s incredible! It makes me feel very proud and very old! To hang around for 250 podiums is a long time in my career but I’ve found an amazing home in WorldSBK and I’ve enjoyed each and every podium. Each one has a great story, so long may it continue!”
Dorna WSBK