One of the riders who made his mark in the World Superbike Championship was Jonathan Rea. The rider who will represent Pata Yamaha in 2024 is the record holder for titles with six, but throughout his career, he was linked to MotoGP more than once.
He even competed with Repsol Honda as a substitute rider but never permanently joined the premier class. Instead, he remained loyal to WSBK.
Something that Ben Spies didn’t do, taking the risk of transitioning to MotoGP. The American said, quoted by SPEEDWEEK.com, that Rea would have had to adapt his riding style and might have felt that sticking with production-based bikes was the best way forward:
– Jonathan Rea is a rider who has enough talent to ride in MotoGP, but he would have had to change his style. Perhaps he thought it was better to stay in SBK and win titles than to go to MotoGP.
