The history Rea could make at the French Round

Reigning Champion Jonathan Rea is on the verge of re-writing history once again as WorldSBK heads to Magny-Cours

Writing history and breaking records is something Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) has been getting used to in recent year, having won five MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship titles from 2015 to 2019. As WorldSBK prepares to take to the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours for the Pirelli French Round, Rea is on the verge of two more historic milestones.

It is possible for Rea to clinch his sixth consecutive World Championship across the French Round, and the fourth he will have secured in France, if he leaves Magny-Cours with a 63-point lead over his nearest challenger; Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) is currently second in the Championship and trails Rea by 51 points.

Any potential Championship-crowning moment will need to wait until Sunday at the earliest as Rea can only be far enough ahead after the Tissot Superpole Race, where he will need to be 87 points clear of Redding to clinch the title ahead of Race 2. Clinching the title after the Tissot Superpole Race will mean Rea will win his sixth Championship title in his 300th WorldSBK race as he becomes the fourth rider to reach that milestone after Troy Corser, Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) and Noriyuki Haga.

There are currently three riders who can stop Rea winning his sixth title, with Redding 51 points back, Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) 102 points away from Rea and Michael van der Mark (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) 112 points back with 124 points available across the remaining six races. In order for Rea to win the title, he needs to outscore Championship rival Redding by 12 points across the three Magny-Cours races as he currently leads the WorldSBK rookie by 51 points.

A sixth title is not the only record in Rea’s grasp at Magny-Cours as he could also become the first rider in WorldSBK history to win a century of races. Rea is currently top of the all-time winners’ list, with 97 victories, meaning Rea will need to win all three races at Magny-Cours to claim his 100th WorldSBK victory.

Magny-Cours is a circuit Rea has lots of success at with 12 podiums out 19 races at the French track, including six victories, and will need to complete his second hat-trick of the 2020 season in order to reach the incredible milestone. Having gone well at Magny-Cours in the past, Rea will be hoping for a treble win in France as he looks to secure title number six and his 100th win; something that he can achieve in the same race should results go his way.

Source: The history Rea could make at the French Round