Despite going faster than HRC test team rider Stefan Bradl and his prototype Honda MotoGP bike at Jerez, Jonathan Rea (KRT WorldSBK) said that the single motivation of beating MotoGP times was not the main thing at work for him in Jerez.

“Not at all, to be honest,” he said, indicating that it was just the fact that his best time was finally faster once the Q tyres had been unleashed.

“I felt we had achieved our goals but they suggested to do a time attack at the end. I didn’t think about Bradl at all; I thought about doing a good lap time for me. But when I saw again faster than a MotoGP bike; that was a nice bonus after a good test. We did a lot of laps and got through a lot of stuff, so it is one plus, we can say.”

With some justification Bradl, or any other MotoGP rider, could point to the fact that Rea and the top Superbike guys finally had access to special Pirelli qualifying level ‘Q’ tyres, but Bradl on his race Michelins did not. For Rea, that does make some difference, but had a point or two of his own about WorldSBK tech v MotoGP tech.

“Yes, but it is different, you cannot compare,” said Rea. “He has 20kmph on the back straight, carbon brakes, a light bike. You can’t compare, it is completely different. OK, we have s soft tyre, but we are riding a bike you can buy in a shop, spend £100,000 and make it fast.

“You should not be able to compare, there should be more difference, but of course today I was faster than the HRC MotoGP bike.”

Rea agreed that part of the reason for this is also that this test was undertaken at Jerez – lots of corners and few straights, all short - and things would be different at different circuit with an even longer straight or faster design. “Of course, we are using five gears here but already in a fifth gear straight they are 20kmph faster,” said Rea.

Can you imagine going to Aragon with sixth gear and a long back straight? Or Argentina, or Mugello? I would be a huge difference. But in Jerez us old Superbike guys can still be quite fast.”

MotoGP and WorldSBK share some tracks for real racing of course, and this weekend coming Portimao in Portugal goes from only WorldSBK to a full-on MotoGP race circuit, for the season finale. It is a uniquely undulating and dramatic stadium-style circuit, with lots of blind entries and tricky sections even for a Superbike.

So what does Rea think MotoGP is going to look like at Portimao. “I don’t know,” he stated, before saying, “It is a rider’s circuit. Already MotoGP has got a huge plus this year, because many riders and teams have been fast – factory teams and satellite teams - which is great. It is in a great place. But the difference is going to be the rider in Portimao, whoever can get the feeling. It is quite a difficult circuit. I see a lot of the guys have been testing there with their streetbikes and some testing riders have been there with their GP bikes. It is going to be a huge challenge and whoever wins the race deserves a lot of kudos. First, there will have mastered Portimao and secondly they have worked the best throughout the weekend. A lot of riders can always bank on their experience when they go to tracks, but this one everyone starts from almost zero. It will be nice to see.”

When asked who his money was on, Rea demurred to begin with “I don’t know, to he honest I didn’t follow the tests,” he stated. “MotoGP is so unpredictable. I think someone like Joan Mir can do a really good job. The Suzuki turns very well and does everything really good.”

Rea was also asked his opinion about Mir winning the championship on a Suzuki? “It is a nice story for him because he is two years in the championship, like almost a rookie and he put an incredible season together. When I look from the outside at his project it is very similar to the KRT project.

“It is like a human team, a lot of good people involved. When you look from the outside - and I have been to the circuit also – people are smiling. When you go to some of these boxes the curtains are up and have security guards. So it seems like a really happy environment he has, and it obviously suits him. It is nice to see – it has been a spectacular year.”

Rea thinks that a degree of bike continuity has also helped Suzuki’s successful challenge this season, particularly as there are limits on in-season development, and especially after his own experiences with long term models in WorldSBK.

“Even with old machines, in my previous team (Ten Kate Honda) my best season was my last season, and the bike was maybe eight years old,” said Rea. “We have seen in the past one of Ducati’s most competitive seasons was the last year of the V-twin. Also in 2020 our bike is derived from 2016, so continuity always helps.

“You can always make improvements. Sometimes when you start from absolutely zero it is so easy to get lost with engine development. But MotoGP are in tough (situation) – like Superbike. We have a production bike that we can’t change. But now you have fixed rules when you stat the season, if you have screwed up or give bad feedback in the off season then you have to start the season with the spec engine and that is super-tough, because there is no development anymore. No development during the season. If you have a bad test, it is really hard to go back on what you did.”