After two true Jonathan Rea classic WorldSBK Assen wins on Saturday and in the Superpole race on Sunday morning, the six-time champion was heading for what he hoped would be a victorious triple at Assen by winning race two.

As everyone who had even heard about the race knows, the main talking point was a collision with Toprak Razgatlioglu on the exit of Haarbocht on lap six.

Razgatlioglu ran wide after outbraking himself slightly, running onto the kerbs, then rejoining the asphalt - just as Rea was heading for that same piece of racetrack.

Without clear multi-angle wide shots, and maybe/maybe not, onboard cameras, the arguments about who’s fault it was raged. A racing incident seems the best answer all round, as there is no smoking gun unless... you are wearing green or blue uniforms.

Rea said of the crash, “It might be hard to get really angry about it or point fingers, but from my point of view, I drew alongside Toprak on the start/finish straight. He braked 15 meters later than normal. He stopped the bike on the curb before going off.

"He sacrificed so much speed that in my normal apex racing line, also Bautista behind me coming, was so much faster. In this situation at Assen, normally the guy on the outside gives way because someone is coming from the inside. Like I did in Turn One on the first lap of the race with Lecuona. I went deep. I understand you can’t come back onto the track. You can’t make sudden movements into the racing line. I was committed to my line going in T2.”

Rea added more evidence to his claim for unfair race dismissal. “I was in front when we came together because he (Toprak) hit my hip on the rear side. So, unfortunate because it really soured our weekend. My team gave me an incredible bike. Good pace. I was just picking my track position after a bit of a messy start. A little bit frustrated for myself, also for Toprak as well and the fans. We were deprived of a good race, but two into one when that happens it doesn’t work.”

Rea’s Superpole Race win was enough to give him 100 race wins on a Kawasaki, miles more than the next best single make race winner, Carl Fogarty, who took 55 wins for Ducati.

“We have to be happy with that,” said Rea of his 100th green win. “It was a great morning for us. Of course, didn’t finish in the best way, but I think we can take a lot of confidence that our package is working really good. I feel good with the bike. Fortunately, both myself and Toprak aren’t injured. It was quite a contact and also quite a high-speed crash.”

Rea did not have a talk with Razgatlioglu soon after the incident, and he could not hear what Razgatlioglu said as they were trying to get their bikes going again - unsuccessfully in each case.

“This is adrenalin,” he said about Razgatlioglu’s gravel trap comms. “I can’t hear. It’s helmets, noise. The bike was full of stones. The marshals wouldn’t let me try it (to restart).

When asked again about the crash Rea said, “He was wide. The facts are he made a mistake. He’s wide. Not off the track, but wide. He’s completely slowed the speed down to avoid going off the track. Instead of giving room to me who he knows is right beside him, because I almost overtook him in T1, he committed to come straight back on the track. I was on the racing line carrying a normal race speed.

"If it’s a data thing and I check my data it’s normal, probably slower, because I anticipated maybe something. I was three at this point. I expected in this position some space, but there wasn’t. It’s unfortunate because we threw away points when I felt like I could race for 25 today.”

In summation neither Rea not Razgatlioglu were summoned to Race Direction, which is maybe the most telling analysis of the incident. “No. I haven’t had a call,” confirmed Rea. “I did see a note on screen that there’s no further investigation needed. It’s a complete racing accident. When I’m on my racing line racing… It stems from a mistake from Toprak in T1.”

Rea was in the wars from the off, and he was tagged by Garrett Gerloff early on. “Yeah, I felt a big impact,” confirmed Rea. “My line, you’ll see from most of the race, behind Toprak and Bautista, I was opening that corner up a little bit to cut back, pick up, and go. My drive from T5 was incredible. He probably committed to a pass that the door closed. He marked my rear. You know where you put the bike stand on? That’s like not broken, but bent. So, it was a bit of an impact.”

Until the crash that ended his Race, it had already been exciting for Rea in race two, after a slow start and some early hold-ups. “I made a mistake,” said Rea. “I got a horrible start. Went into T1 in third position, then another rider, maybe Locatelli I think, my inside. I had to release the brake a bit to be safe, to give him space. But I was off the track then.

"I gave way to Lecuona for T2, and then it was my position. I didn’t race with Lecuona so I expected I could go in T5 in the inside, but the door was always closed. Then I had to reevaluate where I was going to pass him. So, it took me some time to get track position, but when I did, I think we were one of the fastest on track.”

Even after all that early action, without the final crash Rea felt he could have left Assen with three wins. “Yeah, I felt good. Already in traffic, I was able to push the fastest lap of the race. I felt if I could get my track position… I felt like Toprak’s pace wasn’t so fast. He was trying to slow his pace down a little bit when Alvaro was in the front. I guess he was going to string it out a little bit, so I just wanted to be there. But we didn’t get to that point.”

Rea, like the rest of the world, sees a three-way fight for overall supremacy in 2022. “I think it’s going to be a season-long battle between all three of us, to be honest,” said Rea. “That’s my honest opinion.”