Jonathan Rea may be sitting 24 points adrift in the WorldSBK title fight but with four wins in Argentina under his belt he’s feeling optimistic.

The Kawasaki rider also has the momentum from Portimao’s final race win to fuel him as he heads to San Juan, the Andes venue having already seen Rea on the podium in every one of his five appearances, with second his worst result to date. His championship rival, however, has a similarly impressive record, with Toprak Razgatlioglu joining him on four of those podiums, in third, across 2018 and 19’s visits.

“I am very excited about the potential for Argentina,” Rea said ahead of his Argentina return. “Villicum is a track that I have enjoyed in the past. It is relatively new to the WorldSBK calendar but I think I have won four out of the five races there.

“I enjoy the layout of the track; it is quite quirky. It seemed impossible to do flyaway rounds this year so credit to the San Juan Government, Dorna and everyone for making it happen. And all the teams as well, because it is really tough to plan a long haul round with all the restrictions - but we are going. I am looking forward to it.

“After feeling really good and strong on the bike in Portugal it is good to go to Argentina now and hopefully carry that confidence on. Of course, it is time to think about the championship. We need to keep that in our minds, work hard and try to decrease the deficit in points. The target is to come away from Argentina with a smaller deficit in the championship, to take the fight to the final round.”