THE SUPERBIKE KING
He might be the most successful rider in World Superbike history, but J onathan Rea’s career has had more ups and downs than an Easyjet flight to Malaga, making his Foggy-crushing record of 6 0 race wins undeniably impressive. Y et even so, those of us with a short memory might think of the World Superbike C hampionship as a tedious procession with the Northern Irishman in front, followed not-so-closely by a chasing pack of desperados. But between horrendous injuries, battling on average machinery and years of tireless prep, Rea has worked barbarically hard at creating a pretty impressive legacy. H e might not have the charisma of Marc Marque , the fanatical support of Valentino Rossi or the brutally alluring nature of C arl Fogarty, but he is just as fast on two wheels as any of those. And surprisingly, when I got to sit down with him over tea and cakes, he was way more brutally honest than I’d ever have expected the softly-spoken champ to be...
Easing in
When you get 2 0 minutes to chill out and chat with a factory rider, it’s all about picking your words carefully so you can get the real info – and not the P R bullsh* t. This meant that before we got into the nitty gritty,
