First match point for Jonathan Rea in bid for record fifth World Superbike title at Magny-Cours

The Northern Ireland rider has seized control of the championship as he zeroes in on an unparalleled fifth championship in a row.

Rea has fond memories of the French venue, where he wrapped up his third and fourth titles in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

He currently leads Spaniard Alvaro Bautista by 91 points with three rounds to go and while the likelihood is that Rea will have to wait until either the penultimate round in Argentina or the final round in Qatar to be crowned next month, the 32-year-old can ensure the final outcome is a mere formality with a strong weekend at Magny-Cours, where free practice gets underway today.

Rea, who is the joint most successful WSBK rider at the circuit with Noriyuki Haga, said: “It is very exciting to go to Magny-Cours because it feels like the previous round in Portugal was a long time ago. I am ready to get back on the bike.

“Last weekend was the wedding of my crew chief Pere Riba, so we were all together as a team and we had a really good time together. Now we turn our attentions to Magny-Cours.

“It is a circuit that requires really good stability on the brakes and also a bike set-up that changes direction well. I feel that we are prepared as it will play to the strengths of the Ninja ZX-10RR in some areas and in some areas we need to find a set-up compromise,” added Rea, who has won 11 races this season.

“We need to keep one eye on the weather and one eye on performance. At Magny-Cours you never really know what weather cards you are going to get dealt. In any case I am ready to get stuck in.”

The season resumed after a lengthy summer break at Portimao in Portugal in the previous round, when Rea won two of three races.

Former MotoGP rider Bautista finally returned to winning ways with victory in the third race on the Aruba.it Ducati, putting a miserable spell behind him after his title advantage was wiped out by Rea.

Bautista will remain in World Superbikes next year, when he will spearhead the all-new HRC project on the factory Honda Fireblade.

Eleven of his 15 wins this season were achieved in the first 11 races of the season before things began to unravel for the 34-year-old, who will be hoping to improve his consistency in 2020.

Bautista said: “I am really happy, because I believe a lot in the new project with HRC. They want to come back to the World Superbike championship as a full factory team, so this has motivated me a lot.

“To join the HRC factory is very important, as they are an important factory and want to win in World Superbike again. The challenge for next year will be very difficult, but for sure, I will try and use my experience in the World Superbike championship from this season to develop the bike and hopefully, fight for victories.”

The 2006 125cc Grand Prix world champion made a whirlwind start to his rookie season in World Superbikes, streaking clear at the top with 11 straight wins on the new Panigale V4-R.

Together, they proved a formidable package and Bautista admits it was a tough decision to switch manufacturers and head up Honda’s challenge next season.

“It was not an easy decision to make for me, as I am really happy with the Ducati family,” he said.

“We started with the new bike and a new project, and we were winning a lot of races. It was not easy but the project that HRC offered me motivated me a lot, as we will start from zero. I feel like one of the most important people in this project.”

The first race at Magny-Cours will take place on Saturday after Superpole qualifying at 13:00 BST.

On Sunday, the Superpole race will be held at 10:00 BST with race two at 13:00 BST.