Wait is almost over as Jonathan Rea closes in on record sixth World Superbike title at Estoril

Rea only needs three more points to retain his crown at Estoril in Portugal, where a round of the championship is being held for the first time since 1993.

The Northern Ireland rider leads Ducati’s Scott Redding by 59 points going into the eighth and final round, with a maximum of 62 available over the three races.

Barring a catastrophe, Rea should secure the world crown after race one on Saturday (14:00 BST), but the 33-year-old is too long in the tooth to take anything for granted.

“It is super-exciting going into the final round with a championship to play for after what has been a very strange year with only eight rounds,” Rea said.

“Going into the last round with an advantage in the standings is really positive. Estoril is a new track for us so I am really excited to learn it. It is always a good challenge and I feel that with the Ninja ZX-10RR we always arrive in new circuits with a strong base.

“Friday will be about learning the track, working out our potential and remaining calm,” he added.

“Because it is a new track I am sure we will find some challenges but the layout looks like it should suit us.”

The Ulster rider also has no plans to change his approach this weekend and Rea is targeting the top step with the huge incentive of an incredible 100th career WSBK victory up for grabs.

“We will try to build the package to fight for the podiums in all races, which is the target,” he said.

“It has been a strange season under this new working environment and this is our last opportunity to go racing this year. I hear we may have some fans back again at this round, like we did in France, which was super-nice.”

Rea has won 11 times so far this season and narrowly missed out on clinching the title for the fourth successive year at Magny-Cours in France in the previous round, where the Kawasaki rider previously celebrated championship glory in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

He won the first two races of the weekend and needed a rostrum finish in race three to become champion, but Rea had to settle for fourth in the end as his inevitable coronation was temporarily delayed until the final round.

In addition to the riders’ title, Kawasaki also leads the Manufacturer’s Championship by 26 points with one round remaining, while Rea’s Kawasaki Racing Team is ahead in the Teams’ Championship by 16 points.

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