Rea: ‘Nobody deserves to win here in WorldSBK, you have to really earn it’

Although the six-time WorldSBK champion managed three podiums last time out, Rea was no match for Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu, which has been a common theme in recent rounds. 

Seeing his chances of a seventh world title dwindling, Rea knows he needs to return to winning ways in San Juan which has been made all the more important after failing to register a win in Portimao, a circuit he dominated at for years. 

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Rea, who is now 82 points down on Bautista in the WorldSBK standings, said: "You’re never out of the championship until it’s over but I’m so far away now, I’m just thinking about maximising our opportunities and trying to be competitive." 

"I want to be on the podium but also, I want to fight for race wins. Portimao was a weekend where we really targeted to win a race there. 

"We can’t be too hard on ourselves because I feel like we really made a step forward, just not enough. Alvaro and Toprak are incredibly strong right now, together with their teams. 

"It’s up to us to try and close that deficit down and challenge. Nobody deserves to win here in WorldSBK, you have to really earn it and work for it. That’s what we’ll do. 

"We’ll roll our sleeves up, try and put a bike together that can compete with them." 

Razgatlioglu having nightmare about Ducati’s top speed

While Razgatlioglu has enjoyed a lot more success than Rea of late, the reigning world champion has also seen his chances of making it back-to-back titles begin to slip away.

Bautista has won races at three rounds that were expected to suit Razgatlioglu and Rea heavily - those being Most, Magny-Cours and Portimao - which is part of the reason why a 56 point gap separates the two. 

Fearing Bautista and Ducati’s top speed could lead to a similar advantage to that of Catalunya where the series leader won all three races, Razgatlioglu said: "I’m really happy to be back in Argentina; I love this track. In 2018, 2019 and 2021… every year, I’ve taken a podium! 

"Also, last year, I took two wins and one third. This year, I’ll try for three wins! We are very strong; Jonny is very strong too but I’m just thinking in the long straight because the Ducati will have an advantage. 

"We will see in the races as they’re very important; we will keep fighting. I think the best track will be in Indonesia, as there’re no long straights. 

"However, it’s important here as we’re focussed on this race and this weekend."