Rea: ‘I made a deal with my team to give them a signal, perfect decision to pit’

With the race getting underway in wet conditions but with bright blue skies above, it remained to be seen when the crossover point would occur, if at all during the first of three WorldSBK races this weekend.

Several riders further down the pack pitted first, but when it came to the leading quartet Rea was the first to head for pit lane.

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Directly behind him, Toprak Razgatlioglu followed the Kawasaki rider into pit lane, however, a much longer stop resulted in a six second gap being created, which was enough for Rea to take the win after Bautista and Lowes lost even more time due to pitting one lap (Bautista) and two laps (Lowes) later. 

"There were a lot of things going on in that race and that’s what makes the victory a little bit more special because my team were involved in the pit stop," said Rea. 

"We could be strong in the wet conditions and also the dry, and I made that perfect decision to come in. it was even potentially a lap too late. 

"I was thinking about coming in one lap earlier, but we made a deal with my team that I had to give them a signal on the pit straight. I thought I hadn’t given them the signal yet so came past so gave it one more lap and it was time. 

"I quickly checked to see who was coming. I knew it was the perfect time. I saw Toprak was there so I thought the last ten laps would be with him. 

"I exited the pit box and had a much better stop than Toprak and I could ride to my pit board."

Rea ends winless WorldSBK streak

While the win was impressive for many reasons, one of which was the bold decision to give up second place at the time of his pit stop, Rea’s speed throughout the weekend has been much more competitive than recent rounds.

The Kawasaki rider was in the midst of his longest-ever winless streak since moving to the Japanese manufacturer in 2015 - Race 1 in Australia would have been the 25th consecutive race without a win had he not managed to claim victory.

Although Rea has avoided dwelling on the disappointment of recent rounds as he had to watch Bautista and Razgatlioglu share wins between them, taking victory has come as somewhat of a relief for the Northern Irishman.

Rea added: "It’s nice, it’s really nice more than anything to win. It’s not something I’ve really been dwelling on since the beginning of the season because the season’s been so challenging. 

"Alvaro and Toprak have been so good so there’s no point in me getting disappointed or feeling sorry for myself. 

"We’re getting beaten now by guys who are riding very well and manufacturers that are pushing really hard. It’s motivating to keep working, to keep following them and keep challenging myself and my team. 

"I think we’re doing a really good job. Hopefully we can roll this momentum on to tomorrow and finish the season really strongly."