The X-Rea Factor
It was a reward for Rea for his perseverance and sheer determination to succeed, and for his team's endless hard work to find ‘the combination' to allow their true potential to be translated into their first win since Ryuichi Kiyonari's at Donington last year.
Rea is of course highly positive about his prospects at Donington this coming Sunday, not just because it is his home race. "You could say I know which way the circuit goes..." joked Rea at the post race press conference in Misano. "It is really nice there and we'll come back strong at Donington. We have only had four or five days with our new suspension so with another seven in between we will get even better."
The cool-headedness which typified his approach to the race-long fight with Fabrizio at Misano is a characteristic that singles Rea out as a real prospect for the immediate and long-term future. His businesslike comments only 30-minutes or so after such a landmark win for him and his team just add to the impression that Rea is really going places. "I don't want to get carried away because I want to keep winning," said Rea. "When I crossed the line for the last time I didn't know what to think, but my first thought was that ‘I hope the boys in my team really enjoy this.' So I wanted them to have a few beers and savour the moment because next week we have another tough job ahead."
Still only 22 years old, Rea's racing education on a Superbike has been long in the making and a story of ever-increasing achievement. So although he may be a rookie in WSB, he is no stranger to Honda Fireblades.
He raced in Red Bull Honda colours in BSB as far back as 2005, finishing 16th that year, and even securing a pole position. One season later he was fourth overall, with four podiums and two poles. One year after that, in the official HM Plant Honda team, he was runner-up behind Kiyonari, taking five wins along the way. As an official Honda rider Rea has also had the chance to impress the Honda bosses in Japan, by running strongly in testing and racing at the Suzuka 8-Hour, so it looks like Honda is the way forward for the man from Northern Ireland.
His Supersport exploits in 2008 are well documented to regular WSS followers - three wins, six podiums in all and a runner-up spot only to his more experienced team-mate, Andrew Pitt.
With one WSB win down, Rea must be a favourite at a circuit he knows better than any other on the WSB trail.
