Rea surprised Honda ‘hasn’t made a step forward’

The six-time world champion began his Superbike career with Honda and competed in six full seasons with the Japanese brand.

That was until he joined Kawasaki where he won all six of his titles before sealing a move to Yamaha for 2024. 

• Toprak: “If we had more power I would have easily fought for the title” 
• BMW: Toprak Razgatlioglu has ‘adapted well to the bike’

Arguably the slowest bike on the grid, Honda’s lack of competitiveness has been all-too visible in recent years which is why Rea called it the biggest surprise.

Speaking to WorldSBK.com about his 2023 campaign, Rea said this when asked about the biggest surprise: “How Honda hasn't made a step forward.”

Rea, who won just once in 2023 which is his lowest return since the 2013 season, also spoke about his best and worst moments of the year, saying: “Most race win because I was starving for a race win for so long and finally I got the opportunity in Most. 

“Indonesia, by far. We weren’t competitive and I was vomiting from both ends all weekend. It was a tough weekend to get through.”

Third in the standings, Rea called Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista the top two riders of 2023, although he had a surprising answer for the most disappointing rider.

“Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista of course,” began Rea. “I expected a lot more from myself. Honestly, I’m quite disappointed with some parts of my season.”

Although Rea and Kawasaki lacked the same competitiveness as we’ve seen in recent years, the Yamaha rider still had several great battles with both Razgatlioglu and Bautista.

Discussing his best battle of the year, Rea said: “With Toprak and unfortunately he passed me on the last lap at Donington where I was trying to do the cutback in the chicane but Alvaro came past. I went from first to third and was very disappointed.”