Johnathan Rea takes a double victory at Phillip Island despite the new Reverse Grid Rules
- Mikaela
- Feb 26, 2017
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 25, 2021
Johnathan Rea makes it two for two at the Yamaha Finance Australian season opener of the Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island this weekend.
Taking away fifty points from the weekend was more than expected for the reigning World Champion, “Before yesterday, I hadn’t won before the summer break 2016 so it’s nice to start my campaign with 50 points.’’, he stated in a post race interview.
An intense last lap battle saw Johnathan Rea come out out top with his Kawasaki, followed closely by the Aruba.it Racing Ducati’s of Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri.
Despite the new reverse grid rules put in place by the FIM Superbike Commission, Rea wasn’t phased. Starting Race 1 on Saturday from pole position, Rea took the win. However, in accordance with the new rules winning Race 1 meant starting Race 2 from ninth on the grid. The rules making no impact on Rea, taking the lead by the third lap of Race 2.
The FIM Superbike Commission announced the new Reverse Grid rules at the end of last year at a meeting in Madrid, Spain. This change was seen by most as an attempt to bring back some excitement to the sport as its popularity seemed to be diminishing, however the riders had split opinions on the change.
Nicky Hayden expressed his support for the change, posting this on Twitter, “Looking forward to trying it. Definitely going to spice things up and give the fans a different & unpredictable race 2 (show)”. Tom Sykes, however, wasn’t as happy about the change.
Bill Nolan who has over twenty years of experience in motorsports is not a fan of the changes, “It’s obviously for the spectators. In my opinion it’s quite stupid. The speedway used to do the same, and it was aptly called ‘a butcher’s picnic’,” he said.
The World Superbike Championship will continue in Thailand on the 10th – 12th March.
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