Things could not have turned out much better for Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) at Laguna Seca: two dominant wins, a first double on US soil, and an increased lead in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship standings. But with a new track comes a completely different challenge: the Pirelli Riviera di Rimini Round awaits around the corner, and the Northern Irishman cannot afford to rest on his laurels.

Proof of that is in last year’s races at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Rea failed to win either race in 2017, one of only three rounds where that happened (Imola and Lausitzring were the other two anomalies). He’s since taken two victories in Italy just a couple of months ago, and has looked increasingly impressive since the European rounds started this year, increasing his gap with Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) to 75 points. But with ten races and 250 points still left to fight for that lead is anything but unassailable.

The three-time world champion has spent the last week cooling off after two fiery performances at Laguna Seca: “Misano is one of my favourite races of the season. This year we planned a holiday before the race with my family, staying on the beach with our motor home. It sets the weekend up perfectly as I feel recharged for the last race before the summer break”.

Refreshed and reloaded, Rea is ready for his Misano return: “The circuit is pretty straightforward and has a mix of everything. Although it’s flat, it’s still a challenge to find a compromise with set up, so we will work hard on Friday to make sure we can be competitive. It’s important to strengthen our position in the championship. Our target is to keep working the way we have in the previous races and maximise our potential.”

Relive the reigning champion’s epic Laguna Seca double and rev up for the Rimini di Riviera Round thanks to the WorldSBK VideoPass.