JONATHAN Rea has been crowned the 2015 World Superbike Champion with two rounds of the season reamaining.
The Northern Irish rider clinched world title in race one at Jerez after finishing just off the podium in fourth position.
Rea started his time on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R at Aragon 17th November of last year with the support of Kawasaki Racing Team's Manager and former rider Guim Roda.
The Isle of Man resident arrived in Malaysia at the start of August with a mathematical chance of claiming the title, despite three rounds remaining of 13.
After race one at Jerez, he has now won 12 races this season and picked up 20 poidum finishes from 21 races which means he is now chasing Doug Polen's 1991 record of 17 race victories in once season.
Rea is only the third rider to win the crown on a Kawasaki motorcycle and his raw talent has never been questioned over the past six seasons which were contested on Honda machinery. The 28-year-old's switch to the green machine saw his maximum potential extracted and his professionalism increase.
'I have always believed that we were capable of winning a world championship right after I had stepped off a supersport bike onto a superbike,' explained Rea.
'Now, in this moment, it just feels like my time to be honest. It feels a bit like everything has gone my way a bit, even when a couple of things could have gone wrong. Like when the rain came in Portimao and I had a slide with the front in the wet, and caught it on my knee. When I had a big moment at Donington in lap one, and I landed straight back on the seat again, and was able to pick up a second place…'
Continuing, the Champion said: 'It has just panned out for me so smoothly. I have never had that happen before. I have been in superbike quite a while and I have had two seasons that were dogged with injury, with my wrist and femur issues in 2011 and 2013.
'The most special thing, really, is not just right now where we are, and in the position we are now in, it is joining Kawasaki and a team that had been so successful over the past few seasons, sharing a garage with one of the strongest riders in World Superbike.
'To come out and win the first race at Phillip Island… that is a feeling and memory that I will take with me for a long time. That felt amazing so from that point on every weekend - where even if we couldn't qualify on the front row, or even the second row – because we have qualified in seventh or eighth position, we still won quite a few races.
'It is a testament to all the hard work that not just Pere Riba my crew chief, or Paolo Marchetti my electronics guy, but all the mechanics put into making sure we have a package on Sunday that works. It is proof that the Ninja ZX-10R is, if not the best one, then certainly one of the best packages right now on the grid.'
There are only two rounds remaining of the 2015 World Superbike Championship, but there is already a new Champion as the season starts to come to an end before the madness of 2016 begins.
