Jonathan Rea: “World Superbikes need a MotoGP star to boost interest!”

In an exclusive interview with Autosport, the reigning three-time World Superbike Champ has been outspoken about what the championship needs in order to bolster waning interest and low crowd numbers.

Rea told the world’s best automotive sport site: “Sometimes all the best riders aren’t always on the best bikes, and I feel like Superbikes is an amazing place to be.

“But it would be really nice to get some real star quality from MotoGP to come here. Not guys that are finishing their career or guys that have nothing left.

“Them guys, they can go somewhere else because there are better riders here than at the back of the MotoGP grid.

“We need a star from GP to come here, and I think that will then lift the public perception, ‘wow, these guys are fast: [Eugene] Laverty, [Chaz] Davies, [Tom] Sykes, me’. Fast guys.

“It would be incredible, it would give Superbikes more prestige to be honest. There’s hundreds of things that you could do, but of course we’re always going to play second-best to MotoGP when you talk about fan interaction and prestige.”