Jonathan Rea has well and truly etched himself into the world superbike record books, and in 2019 will attempt to win five crowns in a row on his all-conquering factory Kawasaki.
On the Thursday before the opening round of the 2019 championship at Phillip Island, automotive journalist Greg Rust sat down with the 32-year-old Northern Irishman to record the latest instalment in his popular Rusty’s Garage podcast.
MORE: 2019 WorldSBK Phillip Island wrap
In a wide-ranging interview, Rea spoke about his family’s Irish motorsport roots; his quick-fire ascent to world superbike greatness; his racing heroes (Americans Jeremy McGrath and Kevin Schwantz); how he’d like to do some vets motocross racing; and his burgeoning motorcycle collection – including, romantically, an Italjet 50 which he started his racing career on.
He also spoke effusively about his latest project: fitting a 250cc two-stroke engine into the latest KX450 motocross chassis, which normally houses a four-stroke powerplant. Yep, a hybrid, just for the hell of it…