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Jonathan Rea has a record six consecutive Superbike World Championships and 107 Superbike race wins (also a record, by miles) on his resume. What he didn't have, until recently, was a motorcycle license.
Rea does occasional vblog posts on his YouTube channel and recently posted two videos about the process of getting his license to ride a motorcycle on the road. It's hard to imagine that his worries about whether he would pass the test aren't just a wee bit (to adopt a little Northern Irish dialect) of manufactured drama. I don't think it's a spoiler alert that the title is "I've passed my test!" You have to figure that a guy who can pass nine hypercompetitive Superbike riders in one lap (see the onboard video) can weave through some cones and negotiate some intersections. Plus, he even had his own personal professional coach.
I felt the video was worth mention for two other reasons, actually.
First, from a U.S. perspective, it's a good reminder of how much more effort people in other countries have to put in to get a motorcycle license. A few years ago, when we published an opinion piece by an instructor suggesting that it should be harder to get a license in the United States, it was, to put it mildly, a little controversial. (And getting a license isn't the only obstacle. On a totally different angle, see this video about women in Iran who face criticism and threats of having their motorcycles confiscated by the morality police just because they want to ride.)
Second, it's a good entry into Rea's YouTube channel. It doesn't have a huge number of videos, but the inside look at his weekend in Estoril last year when he clinched his sixth straight title is a good view of what goes on behind the scenes, inside the team on a race weekend.
I've long felt that World Superbike doesn't get the respect it deserves, largely because of Dorna's strategy of intentionally making it appear second class to grand prix racing, because they want to elevate MotoGP. That lack of respect goes double for Rea.
I guess that bike "learner" plate on the back of his street-going Kawasaki Z650 probably isn't going to help get him more respect among the public in Northern Ireland, either. At least not until he takes off his helmet and the locals see who that new beginner is.
