Gino Rea

Gino Daniel Rea (born 18 September 1989) is an English motorcycle racer of Italian descent. In 2020 he competed in the FIM Endurance World Championship with Wojcik Racing Yamaha, finishing 4th in the World Championship Standings and joined the British Superbike Championship aboard a Suzuki GSX-R1000R with the Buildbase Suzuki team to replace an injured rider. Rea guided Wojcik Racing to their first ever Podium in the FIM EWC at the Bol d'Or 24hr, finishing in second position and winning the Dunlop Independent Cup,[1] following that up with another podium at the Estoril 12hr EWC race. Rea joined the Buildbase Suzuki team as a substitute rider at the fourth British Superbike race of the 2020 season and quickly showed his ability to adapt to a new bike and surroundings by topping the Free Practice session at Silverstone, lapping under the circuit record in only his second weekend on the bike. Rea went on to lead his first BSB race at Donington Park, finishing in 4th position across the line, just tenths from recording his first BSB Championship podium.[2]

Gino Rea
Rea in 2012
Nationality	British
Born	18 September 1989 Tooting, London, England
Current team	Buildbase Suzuki
Bike number	44
Motorcycle racing career statistics Moto2 World Championship Active years 2012–2014 Manufacturers Moriwaki, Suter, FTR, Speed Up Championships 0 2014 championship position 27th (7 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 46 0 1 0 0 36 Supersport World Championship Active years 2010–2011, 2015–2017 Manufacturers Honda, MV Agusta, Kawasaki Championships 0 2017 championship position 17th (31 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 59 1 7 0 1 361

Career

The 2009 European Superstock 600 Champion has a wealth of accolades and experience, with 23 podiums and 4 wins from European Superstock 600, World Supersport, Moto2 Grand Prix World Championship, Endurance World Championship and recently competing in the 2020 British Superbike Championship.[3] Gino Rea was born in Tooting, London.

European Superstock 600 Championship

Rea was a successful Motocross and Supermoto rider before switching to circuit racing in 2007. He began racing in the European Superstock 600 series in 2007, finishing 12th overall with a podium at Valencia. In 2008 he finished 3rd overall, taking a win at Portimão plus four further podiums and two poles. Rea won the Championship in his third year claiming a win and 6 podiums in total, clinching the title by a single point in the final round at Portimão.[4] He contested 32 races in the class, with 31 finishes including 12 podiums.[5]

Supersport World Championship

Rea tested Cal Crutchlow's 2009 title-winning Yamaha YZF-R6 in October 2009, before the team opted to withdraw,[6] and ultimately joined the Intermoto team.[7] He started 2010 with a solid run of top ten finishes. He finished fourth at Brno[8] before taking his first podium at Silverstone.[9] He finished a very close second to Eugene Laverty in the next round at the Nürburgring, but was excluded for a technical irregularity.[10]

Rea stayed in the World Supersport Championship for 2011 and although he suffered many retirements due to mechanical issues and crashes, Rea took his first World Championship Win at Brno in front of ex-World Champion Fabien Foret and 2011 World Champion Chaz Davies. Rea landed on the podium at his home race in Donington Park and went into the final race of the year in 5th position in the Championship standings. A mechanical failure there ended Gino's season on a low and it meant being bumped down to 11th in the final standings.

Moto2 World Championship

Rea went on to test for the Gresini Moto2 team at Valencia and Jerez, leaving Valencia as the quickest rider earning him the Gresini Moto2 ride for 2012. An up and down year meant Rea could not progress the way he wanted to but managed to get on the podium at Sepang, Malaysia. Rea crossed the line in the lead but as the red flag came out, the results were put back 2 laps, robbing Rea of the win but still a 2nd position. At the final race of the year, Gino battled for a podium spot with the Moto2 World Champion Marc Marquez but fell at turn 2. Rea rejoined for an 11th position, finishing 21st in the Final Points standings.

For 2013, Rea agreed to ride with the newly formed ESGP team in Moto2 but the team pulled out at the last minute (5 February), leaving him without a ride. But this major setback was not enough to stop Rea. He would stay in the race, even if he had to go it alone. With backing from UK bike manufacturer FTR and support from his loyal fans, Rea set about running his own team. Rea set up a Donation & Sponsorship page where the public could help keep him on track. Rea asked his followers to help him race by donating to his race fund but instead of just taking money, he decided to give back to his supporters. Rea created different packages, from signed photos, signed T-shirts to hospitality packages. With contributions from all of his supporters, Rea was able to compete at selected wildcard rounds of the Moto2 Championship during 2013.

Running his own team on a shoe-string budget was certainly challenging. Rea acted as his own crew chief, downloading and analysing the data, making the fuel maps and making tyre choices. Impressing in these selected rounds led to a team partnership with Montaze Broz, forming Gino Rea Montaze Broz Racing Team. They would compete in the remaining European rounds but would miss the three flyaway races in Malaysia, Australia and Japan due to budget constraints.

On 25 November 2013, Rea reached an agreement with Dave Peterson and Martin R. de Rooy to form World Motors Rea Racing to compete in the 2014 Moto2 World Championship on a full-season basis as a permanent team. With title sponsorship from AGT (American Green Technology), the team will be known as AGT REA Racing. 2014 got off to a difficult start with Gino breaking his left foot at the first pre-season test and the team struggled from then onwards. Gino scored his first point scoring finish at Assen, after making his way into the top 10, only to run off track and finish in 11th. Gino made good progress throughout the season, showing his potential towards the end of the season when he raced to 14th at Motegi after starting 23rd. Rea was on for a strong finish to the season and looked to score points at Sepang, Malaysia until a crash at turn 2 resulted in his right foot being run over, leaving him with 3 broken metatarsals.[11]

Gino had two plates and screws inserted and raced the following week at the final race in Valencia. Rea started from the back of the grid and finished a very creditable 24th, with 3 broken bones in his foot.

Return to World Supersport

During the first months of 2015, Gino's Moto2 team withdrew from the Championship leaving him without a ride for the season. Rea joined the CIA Landlord Insurance PTR Honda Team to make a return to the World Supersport Championship.[12] Gino had an operation in Melbourne just 2 days before Round 1 to remove a screw from his previously injured right foot. Having to wear a boot 2 sizes too big to fit his foot in, the Londoner still managed a spectacular race to finish on the podium in 3rd place. Gino went into the final few races in position to challenge for the top 5 in the World Supersport Championship standings but had to battle through injury after a horrendous crash at Magny Cours, France when his front brake locked on, sending him over the handlebars. Gino finished the 2015 World Supersport Championship in 6th.

In 2016 Rea signed with a newly formed team named GRT Racing, switching bike manufacturer to MV Agusta to remain in World Supersport.[13] Even with limited testing and race DNF's due to engine failures, Rea was able to consistently beat the MV Agusta Factory World Supersport Team, finishing on the Podium three times with a best finish of 2nd at Assen, Netherlands. Rea went into the final two races of the season in 4th position in the World Championship Standings but was forced to sit out of both remaining races after a collision with Japanese rider Hikari Obkubo which resulted in a broken left hand. Rea was ultimately pushed back to 7th in the 2016 series standings.

For 2017, Rea signed with Team Go Eleven Kawasaki to remain again in the World Supersport Championship.[14] A run of technical failures and uncompetitive machinery throughout the season resulted in a career worst Championship standing of 17th with a best finish of 6th at Misano, Italy. It marked the first year of World Supersport racing where Gino did not finish on the podium.

British Superbike Championship

In 2018 Gino Rea is made his debut in the British Superbike Championship with OMG Racing UK Suzuki,[15] with a wildcard entry in the Donington Park round of the World Superbike Championship, where he lined up with Championship regulars Jonathon Rea, Chaz Davies, Tom Sykes and Marco Melandri.

Rea made decent progress throughout the 2018 BSB season, finishing the year with a 7th-place finish at the Brands Hatch finale behind Championship winner Leon Haslam.

For 2020, Rea agreed to race in BSB for the Bike Devil Ducati racing team on the Ducati Panigale V4R that took Scott Redding to victory in 2019.[16] Due to Covid-19 and financial issues, the Ducati didn't arrive so the team made a last minute switch to a Kawasaki ZX-10RR.

After the first race weekend of the 2020 BSB season, Rea parted ways with the Bike Devil Racing team.[17]

Rea joined the Buildbase Suzuki team as a substitute rider at the fourth BSB race of the 2020 season and quickly showed his ability to adapt to a new bike and surroundings by topping the Free Practice session at Silverstone, lapping under the circuit record in only his second weekend on the bike. Rea went on to lead his first BSB race at Donington Park, finishing in 4th position across the line, just tenths from recording his first BSB podium.[18]

FIM Endurance World Championship

On 2 March 2019, Rea joined Polish Team Wójcik Racing Team as a rider in FIM Endurance World Championship in Formula EWC class. At the Bol d'Or 24hr Race, Gino led the race for 2 hours, taking the team to their first podium in the series and recording the first podium in history for a Polish team,[19] finishing in second position and first Dunlop Independent Team [20] as well as first privateer team.[21]

Rea went on to guide the Wójcik Racing Team to another podium, this time at the Estoril 12hr EWC round, finishing the 2019-2020 FIM EWC Championship in 4th Position and Dunlop Independent Cup Winners.[22]

Career statistics

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Bike	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Pos	Pts
2007	Suzuki	EUR 10	ESP 3	NED 23	ITA 14	GBR C	SMR 15	CZE 11	GBR 11	GBR 13	GER Ret	ITA 24	FRA 13	12th	41
2008	Yamaha	ESP 9	NED 9	ITA 8	GER 3	SMR 9	CZE 3	GBR 2	EUR 3	FRA 6	POR 1			3rd	132
2009	Honda	SPA 3	NED 1	ITA 7	SMR 8	GBR 2	CZE 6	GER 6	ITA 2	FRA 2	POR 3			1st	154

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Bike	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Pos	Pts
2010	Honda	AUS 10	POR 8	SPA 6	NED 7	ITA 9	RSA 9	USA 9	SMR Ret	CZE 4	GBR 3	GER DSQ	ITA Ret	FRA Ret	9th	83
2011	Honda	AUS Ret	EUR 3	NED 16	ITA Ret	SMR 10	SPA 6	CZE 1	GBR 11	GER Ret	ITA 11	FRA 22	POR 14		11th	69
2015	Honda	AUS 3	THA 10	SPA 4	NED 14	ITA 7	GBR 8	POR 4	ITA 4	MAL 8	SPA Ret	FRA 7	QAT Ret		6th	97
2016	MV Agusta	AUS 7	THA 9	SPA Ret	NED 2	ITA Ret	MAL 3	GBR 4	ITA 3	GER Ret	FRA Ret	SPA WD	QAT		7th	81
2017	Kawasaki	AUS Ret	THA DSQ	SPA Ret	NED 17	ITA 15	GBR 12	ITA 6	GER Ret	POR 14	FRA Ret	SPA 9	QAT 9		17th	31

By season

Season	Class	Motorcycle	Team	Race	Win	Podium	Pole	FLap	Pts	Plcd
2012	Moto2	Moriwaki	Federal Oil Gresini Moto2	17	0	1	0	0	25	20th
		Suter
2013	Moto2	FTR	Gino Rea Race Team Gino Rea Montáže Brož Racing	11	0	0	0	0	4	26th
		Speed Up	Argiñano & Ginés Racing
2014	Moto2	Suter	AGT REA Racing	18	0	0	0	0	7	27th
Total				46	0	1	0	0	36

By class

Class	Seasons	1st GP	1st Pod	1st Win	Race	Win	Podiums	Pole	FLap	Pts	WChmp
Moto2	2012–2014	2012 Qatar	2012 Malaysia		46	0	1	0	0	36	0

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Bike	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Pos	Pts
2012	Moto2	Moriwaki	QAT 26	SPA 15	POR 28																20th	25
		Suter				FRA Ret	CAT Ret	GBR 24	NED 21	GER 17	ITA 19	IND 19	CZE 23	RSM Ret	ARA 21	JPN 24	MAL 2	AUS 20	VAL 12
2013	Moto2	FTR	QAT	AME	SPA	FRA NC	ITA	CAT	NED 24	GER 23	IND	CZE Ret	GBR Ret	RSM 21	ARA 17				VAL 19		26th	4
		Speed Up														MAL 17	AUS 14	JPN 14
2014	Moto2	Suter	QAT Ret	AME 25	ARG 30	SPA 26	FRA 19	ITA 21	CAT 22	NED 11	GER 25	IND 25	CZE 26	GBR 20	RSM 22	ARA 17	JPN 14	AUS 21	MAL Ret	VAL 24	27th	7

References

1. staff, WorldSBK. "Rea and Wójcik Racing take Independent Team honours at Bol d'Or". Bikesport News. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
2. "BEST SUZUKI RESULT FOR REA AS NEAVE PODIUMS AT DONINGTON". www.suzuki-racing.com. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
3. http://www.ginorea.com/biography
4. "Gino Rea secures title". George White. George White Motorcycles. 27 October 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
5. "Gino Rea — Superstock 600 European Champion". Superbike World Championship. Infront Motor Sports. 2 November 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
6. "Ellison, Gino Rea testing for Yamaha". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 27 October 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
7. "Gino Rea 'so excited' about Supersport bow". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
8. "Rea revved up for Silverstone debut". Streatham Guardian. Newsquest. 27 July 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
9. Evans, Mike (5 September 2010). "World Supersport win for Eugene Laverty". Girlracer. Girlracer Group. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
10. "Intermoto considers appeal after Rea exclusion". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
11. http://www.ginorea.com/biography
12. Rushby, Oli. "Gino Rea to make shock World Supersport return". Bennetts UK. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
13. "Gino Rea, Wagner join new MV Agusta team". Crash. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
14. "Team GOELEVEN Confirms Gino Rea for 2017". www.worldsbk.com. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
15. Bennetts. "Gino Rea to make British Superbike debut in 2018". Bennetts UK. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
16. "Rea returns to BSB with Bike Devil Ducati". Crash. 23 November 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
17. BarstowTue, Ollie; Aug 2020, 18. "Gino Rea exits Bike Devil Kawasaki team after one round". Visordown. Retrieved 2 November 2020.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
18. "BEST SUZUKI RESULT FOR REA AS NEAVE PODIUMS AT DONINGTON". www.suzuki-racing.com. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
19. WRT. "Polish Team Wojcik Racing creates a history! A break through success in the world championship! | Wójcik Racing Team" (in Polish). Retrieved 2 January 2020.
20. https://www.fimewc.com/wojcik-racing-team-win-ewc-dunlop-independent-trophy-at-the-bol-dor/
21. https://www.fimewc.com/gino-reas-unforgettable-bol-dor/
22. Moreno, Valérie (28 September 2020). "Wójcik Racing Team win EWC Dunlop Independent Trophy at Estoril". FIM EWC | Endurance World Championship. Retrieved 2 November 2020.

External links

• Profile on WorldSBK.com
• Profile on MotoGP.com
• Profile on BritishSuperbike.com