World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea pays homage to Irish motorcycling's 'birthplace' - home of Joey Dunlop and the Armoy Armada

Jonathan Rea paid homage to the Armoy Armada and the ‘birthplace’ of Irish motorcycling as he continues to blaze a trail in the World Superbike Championship.

The Kawasaki rider is tightening his grip on a record sixth consecutive world crown after extending his lead at the top over Ducati’s Scott Redding to 51 points following round six at Catalunya in Spain at the weekend.

On Saturday, the 33-year-old won the first race to clinch his 97th career WSBK victory and his ninth win of the 2020 season so far.

Rea dedicated the triumph to the memory of his grandfather John – one of Joey Dunlop’s first sponsors – who passed away 27 years ago, and also reflected on the history of Irish motorcycle racing and the legendary Armoy Armada road racing quartet of Dunlop, Frank Kennedy, Mervyn Robinson and Jim Dunlop.

“Armoy is the home of the Armoy Armada where motorcycling in Northern Ireland was born and we went to take on the world,” Rea said.

“Northern Ireland is a small place and you don’t have to travel too far to arrive on roads that are steeped in history – the North West 200 is not even an hour’s bicycle ride from my house.

“There’s the Dark Hedges, which is phenomenal for motorcycling because it’s near Joey Dunlop’s hometown. It’s super-cool to be able to absorb that feeling when I’m out training.

“It was so nice that my grandfather was part of that and he got involved in Joey Dunlop’s career right at the very beginning,” added Rea, who also paid tribute to fellow Kawasaki rider Ana Carrasco – the first female motorcycling world champion – who has been ruled out for the remainder of the World Supersport 300 season through injury after a crash in testing.

“Obviously Ana Carrasco can’t be here with us so this win is for her and also for my grandfather – 27 years ago he died – so I was using that as a lot of power in the race,” Rea said.

“My dad got into racing through my grandfather as well and his passion for the sport, and that fed down to me.

“Our family holiday was a weekend break to the North West 200 and I would run around with the Irwin kids and Richard and Gary (Dunlop), Joey’s kids, and that was just normal for me.

“It’s a happy day for me and the team and I wish the fans and their families could be here to celebrate with us.”

Rea became the first-ever winner of a World Superbike race at Catalunya on Saturday after the venue was added to the calendar for the first time in 2020.

It was also a special moment for his Kawasaki Racing Team, whose headquarters are based a stone’s throw away from the circuit.

Starting from pole, Rea led all the way and closed out victory by 2.6s from nearest title rival Scott Redding (Aruba.it Ducati), whose team-mate Chaz Davies finished third.

On Sunday, the five-time champion finished as the runner-up in the Superpole race and fourth in race two as he increased his cushion over series newcomer Redding with two rounds to go.