World Superbikes: Four talking points as Jonathan Rea aims for seventh straight World Superbike title

Seven months after clinching his sixth straight World Superbike title, Jonathan Rea begins his bid to add to that remarkable tally at the opening round of the 2021 series at Aragon this weekend.

Armed with a new version of the Kawasaki ZX-10RR, the Northern Irishman starts the new campaign as a clear favourite to retain his crown and further etch his name in the two-wheel motorsport history books.

With the championship starting three months later than in previous years, there has been plenty of time to look ahead to what may happen over the coming months - changes in the calendar and new circuits, a new Kawasaki for Rea, how the six-time champion can make more history, and who his main challengers are likely to be.

With the traditional February season-opener at Phillip Island having been called off, and the scheduled Assen and Estoril rounds pushed back in the calendar because of the Covid-19 pandemic, this year's World Superbike series has an unusual late-May start.

The Aragon curtain-raiser is the first of four rounds to be held in Spain, including a new circuit on the itinerary - Navarra in the north of the country, from 20-22 August.

The Assen round, initially pencilled in for April, moves to the end of July, while the Estoril circuit in Portugal is retained as part of the programme after being added to the roster of race venues in 2020.

The Iberian peninsula, which formed the backbone of last year's championship, hosts a potentially crucial series of back-to-back rounds late in the series from mid-September to early October.

The Most circuit in the Czech Republic was added to the calendar - that meeting will take place August - following confirmation of the cancellation of the Phillip Island round.

With an Indonesian event restored to the schedule for the first time since 1997 as the season finale at the new Mandalika circuit, there is a healthy mixture of the new and the more familiar for racers and bike fans to look forward to in terms of circuits - Covid permitting.

In Jonathan Rea's own words: "The last two seasons have represented very different challenges. This season it is like 'expect the unexpected'.

"You never know what's going to happen for three or four races. I aim to start strong and carry the momentum through the year."

Multiple champion Rea has been spending recent months getting to grips with the new version of the Ninja Kawasaki put at his disposal by the Japanese manufacturer.

Rea has pronounced himself happy with his new mount, describing it as better in every department than his previous title-winning bike, while urging caution as to the potential improvements made by his opponents during the close season.

For Rea, the introduction of the new Kawasaki is a welcome response to the new models brought out by rival marques in recent years - the Ducati Panigale V4, the revised Honda Fireblade and the new for 2021 BMW M 1000 RR.

In the sole official pre-season test at Barcelona on 1 April, the 34-year-old came out on top of the timesheets, 0.179 seconds ahead of his nearest rival in the 2020 championship, Ducati-mounted Englishman Scott Redding.

His team have also taken part in a number of other tests and will hope the changes made help the Ulsterman match and perhaps better the power advantage previously enjoyed by his rivals, which translated into greater straight-line speed.

In Rea's own words: "With every new bike there are always teething problems and a learning growth phase where you start to put the pieces together.

"Straight away the new bike felt better than the previous bike but there are still some areas to improve. Kawasaki have done an incredible job. The bike has more top speed and more aerodynamics. That should make us a bit more competitive than last year."

Now with a year of experience in the global series under his belt, Scott Redding is likely to pose a major threat to Rea's dominance.

Having finished 55 points behind the County Antrim rider in 2020, the former British Superbike champion's increased knowledge of his machine, his team and the circuits should stand him in good stead to challenge for race wins and the title.

Redding will have a new team-mate at Aruba Ducati this time round in the form of 25-year-old Italian Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who achieved his maiden race win last year at the Teruel round on his way to a seventh-place finish in the overall standings.

Rinaldi's former outfit, Team Go Eleven Ducati, will field Welshman Chaz Davies, who marked his departure from the Italian marque's factory line-up after seven years by winning the last race of 2020 at Estoril.

Turkish rider Toprak Razgatlioglu is joined in the Pata Yamaha squad by fellow 24-year-old, reigning World Supersport champion Andrea Locatelli, while American Garrett Gerloff will hope to build on his promising debut season which yielded three podium results as part of the GRT Yamaha team.

Honda retain Spaniard Alvaro Bautista and England's Leon Haslam for a second successive year but there is change in the BMW Motorrad team where Dutch rider Michael van der Mark joins Tom Sykes, who begins his third season with the German manufacturer.

BMW have increased their commitment to the premier class of motorcycle production-derived racing by introducing two satellite teams - Northern Ireland's Eugene Laverty in the RC Squadra Corse team and Jonas Folger for Bonovo MGM Racing.

Rea's team-mate, England's Alex Lowes, will also hope to improve on his sixth-placed finish last season.

A total of 23 riders of 12 nationalities from four continents make up a strong field for the 2021 series, with five manufacturers represented.

In Rea's own words: "It was a really tough championship last year. There were seven different race winners and any of those will have convinced themselves that if they put the season together they could be champion.

"I spend zero energy thinking about anyone else. I just focus on myself and my bike and I feel I stand as good a chance as anyone.

"Everyone starts from zero and everyone makes strides in the off-season so we'll not know exactly where we are until we get a few rounds over."

Having eclipsed every World Superbike record in terms of titles, race wins, podiums (185), fastest laps (78) and points (4,749.5), Rea needs just one more win to reach the magical total of 100 career race victories in the series.

Rea jointly holds the record for the number of race wins in a season with American Doug Polen, having taken 17 victories in 2018, but has some way to go to catch the benchmark of Tom Sykes' 50 pole positions. Rea currently boasts 27.

In the context of motorcycle tarmac racing, Rea could equal the tally of MotoGP series successes racked up by legendary Italian Valentino Rossi and draw within one of his compatriot Giacomo Agostini's record eight World Championship triumphs.

Agostini achieved seven of those titles in succession from 1966 to 1972.

And, for those who enjoy comparisons with motorsport as whole, a seventh World Superbike crown would see Rea match Lewis Hamilton's seven Formula 1 drivers' titles.

Rea's place in Northern Ireland sporting folklore is already assured but he could further enhance his reputation as one of his country's legends were he to continue his unprecedented sequence of successes.

In Rea's own words: "I'm in a winning bubble right now but that bubble will burst. I'm not silly enough to think that it is going to last forever.

"The pressure is gone and it's more like hanging onto the feeling now. I still enjoy the challenge.

"I used to think I could retire at 32 but now I don't see retirement for a few years yet."