"Jonathan's criteria was that he wanted to stay with Honda. He's got a difficult winter ahead of him because he's got a three-month period where he's out of action because of the knee ligaments he needs to have repaired. That operation could have been deferred for another year, but he quite rightly wants to put it behind him and get it out of the way as soon as possible," Burnett told
Crash.net Radio
"So taking that into consideration, and that there's quite a big learning curve between a domestic championship and a world championship, Ten Kate felt that the best opportunity was for him to have a year in Supersport. And knowing that he can ride a Superbike there's no risk - once he knows the tracks - in putting him on a Superbike.
"Whereas in the past most World Supersport riders have never ridden a Superbike, the risk is that they know the tracks but they are not a proven Superbike rider. At least Jonathan is a proven Superbike rider and that should put him in a good position for the future," concluded Burnett, who also manages
James Toseland and Neil Hodgson.
Rea, currently second in the BSB series behind HM Plant Honda team-mate and reigning champion Ryuichi Kiyonari, turned down Ducati to sign a three-year deal with Ten Kate.
