World Superbikes: Rea dismisses Laverty criticism over taking part in race
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Jonathan Rea is the most successful rider in World Superbike history with five titles
Five-time World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea has dismissed Eugene Laverty's criticism of him for taking part in Saturday's race in Argentina.
Six riders sat out the opener over concerns about the track conditions.
The race went ahead without incident, but Rea's fellow Northern Ireland rider Laverty expressed his disappointment that the Kawasaki man had chosen to race.
"Opinions are opinions, and I had mine," said Rea.
Laverty, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Marco Melandri, Chaz Davies, Leon Camier and Sandro Cortese were the riders who decided not to compete as they believed the track to be too dusty and dirty, with the track temperature too high.
"Everyone has their point of view, whether they've got something to gain or not," Rea told Eurosport.
"I disagreed completely, flat-out, with marching onto the pit lane in our civvies like some kind of army, saying 'we're going to show them'.
"That's not the right thing to do and we have to try [to race]. This is a country that's really struggling and people have paid to come and see us, at least go to the grid.
"I said I was going to get changed and go (race)."
Eugene Laverty fractured both his wrists at Imola in May
The six riders who withdrew from the opening race released a statement saying they had "to stand up for what is right".
"They don't like that my opinion was different to their's," added Rea, "I'm not going to get peer-pressured into something that I don't want to do.
"Nobody held a gun to my head to go and ride. There were a lot of stories about getting fined but it has nothing to do with that.
"We're racing for a manufacturers' title as well, and while I felt the conditions were not ideal, we could race.
"We got a good race underway, we got 21 laps and those who started finished. We got 20 points at the end of the day."