Jonathan Rea is retired. At least that’s what I had been told. After two difficult seasons with Yamaha, Rea announced his retirement from racing at the end of the 2025 season. Shortly thereafter, though, he signed on as a test rider with Honda HRC.
But it looks like Rea’s testing has turned into racing, with the Northern Irish motorcycle racer slated to line up on the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship grid at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. He’ll be taking the seat of the injured Jake Dixon, who sustained wrist fractures and a subsequent surgery after an off-bike incident during the WorldSBK Official Test at Phillip Island.
The six-time WorldSBK Champion ended his illustrious career with 119 wins, 264 podiums, and 470 race starts, along with claiming 44 pole positions, second all-time behind Tom Sykes’ with 51. Those are some serious numbers, so it’s no surprise that Honda HRC tapped Rea to fill in for the still-recovering Dixon as the WSBK heads to Portugal.
