Rea, goodbye to Kawasaki: the six-time world champion marries the Yamaha challenge

The changes of “jacket” of the riders are part of the game and, although sometimes “suffering”, they are good for motorcycling, bringing a breath of fresh air. In Sbk there is great movement as confirmed by the announcement of the arrival of Jonathan Rea at Yamaha. Rea, after nine seasons, 104 race wins and six consecutive world titles with the “verdona” between 2015 and 2020, in addition to 250 overall podiums in his career, starting around the age of 37, had two possible paths as a driver: either get by with the Kawasaki in trouble (motorcycle at the limit of its development) until the contractual expiry of 2024 or change shirt, looking for a competitive motorcycle capable of bringing him back to fight for the victory of races and the championship.

the options

—

Having overcome the first eight rounds of the season with great difficulty, Rea holds on to third place in the general standings after having achieved just one win and ten podiums, 251 points in the standings with a heavy gap of 176 points from Bautista and 102 from Toprak. Given the opportunity for a relaunch that had opened up in Yamaha, Rea didn’t let it slip by resolving the contract with the Akashi manufacturer a year in advance and signing a two-year contract with Yamaha. A gust of fresh air and a healthy boost for Yamaha which, after the abandonment of its number one Razgatlioglu no longer knew which saint to turn to, remained with Andrea Locatelli, a great rider but not at the level of the trio of aces Bautista, Razgatlioglu, Rea. These are Rea’s words: “I will leave KRT at the end of the season. I want to thank all KMC and KRT employees for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to demonstrate my worth at the highest level. I have learned and grown tremendously as a person and as a rider from the first day I got my legs on the Ninja ZX-10R Factory Superbike. Now, looking back on our journey, it fills me with pride at the joy and happiness we have brought to Kawasaki fans and owners around the world. This is not a farewell, because it is not a farewell to the family, but it is simply the end of this incredible chapter. I wish all KRT members the best of luck with the chapters that are sure to follow. See you on the track. Winning six consecutive WorldSBK championships will always be the highlight of my time with Kawasaki, but there will also be the amazing memories, life lessons and laughter I will carry with me into the future.”

talk about seynes

—

Eric de Seynes, president and CEO of Yamaha Motor Europe, enthusiastically comments on Rea’s arrival: “We are very happy to welcome Jonathan to the Yamaha family and are very motivated to work with him for the future. We have the same motivation to win and the same passion for WorldSBK. Like him, we have been world champions in recent years and we want to get back to the top of the table once again. Jonathan’s grit, determination and hunger for success have been constant throughout his career and these attributes will contribute to our future joint success.” “We truly believe that Jonathan can increase his worldwide palmarès, writing his name even bigger than him in the history books, and we are equally confident that he can do it together with us. We are working hard to further improve our race-proven Yamaha R1 to ensure Jonathan has exactly what he needs to achieve his and Yamaha’s goals in 2024 and 2025.”