WorldSBK: Jonathan Rea signs a two-year deal with Yamaha

Jonathan Rea has signed for Yamaha for a two-year contract.

Jonathan Rea will switch to Yamaha for the 2024 WorldSBK season after announcing his departure from Kawasaki. Rea will join Andrea Locatelli in the Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK team. Both Rea and Locatelli are on a two-year contract with Paul Denning’s Yamaha team.

Just hours after announcing his departure from Kawasaki, Rea will leave the time which he won over 100 races with. The six-time WorldSBK Champion won consecutive titles from 2015 to 2020 with the Japanese manufacturer.

Jonathan Rea is currently third in the 2023 WorldSBK Championship, behind Toprak Razgatlioglu. The highlight of his season came at Most, taking his first win of the season in race one. 

It will be Rea’s third manufacturer that he has raced for in WorldSBK, after beginning his career at Honda. His first appearance with Honda came in the final round of 2008, before signing for Kawasaki in 2015.

He will replace Toprak Razgatlioglu who will leave Yamaha at the end of the season after signing for BMW. 

President & CEO, Yamaha Motor Europe, Eric de Seynes, said: “We are very happy to welcome Jonathan to the Yamaha family and we are very much motivated to collaborate 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 be back on the top of the box once again. Jonathan’s drive, determination and hunger for success have been constants throughout his career and these attributes will contribute to our future common success. 

“We truly believe that Jonathan can add to his World Championship tally, writing his name even larger in the history books, and we are equally confident that he can achieve this together with us. 

“We are working hard to improve further our race-proven Yamaha R1, to ensure that we provide Jonathan with exactly what he needs to achieve his and Yamaha’s goals in 2024 and 2025.”

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