Midway by his second season with the Pata Yamaha staff, six-time WorldSBK Champion Jonathan Rea is approaching one other crossroad in his profession.
Having joined Yamaha on the finish of 2023 after deciding that the Kawasaki ZX-10RR he gained just one race on that 12 months was not aggressive sufficient to struggle for a world title, Rea has been unable to conjure the extent of efficiency that he managed in his Kawasaki peak, nor the extent Toprak Razgatlioglu achieved with the YZF-R1 between 2021–2023.
Certainly, in a season the place Yamaha has scored 5 podiums and one win, Jonathan Rea’s finest end has been a seventh within the Misano Superpole Race.
It stays true that Rea’s 2025 season has been sophisticated by a major damage sustained on the Phillip Island check in February forward of the opening spherical of the season which noticed him miss the opening three rounds of 2025.
Nevertheless, Rea has spoken since his return of his problem find the very best from the R1.
“We will grind out outcomes, however I feel, essentially, nonetheless I don’t actually perceive the bike an excessive amount of, particularly when we’ve to go for a Superpole,” Rea mentioned, chatting with WorldSBK.com, on the finish of the Emilia-Romagna Spherical after he crashed out of Race 2 there.
The outcomes Rea speaks of ‘grinding out’ are, as aforementioned, one thing like a seventh place. This from a rider who, in his title years, completed a complete of 14 races off the rostrum over the course of six seasons – six seasons which included two years of the three-race weekend format.
If the purpose of Rea’s transfer to Yamaha, then, was to reposition himself as a title contender after a near-winless 12 months at Kawasaki, it seems at current to be a transfer that’s going to fail its goal.
For Rea, who will flip 39 earlier than the beginning of the 2026 season, concerns should be made about his subsequent contract – presumably, if not prone to be, his final within the World Championship.
Having spent one-and-a-half seasons on the Yamaha, that he’s nonetheless struggling to know the bike suggests his future will lie outdoors of the Iwata marque.
Moreover, even the general public noises from Yamaha counsel a dissatisfaction with the efficiency, with Yamaha Motor Europe’s Sporting and Highway Racing Supervisor Niccolo Canepa saying he discovered Rea’s efficiency at Misano “disappointing” in comparison with the likes of Remy Gardner and Andrea Locatelli – the latter discovering himself on the rostrum within the Superpole Race.
Will Jonathan Rea go away Yamaha?
Jonathan Rea
Maybe, then, a transfer away from Yamaha is the reply for Rea in 2026, and the choice is seemingly clear.
Solely three manufacturers have gained races in WorldSBK up to now one-and-a-half seasons: Yamaha, BMW, and Ducati.
Yamaha’s solely win got here in Race 2 at Assen this 12 months when the aforementioned Locatelli inherited the lead from Nicolo Bulega when the Aruba.it Racing Ducati rider encountered technical points; and all however one of many victories BMW has scored up to now season-and-a-half have been taken by Toprak Razgatlioglu (the opposite being taken within the rain by Michael van der Mark in Race 2 at Magny-Cours final 12 months).
That leaves Ducati, whose manufacturing facility staff has gained with each Nicolo Bulega and Alvaro Bautista for the reason that starting of 2024, and which gained 4 races with satellite tv for pc riders final season: three with Barni’s Danilo Petrucci, and one with Go Eleven’s Andrea Iannone.
It’s Ducati which has the strongest bundle in WorldSBK, one that’s sturdy sufficient for satellite tv for pc groups to have the ability to contend for podiums and wins, and it’s due to this fact Ducati which is Rea’s almost definitely route again to the highest of World Superbike.
It might be, in a means, equal to the transfer that Scott Redding made for 2024, as he sought to return himself to the entrance with the Bonovo MGM Ducati after three years of problem with BMW.
Redding, although, has been proof that the Panigale V4 R – which could have a mannequin replace for 2026 – is just not a magic bullet in WorldSBK. He began the season effectively in Phillip Island with three top-fives, however has solely been within the top-10 on 4 events since then.
The added complication for Rea, in comparison with what Redding confronted, is that he should discover his means into the prevailing Ducati roster, whereas the MGM staff’s swap from BMW to Ducati for this season opened a spot for the #45, who joined the German outfit for its final season with the M1000 RRs in 2024 and caught with it for this 12 months.
Jonathan Rea to Ducati?
We all know that Alvaro Bautista is leaving the Aruba.it Racing staff on the finish of this season, as was confirmed at Misano, however the extra possible route for Rea to Ducati appears to be outdoors the manufacturing facility staff and with the Bologna marque’s armada of satellite tv for pc groups.
Particularly, it appears to be the Go Eleven staff the place Rea is almost definitely to finish up, based on GPOne.com which experiences that Andrea Iannone might go away the Italian staff on the finish of this season.
Iannone’s season, like Rea’s, has been disappointing at Go Eleven. The Italian was a race winner in Aragon in his rookie WorldSBK season, however in 2025 Iannone hasn’t been on the rostrum since spherical one in Australia and his finest consequence since then was a fourth in Race 1 at Cremona.
Iannone got here into 2025 hoping that further technical help from Ducati would flip him right into a constant podium and victory contender, however it hasn’t gone that means in any respect.
If Go Eleven and Iannone are set to separate, it could possibly be an possibility for Rea.
However he won’t be the one contender for the seat, as present WorldSSP factors chief Stefano Manzi is eager to step as much as WorldSBK subsequent season.
Yamaha is theoretically the clear possibility for the Italian, who appears on the right track for the Supersport title regardless of errors in latest races at Most and Misano. However together with his compatriot Andrea Locatelli already confirmed at Yamaha’s manufacturing facility staff for subsequent season, a spot at GRT Yamaha could be a extra life like risk for Manzi to step up with the producer he joined for 2024.
GPOne has reported that Manzi could look elsewhere for his Superbike commencement subsequent 12 months, and Go Eleven a powerful risk in that case.
A part of the explanation for that is Manzi’s reference to Remo Gobbi, the proprietor of the Pata Chips model.
“Concerning Manzi, there’s a backstory I want to point out, relationship again to the 2023 World Championship, a key second in his profession,” Gobbi mentioned in an interview with GPOne in December 2024.
“Stefano [Manzi] was having an incredible season and, given his dedication on the observe, I made a decision to intervene personally to take cost of his victory prizes and placements.
“In the long run Stefano continues to be starring with Yamaha immediately, and in 2026 I want to take him to SBK.”
Nevertheless, Speedweek has since reported that Manzi will probably be on a Yamaha in 2026, having made a optimistic impression when he examined the R1 at Misano on the finish of June.
That might swimsuit Rea, however he would nonetheless require Iannone to depart to ensure that him to have a path to Ducati.
Ought to Iannone keep, or Go Eleven go for somebody apart from Rea in any case, there would absolutely be different suitors for the Northern Irishman in WorldSBK. The query then could be about Rea’s willingness to decide to the venture – one thing which might be decided by his interpretation of mentioned venture’s capability to facilitate his return to the highest of the World Superbike Championship.
