Hours after his departure from Kawasaki was announced, Jonathan Rea was confirmed as a rider for Pata Yamaha in the World Superbike Championship in 2024. The contract is for two years.
Speculation about this change had been circulating for several weeks, and it is now confirmed. It will be the third different manufacturer that the British rider has represented in the championship, after stints with Honda and Kawasaki.
At a time when Yamaha is one of the forces fighting for top positions, Rea takes the place left by Toprak Razgatlioglu. Naturally, he will have the task of returning the manufacturer to the titles that have eluded them since 2021.
Eric de Seynes, President and CEO of Yamaha Motor Europe, stated in a press release: ‘We are very pleased to welcome Jonathan to the Yamaha family and we are very motivated to collaborate with him in the future. We share the same motivation to win, and the same passion for WorldSBK‘.
This ambition to win was emphasized by the executive when he said: ‘Just like him, we have been champions in recent years and we want to return to the top once again. Jonathan’s constant motivation, determination, and hunger for success throughout his career will contribute to our common future success. We truly believe that Jonathan can add more titles to his record, further solidifying his name in the history books, and we are equally confident that he can achieve this with us. We are working hard to further improve our proven Yamaha R1, to ensure that we give Jonathan exactly what he needs to achieve his and Yamaha’s goals in 2024 and 2025‘.
