News Jonathan Rea will retire at the end of 2025.

A major page in the history of motorcycle sport is about to be turned. Six-time World Superbike Champion Jonathan Rea has announced that he will end his full-time racing career at the end of the 2025 season, when his contract with Yamaha expires.

The announcement marks the end of an era of unprecedented domination. Since his debut in 2008 as a guest rider, the Northern Irishman has started 459 races over 17 years at the highest level of competition. A career of rare longevity and consistency.

His record is a mountain of achievements. With 119 wins, 264 podiums, 44 pole positions and 104 fastest race laps, Jonathan Rea is quite simply the most successful rider in WorldSBK history. His most spectacular record remains his six consecutive world titles, won between 2015 and 2019 with Kawasaki, a run of success that now seems impossible to match.

In search of a new challenge, Rea joined Yamaha at the start of the 2024 season, a move that promised to be an exciting chapter for both rider and manufacturer. Unfortunately, his time with the "blues" failed to live up to expectations. Despite flashes of his usual genius, the champion was plagued by a series of technical problems and, above all, bad luck, including a serious foot injury sustained in Australia earlier this year. The last two years have been tough, in stark contrast to his golden period.

Despite the obstacles, Rea, his team and Yamaha have shown admirable perseverance, as evidenced by his determined comeback from injury. The highlights of this short collaboration include a pole position in the rain at Assen in 2024 and a third-place finish in the Superpole Race at Donington Park the same year.

Having made his decision, Jonathan Rea is now preparing to savour the final four rounds of the 2025 season. It's after the last race that the curtain will close on an illustrious and successful career, which will forever be engraved in Superbike legend.

Jonathan Rea, Pata Maxus Yamaha

After an unforgettable journey in WorldSBK, I made the decision to retire from full-time racing at the end of this season. It's been an incredible adventure, full of achievements, challenges and memories that will stay with me forever. I'd like to thank Yamaha for the opportunity to write this final chapter with them, and for their support over the past two seasons. Above all, I'm grateful to the fans, my family and everyone who has supported me throughout my career. Racing has given me so much, and although it's time to close this chapter in WorldSBK, my passion for the sport will never fade.

Andrea Dosoli, Motorsport Division Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe

Jonathan is an extremely talented rider who has achieved remarkable things in his 17 years of competition at the highest level of production racing. He should be very proud to look back and see what he has achieved during his career, as it is unlikely that any rider will approach such statistics for a long time to come. For many years, Jonathan was a formidable competitor for us, a rival who pushed us to improve. It has been an honour for all of us to fight a driver of this calibre for the world championships. For the past two years, Jonathan has no longer been our opponent, but our driver. There's no denying that our journey together hasn't gone the way Jonathan, or we ourselves, had hoped, but despite those difficult times, Jonathan has remained committed and dedicated to our project. We'll continue to fight as hard as we can in our final four races together, because nothing would give us greater satisfaction than to see this champion back on the podium before he puts an end to a most wonderful WorldSBK career. We thank Jonathan for all his efforts, professionalism and dedication, congratulate him on his achievements and wish him all the best for the future.

Credits: Yamaha
Image credits: Jonathan Rea official