A few days after the official announcement, Jonathan Rea returned to the media on one of the biggest transfers in WorldSBK history.
Just days after an explosive announcement, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) spoke to the media for the first time since confirming his departure from Kawasaki at the end of 2023, to join Yamaha in 2024. In what is widely considered the biggest transfer in FIM Superbike World Championship history, the 36-year-old – who has won six consecutive World Championships and racked up more than 100 victories with Kawasaki – will compete in the final four events of the year, which will be his last appearances in green. It starts at Magny-Cours, one of his circuits where he was most successful with Kawasaki, and where the microphones were outstretched towards him.
Addressing his recent announcement to break up one of motorsport's most successful collaborations, in search of a new challenge and a return to title contention, Rea said: "As you can imagine, after six World Championships, nine years of working together and so many memories, it was one of the most difficult decisions of my career. In the end it all came down to the fact that I needed something new, a new challenge and I had the opportunity to find it elsewhere. It's mixed emotions because it's a very emotional moment to leave such a family and a place where I've created so many incredible memories, not just on the track but off it as well. The time has come to write the next chapter of my career and we will return to that later, but it was a very difficult decision. »
The six-time World Champion has always shown humility and gratitude towards KRT and even towards Provec Racing who run Kawasaki's WorldSBK ship. It was the team that allowed him to realize his childhood dream of becoming World Champion, and the two went hand in hand as they obliterated previous records like a hurricane. He is the first driver to win three consecutive titles and ultimately won six; the first rider to achieve 100 victories in WorldSBK and passed the milestone of 100 successes in green. Beyond that, he became an ambassador for the brand worldwide.
“To cross the finish line at Jerez in 2015 was incredible and the history we created after that was beyond my wildest dreams, literally cannot be imagined. Winning six World Championships in one fell swoop and continuing to race and winning races every year has been phenomenal. There are so many memories! I could go on for hours, but that would make things even more difficult. »
Team boss Guim Roda also shared his thoughts, believing it was a tough pill to swallow but remaining philosophical about the fact that it's racing and anything can happen: "We feel a little bit sad. It has been a long journey together. This is a reality that we must accept, continue to work, we will continue on our path and do our best. It's hard to look back on one moment because we have so many, but I'd like to highlight the moments that people can't see because it happened between races. These discussions, these meetings and all this time where he worked and talked about how to improve the team, the package, the bike. All these conversations and all these efforts, all the mechanical situations with how to improve, all the training programs... All these things that happen between races that people don't see, maybe that's the one of the key points that we will keep apart from success, victories and Championships. »
Team boss Guim Roda also shared his thoughts, believing it was a tough pill to swallow but remaining philosophical about the fact that it's racing and anything can happen: "We feel a little bit sad. It has been a long journey together. This is a reality that we must accept, continue to work, we will continue on our path and do our best. It's hard to look back on one moment because we have so many, but I'd like to highlight the moments that people can't see because it happened between races. These discussions, these meetings and all this time where he worked and talked about how to improve the team, the package, the bike. All these conversations and all these efforts, all the mechanical situations with how to improve, all the training programs... All these things that happen between races that people don't see, maybe that's the one of the key points that we will keep apart from success, victories and Championships. »
