Yamaha has announced that the team’s test rider Augusto Fernandez will replace Jonathan Rea at the WorldSBK Portimao round.

The 2022 Moto2 champion Fernandez will feature at both the Portimao test and race weekend, with both events taking place throughout March.

Rea sustained multiple fractures in his left leg on Day 1 of the Phillip Island test and flew back home to his native Northern Ireland to have surgery.

The Ulsterman’s time on the sidelines means Fernandez will make his WorldSBK debut. The 27-year-old previously spent two seasons with Red Bull GasGas Tech3 in MotoGP before joining Yamaha’s test team for the 2025 season.

“First of all I would like to send my best wishes for a speedy recovery to Jonathan Rea and to thank Yamaha for this opportunity,” Fernandez said to WorldSBK.com.

“This will be my first experience of racing with the R1 but also of racing in WorldSBK. I can’t wait to get to the Portimão test to spend some time on the bike and to see how it feels.”

Niccolo Canepa, the Road Racing Sporting Manager at Yamaha Motor Europe, added: “Jonathan has been sorely missed here in Phillip Island, but we are happy that the surgery on his injuries was successful and that he has now started the recovery process.

“We hope to see him fully fit and back on the bike as soon as possible. In the meantime, we spoke with Augusto and Yamaha Motor Racing about the possibility he could stand in for Jonathan in Portimao and he was keen to do so.

“He is familiar with the circuit, and with the test scheduled ahead of the race we can give him track time with the R1 WorldSBK ahead of the event.

“We must thank Yamaha Motor Racing and the MotoGP team for their support, and we are looking forward to welcoming Augusto to the team and to the WorldSBK paddock.”

Jonathan Rea underwent successful surgery on his left foot

The six-time WorldSBK champion announced on his social media that he underwent successful surgery.

The Northern Irishman flew home to Belfast last Wednesday for the surgery despite an initial delay due to swelling as a result of his crash.

“I would like to thank Dr Michael McMullan and his team at the Kingsbridge Private Hospital in Belfast for the urgency and care to deal with my foot injury,” Rea said.

“After reviewing the scans from my crash in Australia we made the decision to fly home directly and perform surgery to stabilise and fix the injuries in my foot.

“The surgery was successful and I will continue my recovery at home with my medical team.

“I want to thank my team, my family and of course all my fans who have been sending me positive messages during these difficult days.”

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Yamaha team boss Paul Denning has revealed there is “no chance” of Jonathan Rea returning at the Portimao WorldSBK round after he suffered a test crash.

Rea crashed at the Southern Loop (Turn 2) during the first Free Practice session earlier in the week.

The Ulsterman sustained multiple fractures when the bike landed on his left foot, resulting in the Yamaha rider being sent home.

The six-time WorldSBK champion could not receive immediate surgery on the fractures due to massive swelling.

Rea’s projected timeline remains unclear, but Yamaha has indicated that a return at the second round in Portimao is out of the question.

As a result, the earliest opportunity for the Northern Irishman to kick off his season would be at the Assen round from April 11th-13th, a track where he has won 17 times.

“I think sad is the word, just sad to be away from the team, away from the bike, and particularly as he was starting to do so well and the flow was coming,” said Denning to WorldSBK.com.

“He’s super disappointed but he’s back home. He’s seen a surgeon, and the next course of action will be… I don’t want to share anything that’s medically his private information, but he’s on it and doing everything he can to be ready as soon as he possibly can.

“Jonathan, all things being equal as we know today, unfortunately has no chance of testing or racing at Portimao, in mid and end of March are the two dates which are just too early for the complexity of the injury to heal, so we’ll have two riders on track but who it will be is very much to be confirmed.”

Jonathan Rea left feeling ‘gutted’ after Phillip Island crash

“Honestly it was going so well, no issues, good plan, started fast – top four or five.

“I was working through it and was just about to put my first fresh set of tyres in for the last 20 minutes and on my first flying lap I just lost the rear, and it gripped, traction control picked it up abruptly and kicked me up, then I landed on the bike, and it threw me over, that was fine, I landed fine, but the bike was cartwheeling and landed right on my foot and did quite a bit of damage.

“They can’t operate right now as there is massive swelling, so I’m getting a few different opinions from different consultants, asking about surgery, not surgery, a timeframe, so I don’t know much right now.

“We made a small step forward on the bike. I’m just gutted, it doesn’t take much in racing to just keep that snowball effect rolling.

“We had a good winter test; it’s undone with that. I just have to take my medicine with this one and come back stronger.

“[It’s] day by day really, I don’t really have a target. It doesn’t take a surgeon to look through the CT scans to see the damage, a bit of hyperbaric chamber and recovery, but I’m gutted.”

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Jonathan Rea has been ruled out of the WorldSBK season opener at Phillip Island after suffering a crash during testing on Monday.

The Pata Maxus Yamaha rider crashed at the Southern Loop (Turn 2) during the morning Free Practice session, issuing red flags.

The six-time WorldSBK champion sustained multiple fractures to his left foot following checkups from the circuit medical centre and a nearby hospital on the Island.

Yamaha released a statement stating: “Jonathan Rea will miss the opening round of the 2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship after a crash on the first day of testing at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

“Rea fell on the exit of Turn 2 in the closing stages of Monday’s first two-hour test session. He was taken to the circuit medical centre, before being transferred to Cowes for further assessment where it was confirmed he had sustained multiple fractures to the left foot.

“He will take no further part in testing or the upcoming race weekend.”

Yamaha rues Rea’s day as ‘bitterly disappointing’

“It wasn’t an easy day on Jonathan’s side and a bitterly disappointing day for him and his crew and for everybody in the Yamaha WorldSBK project,” Pata Maxus Yamaha Team Principal Paul Denning stated.

“We’ve had such a step over the winter with Jonathan and his confidence and comfort on the R1, and his ability to be consistent and smooth and get the best out of the bike.

“Everything was looking normal today, but Phillip Island has a habit of biting you quite hard sometimes.

“It’s a fast and very high grip circuit, but such a high grip circuit means when the grid releases… we’ve seen today many quite violent accidents, and Jonathan got unlucky with his left foot getting caught up in the bike and he’s broken some bones in the left foot.

“The next steps aren’t exactly clear, but the basic plan is to get back to the UK as quickly as possible and to have some surgery and start the recovery process.”

It is unclear whether the Ulsterman will be fit to return for the second round in Portimao, but Denning discussed that he’d rather not comment on giving a timeline yet.

“At this stage, it’s difficult to say. I’d prefer not to say. He’s seeing a specialist here on Wednesday before he goes home to get, let’s say, a full initial report and understanding of the injury.

“After we have that and after surgery is planned, let’s see, but Portimao is not so far away so I think it’s going to be a big challenge.”

READ MORE – Jonathan Rea considered WorldSBK retirement but wants to ‘right the wrongs’ in 2025

The post Jonathan Rea to miss WorldSBK season opener at Phillip Island after test crash appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Six-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea reveals he considered retiring from racing but wants to “right the wrongs” in 2025.

The Northern Irishman switched marques from Kawasaki to Yamaha for 2024 after winning six championships in a row from 2015 to 2020.

Rea’s move saw a dramatic fall down the standings, finishing 13th overall. He posted one podium at Donington Park and went winless across the season for the first time in his career.

“In the last few years I’ve been imagining what retirement would look like, but I struggle to see retirement without being competitive on a motorbike,” Rea told BBC Sport NI.

“Walking away from the sport healthy was an option but it would have been a horrible way to do it.

“I would probably have hung on to a lot of those negative feelings, so I want to right the wrongs. When the feeling on the bike is good you can’t see retirement again. It’s the good moments that remind you that there is a lot more to come.”

He added: “When the feeling’s good you feel like you’re going to ride this wave, you’re going to build the snowball effect. But yes, this year was a dark year in many ways.”

Jonathan Rea pinpoints moment where he had to “rebuild confidence”

The 37-year-old revealed the numerous factors that contributed to his disappointing 2024 campaign, starting with two big crashes at Phillip Island at the start of the campaign.

He stated that it “had a big impact on him physically and mentally” and that led him to feel sceptical for a while.

The Ballymena-born rider showed his true capabilities thanks to a pole position at Assen, as well as starting from the front row at Estoril and in the final race at the British Grand Prix.

His mixed campaign didn’t live up to his own expectations considering Yamaha’s previous showings in recent years.

“I lost a lot of confidence and it took time to rebuild that but there were a few moments of magic where I managed to secure pole positions, compete for podiums, be on the podium and generally my pace at the end of races was as competitive as most,” he said.

“Overall though it was definitely under par for me and not where I expected to be.

“My expectation was much higher after coming to Yamaha after they were so good the previous year, but we just didn’t seem to hit the ground running. Even in the tough moments though I turned up with a positive attitude.”

Rea explained further that his 2024 season was hindered by the team exploring numerous bike development directions, but neither he nor the team could make significant progress on track.

Despite this, he revealed that Yamaha has “got a lot of new things coming in the pipeline” and stated his objectives for the upcoming season.

“As a team we took many different directions with development. Also, at times this season, it felt like the team and the bike weren’t getting the best out of me,” he said.

“I know when we get that my potential is so much higher so that’s what kept me fighting. It frustrated me this year that I didn’t get to show my full potential.

A familiar name returns to Jonathan Rea’s pit crew

“Bit of a reset now this off season and a change of mindset going into 2025. Setting goals that motivate us to go out and work really hard as a team is going to be important,” he explained.

“I’m 100% sure next year will be a step forward on this year. We’ve got a lot of new things coming in the pipeline and my last test in Jerez with my crew was a positive one.

“I was a lot faster than I was in the race weekend there and was feeling good with the bike. Being able to ride 100% on the limit every single corner is what we’re aiming for, to be confident that I can push.

Rea’s inner circle opted to replace crew chief Andrew Pitt with Oriol Pallares, his long-time chief mechanic at Kawasaki.

“Andrew was an amazing guy. He worked relentlessly hard, but I just think a change in dynamic for me is going to help,” said Rea of the switch.

“Yamaha are working incredibly hard behind the scenes too but I think a good target for us next season is to keep fighting for podiums – that’s my target and it would be a huge step forward from last season.

“I’d love to finish the season inside the top five again, plus podiums. A race win would be the icing on the cake.”

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Jonathan Rea says he has delivered his “best weekend” at Estoril for Yamaha WorldSBK but admitted that it has “taken a lot longer” to adapt to the bike.

The six-time champion fancied a change after a nine-year stint with Kawasaki to join Yamaha for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

It has been a challenging year adjusting to the Japanese marque, with the Northern Irishman managing just one podium finish, which came in the Superpole race at his home race weekend at Donington Park.

Rea capped off the recent Estoril round with two top-five finishes in Race 1 and Race 2, his best performances in the longer format.

“5-4 for the weekend, it’s by far and away our best weekend, and something to build on for sure,” he said.

“The gap to the front is still quite big, but if we forget about that and look at the progress I’ve made and the team’s made in these last few rounds — coming back from injury in Aragon was a tough one, so to rebound here with some positivity, it’s been solid.

“Our bike, we know its weaknesses, but we know it’s strengths, and it’s about trying to exploit the best of the Yamaha R1,” he said.

“Honestly, I’m still getting there, understanding how to get the best out of the bike with fresh tyres. I think slowly but surely we’re getting there.

“But, hopefully, if I’m there and capitalise and can start trusting the bike on the limit, I can get that track position and be less vulnerable to passes.

“I want to arrive tomorrow, but it really is step-by-step, it’s taken a lot longer than I expected to understand everything.

“I have reason to be optimistic, we can’t give up on this. Especially, at the end of the season, we’re just starting to see some fruits of all our labour.”

Jonathan Rea’s confident despite Superpole Race struggles

Rea didn’t take a knock in confidence despite a crash during the Superpole Race.

Despite remounting onto his Yamaha, he finished a distant 22nd place.

“About half distance I went into the chicane, and just as I changed direction I had some chatter and just chattered off the edge of the tyre,” Rea told WorldSBK.com.

“I was pushing, of course, as well, pushing on the limit. I really tried to save it.

“It caused no damage to the bike or my leathers, it was completely on my elbow and my knee, and I tried to actually dig the front tyre in to hopefully pick me up, but it wasn’t coming around.

“Fortunately, there wasn’t anyone behind me or in my path.

“I was able to remount, and I actually posted my fastest lap of the race after that and when I wasn’t in traffic, so that gave me some confidence that, at least with the long race and with the race tyre, that I could do a solid enough job.”

His crash on Sunday morning meant he started 10th for Race 2, but he delivered his best weekend result when it mattered.

“But the class is stacked right now, so you have to really take benefit of track position and do a really solid race just to have something to shout about at the end.”

“Unfortunately, just didn’t start my morning great, so that meant I started 10th,” he said, “but that didn’t really matter because I made such a good start.

“That 0-200kph was good, and I found myself in good track position for turn one.

“Iker [Lecuona] came past quite early, so there was the front group, and then Loka [Andrea Locatelli], Iker, and me.

“The rhythm was very similar, and then both those guys went down and suddenly I found myself all on my own and I was so nervous.

“From that point, I just tried to do my rhythm — it felt like I’d been riding on the limit, so I just backed off that little bit, but it was a long race, so it was just about trying not to make any mistakes.”

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