Jason O’Halloran Replaces Jonathan Rea Again for Dutch WorldSBK

After making his first appearance of the 2025 campaign with a stand-in ride for six-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea, Jason O’Halloran will again be on duty for the factory Yamaha team next weekend at Assen.

O’Halloran, who returns to Yamaha in 2025 to contest the Endurance World Championship, got his first taste of WorldSBK action this year by replacing Rea at Portimao last time out.

The British Superbike veteran stood in for Rea as the 38-year-old continues to nurse his foot injury after suffering multiple fractures at Phillip Island earlier in the year.

And with Augusto Fernandez again set for MotoGP action on the same weekend as he replaces the injured Miguel Oliveira, it means the Pata Maxus Yamaha team has called up O’Halloran for another replacement ride.

Rea, who was in attendance at Portimao, was hopeful of returning to his beloved Assen where he’s won more races than anyone in the WorldSBK class. However, that hope has now been squashed.

On his vlog Rea said: “It was nice to watch from the track, I enjoyed that part, but you don’t really have a job to do; you’re a bit of a spare part. It was nice to catch up with the crew, see Jason a little bit and see how he’s getting on. Loka [Andrea Locatelli] had a good weekend as well. I need to be out there. I don’t enjoy bikes that much; I enjoy racing them and being competitive. I think you’ll have gathered by now that I won’t be at Assen which is a real shame. Step by step, keep working hard at home and come back stronger.”

Yamaha then backed up Rea’s words by putting out a short statement of its own where it also confirmed O’Halloran in his place.

Yamaha said: “Following consultation with his medical team earlier this week, we can now confirm that Jonathan Rea will not compete in Round 3 at the TT Circuit Assen. He will again be replaced in the Pata Maxus Yamaha Team by Jason O’Halloran.”

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