Jonathan Rea Claims Retirement Was an Option After Miserable 2024 Season
Jonathan Rea has confirmed retirement was an option following a torrid first season with Yamaha in 2024
Six-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea has confirmed he contemplated retirement after a miserable first season with Yamaha.
Jonathan Rea switched from Kawasaki, where he won all six of his superbike titles, to join Yamaha in 2024 but the decision backfired.
Rea struggled for much of the year to get the best out of his R1, as 2024 marked the first season without a victory in his WorldSBK career, while the Northern Irishman was only on the podium once, which is a stark contrast to 2023 where he was on the podium in all-but two races, while he claimed seven wins in his final season with Kawasaki.
Due to the struggles, Rea has since admitted that retirement was a serious consideration ahead of 2025, where he will instead race for the factory Yamaha team once more.
Rea described the 2024 season as “a dark year”, but that is partly why the most successful superbike rider ever wants to continue in 2025 and right the wrongs.
Rea will turn 38 years of age this year and only four riders - Max Biaggi (41), Troy Bayliss (39), Carlos Checa (39) and Alvaro Bautista (39) - have won World Superbike titles at an older age than Rea. Not to mention Toprak Razgatlioglu’s dominant 2024 campaign, coupled with rising talents like Nicolo Bulega, will make Rea’s aspirations of becoming a seven-time champion even harder.
“Walking away from the sport healthy was an option,” Rea told BBC Sport NI as he reflected on his 2024 season, “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. 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.”
Rea then went on to add that his decision to return was also based on how he began to gel with the R1 as the season came to an end, hinting that maybe 2025 will be a slightly less painful season for him.
Find all the latest WSBK news on Visordown.com.
After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
