Jonathan Rea

Jonathan Rea (born 2 February 1987) is a Northern Irish motorcycle racer and six-time Superbike World Champion. He competed full-time in the Superbike World Championship from 2009 to 2025, winning consecutive titles from 2015 to 2020 and amassing a record 119 race wins. Rea announced his retirement from full-time racing in August 2025 and will return to Honda in 2026 as a test rider, also competing in selected Endurance World Championship events.

Previously, Rea was runner-up in the Supersport World Championship for Ten Kate Honda in 2008, and runner-up in the British Superbike Championship in 2007 for HM Plant Honda. He was named Irish Motorcyclist of the Year in 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2016. Rea made two MotoGP starts in 2012, scoring points on both occasions, but was not a regular rider in the championship.

Career Early career For much of his career, Rea has been backed by Red Bull. Rea was British 60cc motocross runner up in 1997, before moving up through the motocross classes. He was not originally keen to switch to circuit racing as he considered it to be boring, but he was persuaded to by friends Michael and Eugene Laverty, contesting the 2003 British 125cc Championship. His 2004 season was interrupted by a crash at Knockhill.

In 2005, Red Bull set up a British Superbike ride for him on a factory-spec Honda Fireblade. He showed his potential by snatching a pole position from the established names, and finished 16th in the series despite missing two races, at Snetterton after a heavy testing crash, and at Oulton Park after the death of a junior teammate in the previous event.

British Superbike Championship Rea started the 2006 season strongly, lying sixth in the British Superbike Championship after five meetings. At Oulton Park, he finished third in race two, before being demoted to fourth as he was deemed to have gained a place from Shane Byrne on the last lap illegally, although he claimed that he crossed the infield grass as he was squeezed out of road. He qualified fifth at Mondello Park before heavy rain forced the cancellation of the races, and claimed that he had been on race tyres, rather than special soft qualifying compounds. He impressed at Mallory Park too, qualifying on the front row and running second until high-siding in race one, despite having no race engineer for the weekend. At Knockhill, he took pole position, and followed a fourth in race one with his first career podium in race two, passing Leon Haslam for second with two laps to go. He ultimately took fourth in the championship, ahead of the factory Honda of Karl Harris.

Rea took Harris' factory ride for 2007, alongside reigning champion Ryuichi Kiyonari of Japan. After four-second places, he finally took his first win in the second race at Mondello Park, after dominating wet practice but struggling in the dry first race. A double victory at Knockhill followed, taking him to within nine points of Kiyonari at the top of the standings – retaining this position after Oulton Park in which each HM Plant Honda rider won once and crashed once. He ultimately finished as the series runner-up, 26 points behind Kiyonari and 20 ahead of Leon Haslam.

Also in 2007, Rea raced with Kiyonari and won a three-hour endurance race, and the pair was then entered for the Suzuka 8-Hour race on a factory Honda machine. Plans for him to contest the British MotoGP round on a Team Roberts bike were scrapped in favour of extra Suzuka preparation. He attended the 2007 World Superbike round at Brands Hatch, as he began to explore international options.

Supersport World Championship In September 2007, Rea signed a three-year progressive deal with Ten Kate Honda to ride in the Supersport World Championship for the 2008 season, and the Superbike World Championship for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. He turned down the option of staying in British Superbikes with either HM Plant Honda or move to Rizla Suzuki, and turned down a World Superbike ride with the factory Xerox Ducati team. In his first race at Losail in Qatar, he crashed, badly injuring a finger. At Assen, he challenged for a first WSS win, losing by 0.014 seconds to teammate Andrew Pitt. He did win for Ten Kate at the Donington Park British Supersport race, which the team entered as practice for the later WSS race there. His first World Supersport win came at Brno, and he immediately followed this with a second win at Brands Hatch, although the race was stopped early after the fatal accident of Craig Jones with seven laps remaining in the race. A third win followed at Vallelunga, pushing him back up to second in the standings behind Pitt. His chances of winning the title were ended by a wild move from Robbin Harms in the penultimate round at Magny-Cours. He did remount to finish tenth in the race.

Superbike World Championship

For 2009, Rea rode for the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team in World Superbikes. He made the switch before the end of 2008, meaning that he made his WSBK debut in the final 2008 round at Portimão. His first podium came in the second race at round six at Kyalami. Another third place followed in the very next round at Miller Motorsport Park, before his first WSBK win came at Misano, after a frantic battle with the Ducati duo of Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio. This followed a chaotic first race that day; his bike failed on the dummy grid, he received a ride-through penalty for being given a lift back to the pits by Kiyonari on the warm-up lap, and when he switched to a wet set-up bike he – like teammate Carlos Checa – had trouble getting the second bike fired up. Rea missed several rounds in 2011 after sustained arm and collarbone injuries in a high-speed accident during warm-up for the Misano event. Rea missed the final four races of 2013 due to a broken femur.

Rea added a further win in Germany to finish fifth overall and second best rookie behind top rookie, Ben Spies, who won the World Superbike championship that year. He remained with Ten Kate for 2010, and scored a double victory at the team's home round at Assen, however this was followed by two crashes at Monza. A further crash in Superpole at Miller Motorsport Park injured his neck and shoulder, though he still raced the next day, scoring a 14th and an eighth. He scored only seven points at Misano, as he fell behind Carlos Checa in the battle for third place in the championship standings.

For the 2011 season, Rea stayed with the Ten Kate Racing family as its Honda-supported World Superbike team received backing from global lubricants manufacturer, Castrol, reviving the famous Castrol Honda name that saw World Superbike championship victories with John Kocinski in 1997 and Colin Edwards in 2000 and 2002.

After spending his entire career riding Honda machinery, Rea joined Kawasaki Racing Team as Tom Sykes' new teammate for the 2015 season. Rea dominated the season and won his maiden World Superbike title, with 14 wins.

Rea remained with Kawasaki in World Superbike championship until 2024. He retained the title in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 championship, becoming the first man ever to win six successive superbike world championships. On 9 June 2018, Rea won the first race at Brno to take his 60th career win and surpass the record of Carl Fogarty.

MotoGP World Championship Rea made his MotoGP debut in 2012, replacing the injured Casey Stoner for the Repsol Honda team. He finished eighth in the San Marino race, held at Misano in Italy, and seventh at Motorland Aragon in Spain, before returning to World Superbike duties.

Retirement and return to Honda In August 2025, Rea announced his retirement from full-time racing. His final season was with Yamaha, although a knee injury ruled him out of his last race that October.

In 2026, Rea would return to Honda as a test rider and would also compete in selected Endurance World Championship events. He described the move as a "full-circle moment".

Personal life Rea's family background lies in motorcycle road racing. His father, Johnny, competed at the Isle of Man TT and took his sole victory during the 1989 Junior TT race. His grandfather, John, sponsored Joey Dunlop.

Rea married Tatiana Weston, an Australian known as 'Tarsh' (whom he met when she worked promoting UK-based superbike team Honda Racing) at a 2012 ceremony in the Lake District.

Rea was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours, for services to motorcycle racing.

Rea was nominated for the 2017 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, finishing in second place.

Queen's University Belfast conferred an honorary doctorate on Rea during December 2019.

In 2021, Rea obtained his UK motorcycle licence for solo road machines by undertaking a course in his native Northern Ireland having passed with no minors and having the driving instructor pass him a laurel and bottle of champagne for his achievements.

Rea was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours, also for services to motorcycle racing.

Career statistics All-time statistics Series Years Races Poles Podiums Wins 2nd place 3rd place Fastest laps Titles Points British Superbike Championship 72 7 20 5 11 4 5 0 719 Supersport World Championship 12 0 6 3 1 2 0 0 164 Superbike World Championship 470 44 264 119 86 58 104 6 6382.5 MotoGP World Championship 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 Total 556 51 289 127 98 64 109 6 7282.5

British Superbike Championship Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 Honda BHI13 BHI18 THR16 THR12 MAL14 MAL14 OUL12 OUL9 MOPRet MOPRet CRO7 CRORet KNORet KNO9 SNE SNE SIL12 SIL11 CADRet CADRet OUL OUL DONRet DON11 BHGP10 BHGP10 16th 64 Honda BHI5 BHIRet DON8 DON5 THR4 THR5 OUL8 OUL4 MOPC MOPC MALRet MAL8 SNE4 SNE20 KNO4 KNO2 OUL5 OUL4 CRO2 CRO13 CADRet CAD3 SIL4 SIL5 BHGP18 BHGP3 4th 248 Honda BHGP3 BHGP2 THRRet THR4 SIL2 SIL3 OUL4 OUL5 SNE2 SNE2 MOP4 MOP1 KNO1 KNO1 OULRet OUL1 MAL2 MALRet CRO2 CRO2 CADRet CAD1 DON5 DON7 BHI2 BHI2 2nd 407

Supersport World Championship Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos Pts Honda QATRet AUS5 ESP6 NED2 ITARet GER6 SMR3 CZE1 GBR1 EUR3 ITA1 FRA10 POR 2nd 164

Superbike World Championship By season

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 Honda QAT QAT AUS AUS SPA SPA NED NED ITA ITA USA USA GER GER SMR SMR CZE CZE GBR GBR EUR EUR ITA ITA FRA FRA POR4 POR15 26th 14 AUS5 AUS9 QAT12 QAT8 SPARet SPA13 NED7 NED5 ITA5 ITA4 RSA4 RSA3 USA5 USA3 SMR7 SMR1 GBR7 GBR15 CZE3 CZE4 GER4 GER1 ITA7 ITA6 FRARet FRA3 POR2 POR3 5th 315 AUS4 AUS6 POR3 PORRet SPA6 SPA5 NED1 NED1 ITARet ITA Ret RSA5 RSA2 USA14 USA8 SMR13 SMR12 CZE1 CZE2 GBR2 GBR2 GER1 GER2 ITADNS ITADNS FRA12 FRADNS 4th 292 AUS12 AUS4 EUR5 EUR6 NED1 NED3 ITA6 ITARet USARet USA11 SMRDNS SMRDNS SPA SPA CZE CZE GBR GBR GER10 GER4 ITA1 ITARet FRARet FRARet POR3 POR3 9th 170 AUS7 AUS4 ITA9 ITA5 NEDRet NED1 ITAC ITA6 EUR4 EUR1 USA4 USA2 SMR5 SMR2 SPA16 SPA5 CZERet CZE12 GBR4 GBR9 RUSRet RUS7 GERRet GER4 POR6 POR2 FRA13 FRA2 5th 278.5 AUS8 AUS8 SPA4 SPA15 NED2 NED4 ITA8 ITARet GBR4 GBR11 PORRet POR3 ITARet ITA2 RUS4 RUSC GBR1 GBR4 GERRet GERDNS TUR TUR USA USA FRA FRA SPA SPA 9th 176 AUS6 AUS5 SPA3 SPA5 NED3 NED1 ITA1 ITA1 GBR6 GBR6 MAL6 MAL6 SMR7 SMR5 POR5 POR1 USA6 USA3 SPA4 SPA5 FRA3 FRARet QAT4 QAT2 3rd 334 Kawasaki AUS1 AUS2 THA1 THA1 SPA1 SPA2 NED1 NED1 ITA1 ITA1 GBR2 GBR2 POR1 POR1 SMR2 SMR1 USA3 USA3 MAL1 MAL2 SPA4 SPA4 FRA1 FRA1 QAT2 QATRet 1st 548 AUS1 AUS1 THA1 THA2 SPA2 SPA3 NED1 NED1 ITA2 ITA2 MAL2 MAL3 GBR3 GBR2 ITA1 ITA1 USA1 USARet GERRet GER1 FRA4 FRA2 SPA3 SPA2 QAT2 QAT3 1st 498 AUS1 AUS1 THA1 THA1 ARA1 ARA2 NED1 NED1 ITA2 ITA2 GBRRet GBR1 ITA3 ITA2 USA2 USA1 GER2 GER2 POR1 POR1 FRA1 FRARet SPA1 SPA1 QAT1 QAT1 1st 556 AUS5 AUS2 THA1 THA4 ARA1 ARA2 NED1 NED2 ITA1 ITA1 GBR2 GBR3 CZE1 CZERet USA1 USA1 ITA1 ITA1 POR1 POR1 FRA1 FRA1 ARG1 ARG1 QAT 1 QATC 1st 545

Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pos Pts R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 Kawasaki AUS AUS AUS THA THA THA SPA SPA SPA NED NED NED ITA ITA ITA SPA SPA SPA ITA ITA ITA GBR GBR GBR USA USA USA POR POR POR FRA FRA FRA ARG ARG ARG QAT QAT QAT 1st 663 AUS AUS AUS SPA SPA SPA POR POR POR SPA SPA SPA SPA SPA SPA SPA SPA SPA FRA FRA FRA POR POR POR 1st 360 SPA SPA SPA POR POR POR ITAITA ITA GBR GBR GBR NED NED NED CZE CZE CZE SPA SPA SPA FRA FRA FRA SPA SPA SPA SPA SPA SPA POR POR POR ARG ARG ARG INA INA INA 2nd 551 SPA SPA SPA NED NED NED POR POR POR ITA ITA ITA GBR GBR GBR CZE CZE CZE FRA FRA FRA SPA SPA SPA POR POR POR ARG ARG ARG INA INA INA AUS AUS AUS 3rd 502 AUS AUS AUS INA INA INA NED NED NED SPA SPA SPA ITA ITA ITA GBR GBR GBR ITA ITA ITA CZE CZE CZE FRA FRA FRA SPA SPA SPA POR POR POR SPA SPA SPA 3rd 370 Yamaha AUS AUS AUS SPA SPA SPA NED NED NED ITA ITA ITA GBR GBR GBR CZE CZE CZE POR POR POR FRA FRA FRA ITA ITA ITA SPA SPA SPA POR POR POR SPA SPA SPA 13th 127 AUS AUS AUS POR POR POR NED NED NED ITA ITA ITA CZE CZE CZE EMI EMI EMI GBR GBR GBR HUN HUN HUN FRA FRA FRA ARA ARA ARA POR POR POR SPA SPA SPA 16th 83

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season Season Class Motorcycle Team Race Win Podium Pole FLap Pts Plcd MotoGP Honda Repsol Honda Team 2 0 0 0 0 17 21st Total 2 0 0 0 0 17

By class Class Seasons 1st GP 1st pod 1st win Race Win Podiums Pole FLap Pts WChmp MotoGP 2012 2012 San Marino 2 0 0 0 0 17 0 Total 2012 2 0 0 0 0 17 0

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Pts MotoGP Honda QAT SPA POR FRA CAT GBR NED GER ITA USA IND CZE RSM8 ARA7 JPN MAL AUS VAL 21st 17

Suzuka 8 Hours