UK WorldSBK podium “a lofty target” for Jonathan Rea

The UK WorldSBK was the only round in 2024 that saw Jonathan Rea on the podium for Yamaha, but the Northern Irish rider says a repeat of that would be a “lofty target” in 2025.

Rea remains without a podium this season, the six-time World Superbike Champion’s second with Yamaha, but a top-three finish remains “a target” at Donington this weekend – a circuit that has seen Rea take five victories in the past.

“It’s a target,” Jonathan Rea told Crash.net when asked if a podium was a realistic target at the 2025 UK WorldSBK.

“Whether it’s realistic or not is another question.

“We’ve been starting my season late due to injury.

“It seems like, especially in the last few years, qualifying has been tough. If you start anywhere outside those first few rows that really compromises your race.

“So, a lot of emphasis is on qualifying this weekend, and then, if I can qualify well, why not?

“I was able to do it last year, out of nowhere.

“My starts have been good, at Donington it’s important, and it’s all about just having a good Friday, build the momentum, build the feeling, and why not?

“It’s a lofty target, but we’ll see.”

The importance Rea places on qualifying comes partly from his poor one-lap speed this year that has seen him score a best Superpole result of 14th at the Czech Round in Most.

“I lack a lot of confidence with connection to the rear tyre, in general terms,” he explained.

“When you can build through a two-day test and do laps and laps and laps and build confidence you can get there in the end.

“Generally, my Race 2 of a weekend has been the strongest one.

“But through Most I crashed on lap two, on the rear tyre, of FP1 and destroyed the bike – I was followed by five or six other riders on a similar tyre doing the same.

“In Misano, I sat out all of FP1 with a technical [issue]; I was able to do a chrono lap at the end just to make sure the bike was fine.

“So you start from the backfoot already. It makes FP2 quite stressful, then you’re throwing a qualifier in on Saturday morning to qualify for a race on Saturday afternoon.

“So, when you don’t have that momentum or flow to a weekend it makes it much tougher.

“That’s just my story. I’m coming from also sitting out the first few rounds.

“The last two rounds have been tougher, but there’s reasons for that.

“Let’s have a normal weekend in Donington and Balaton and see how this mid-part of the season goes.”