Yamaha reacts to Jonathan Rea's retirement: “Our journey didn’t play out as hoped”

Yamaha has paid tribute to Jonathan Rea after the six-time World Superbike champion announced that he will retire at the end of the 2025 season.

After winning a record six world championships in nine years at Kawasaki, Rea started a new era by switching to Yamaha for the start of last year, replacing BMW-bound Toprak Razgatlioglu.

However, the Northern Irishman has never looked fully comfortable on the R1.

Injuries have also hampered his progress, with a best finish of third place at Donington Park last season.

He also scored a wet-weather pole at Assen that year but, after missing the opening three rounds of 2025 due to a nasty foot injury sustained at Phillip Island, the 38-year-old is yet to crack the top six this season.

"Jonathan should be very proud"

Yamaha Motor Europe’s Andrea Dosoli praised Rea’s achievements and professionalism:

“Jonathan is an extremely talented rider who has done remarkable things in his 17 years racing at the highest level of production racing.

“He should be very proud to look back having achieved what he has during his career, as it is unlikely any rider will come close to such statistics for a long time.

“For many years, Jonathan was a fierce competitor for us, a rival who pushed us hard and made us improve. To fight against a rider of this level for world championships was an honour for us all.

“For the last two years, Jonathan was no longer our competition, but our rider.

“There is no escaping that our journey together has not played out how either Jonathan, nor ourselves, had hoped, but despite these tougher times, Jonathan remained committed and dedicated to our project.

“We will continue to push hard in our final four races together, as nothing would give us greater satisfaction than seeing this champion return to the podium before he calls time on a most wonderful WorldSBK career.

“We thank Jonathan for all his effort, professionalism and dedication, congratulate him on his achievements and wish him all the best for the future.”

Rea was thought to be weighing up a satellite Ducati seat before deciding to call time on a WorldSBK career that began with Ten Kate Honda in 2009.

“I want to thank Yamaha for the opportunity to write this final chapter with them, and for their support throughout the past two seasons,” Rea said of his current team.