Jonathan Rea names the crash which nudged him into retirement

Jonathan Rea has admitted that a big crash contributed to his retirement.

Rea has confirmed that he will call it a day at the end of the 2025 World Superbike Championship season in October.

It brings an end to a record-breaking run which delivered six WorldSBK titles, 119 wins and 264 podiums.

But the damage was totting up this year.

Jonathan Rea missed the start of the season after a massive crash at Phillip Island, where he broke a foot.

He started his season at Round 4 in Italy but, the following weekend at Most in Czechia, Rea came off his Yamaha once again.

He now admits this was a key contributor to his retirement decision.

Jonathan Rea admits crash in Most contributed to retirement

"On the gravel I did a little shoulder check to see if I was clear, but the bike was coming at me," Rea BBC Sport NI.

"On all fours, I was crawling out of the way as fast as possible. That was a moment that damaged any future prospects of me wanting to continue.

"It's a feeling I've been living with for some time without wanting to share and give any weakness away, but it's mentally tough to recover from those tough moments and it just seems now is the right time.

“Tough to know exactly the reason why, but instinct."

Rea’s glory days came with Kawasaki in WorldSBK where he dominated the series between 2015 and 2020.

The emergence of Toprak Razgatlioglu, then at Yamaha, ended his streak of championships.

Rea then moved to Yamaha, two years ago, but the switch has not paid off for the rider or his team.

"The last two years has been really tough from a performance point of view,” he conceded.

Rea, now aged 38, has had uncertain prospects for his future for several weeks.

The idea of joining a Ducati-backed team was floated but Barni chose Alvaro Bautista, while Aruba.it went for Iker Lecuona.

Rea, meanwhile, believed in his instinct after the crash in Most that it was time to bring his brilliant career to an end.