World Superbike legend “brings so much life” to Honda, claims new signing

Former grand prix rider Jake Dixon says six-time World Superbike champion Jonathan Rea “brings so much life” to the Honda project, following his return to the brand.

The World Superbike legend announced his retirement from full-time racing last year, before signing a deal to become Honda’s official test rider.

Jonathan Rea spent six years with Honda in World Superbikes between 2009 and 2014, finishing third in the 2014 standings before moving to Kawasaki to begin his era of dominance.

The Ulsterman was on track with HRC this week alongside Jake Dixon at the Jerez test, with the latter 13th as he begins his adaptation from Moto2 to World Superbikes.

“First and foremost, what a great signing for Honda,” Dixon beamed when asked by the official WorldSBK website about Rea.

“I think it’s a feather in their cap to get such a great champion onboard, with so much experience.

“I know him well anyway. To have him in my corner, and [Tetsuta] Nagashima as well, is fantastic.

“It’s almost ammo for us. It’s not going to transform overnight, but throughout the season, we are definitely going to get stronger, and honestly, I’m so motivated and excited.

“He brings so much life to everyone in the team as well, and the test team are great.”

Rea underwent knee surgery over the winter and admitted his doctor would be “very mad” if he found out he was testing at Jerez, as he has “a long way to go” before recovering fully.

The test at Jerez was affected by poor weather, which severely limited series rookie Dixon’s mileage as he builds up to his full-time debut in World Superbikes.

“It was less than ideal. Wednesday was a complete washout, only doing 16 laps,” he added.

“It was good, as I needed to ride a little bit in the rain.

“From one exit to another, I felt much more comfortable. I had my first wet laps, and then we were only able to get a couple of hours on Thursday before it started raining.

“It’s a little bit frustrating, being a rookie coming into World Superbike, and I need time, and we need time because we have new parts this year that we need to get through and keep testing.

“Far from an ideal situation, but I feel a lot more comfortable than I did in November with the upgrades we’ve got in terms of chassis.”