Jonathan Rea has revealed the crash that pushed him towards his decision to retire at the end of the 2025 season.
It has been confirmed by the six-time World Superbike Champion that he will retire at the end of the 2025 season in October.
After 17 years in World Superbikes, Rea has won 119 races, and has featured on 145 further podiums throughout his career.
The 2025 season has been a difficult year for the 38-year-old, as he suffered a massive crash in the Phillip Island Test, in which he broke his foot.
Rea then returned to racing at the Italian World Superbike Round at Cremona, but suffered another crash the next race weekend at the Czech Republic Round. He has now admitted that this crash pushed him towards retirement.
"On the gravel I did a little shoulder check to see if I was clear, but the bike was coming at me," he told BBC Sport NI's.
"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."
'I'll roll my sleeves up and get stuck in...'
Ahead of the final four rounds of his World Superbike career, Rea is aiming for the stars and believes he can feature on one last podium.
"It's been a tough year starting it on the operating table, but let's aim for the stars and see what happens. It would be a fitting way to finish my career as a World Superbike rider," Rea stated.
"I can walk away knowing I gave 100%, every lap and every race. I'll continue doing that until the last round of the championship, which I know will be tough for a number of reasons, but I'll roll my sleeves up and get stuck in.
"I did this career in the midst of building a family and we brought the kids along on that journey.
"We had an incredible year in '14 with Honda and moved to Kawasaki in '15 and won world championships when dragging two kids around the world was incredibly special."
