Jonathan Rea has revealed that he wanted to speak to one of his old WorldSBK rivals while considering his own retirement from full-time racing.

The rider in question was Chaz Davies, whom Rea also said stands out as one of his biggest rivals during his 17-year WorldSBK career.

Rea and Davies shared many battles on-track, especially between 2015 and 2019, but it was also Davies who Rea wanted to speak to about deciding to retire, the Welshman having made his own retirement at the end of the 2021 season.

“I want to say thanks to all my competitors I raced against: you brought out the best in me. Notably Chaz [Davies], I hope Chaz is here,” Rea said during a pre-event press conference at the final round of the 2025 WorldSBK season at Jerez.

“I had such an amazing time racing with Chaz and I was actually thinking about you quite a lot coming to this decision; in fact, I wanted to call [...] to understand when that creeps up.

“I got choked up when Chaz was here, just a few years ago, announcing his retirement; I felt it was an end of an era, not just for him but also for me. 

“I found this decision’s crept up quite quickly, actually; I felt like a character in a game that was going to die. 

“I was quite worried and sad about that, but I realised that character will still live, but in a different game. So, thanks to Chaz, to all of my rivals, to Alvaro [Bautista], to Toprak [Razgatlioglu].”