Yamaha Motor Europe has confirmed Jonathan Rea will join its factory WorldSBK team for the next two seasons, in a major coup signing.
The Northern Irishman will depart the Kawasaki Racing Team after nine seasons at the end of the 2023 WorldSBK season in favour of a shock switch to Yamaha
It marks the second shock deal to be arranged for the 2024 WorldSBK season after Toprak Razgatlioglu’s move to join BMW next year, ultimately freeing up a seat at Yamaha for Rea to assume.
- 2023 WorldSBK Championship Standings -
“We are very happy to welcome Jonathan to the Yamaha family and we are very much motivated to collaborate with him for the future,” said team manager Eric de Seynes. “We have the same motivation to win, and the same passion for WorldSBK.
“ Like him we have been world champions in recent years and we want to be back on the top of the box once again. Jonathan’s drive, determination and hunger for success have been constants throughout his career and these attributes will contribute to our future common success.
“We truly believe that Jonathan can add to his world championship tally, writing his name even larger in the history books, and we are equally confident that he can achieve this together with us.
“We are working hard to improve further our race proven Yamaha R1, to ensure that we provide Jonathan with exactly what he needs to achieve his and Yamaha’s goals in 2024 and 2025.”
