Carole Nash ambassador Jonathan Rea stunned the racing world this summer when it was announced he would be ending his Kawasaki contract a year early to go join rivals Yamaha for 2024 and 2025.
Now 36-years-old, JR joined Kawasaki for the 2015 season and promptly won six titles in a row. The intervening nine seasons has seen the Northern Irish rider break almost every title there is in the history of WorldSBK, including most titles, most wins and most podiums.
Ahead of the final round of the 2023 season, and his last race for Team Green, we caught up with Jonathan at London’s RAC Club for an exclusive video interview, where he talked candidly about the past, present and future.
Among the topics discussed, Jonathan talks about:
- Why his next win will be so significant
- Rival Alvaro Bautista’s upcoming MotoGP outing
- How never having a shot at MotoGP might ‘eat at him’ in retirement
- What he would do if Yamaha offered him a MotoGP wildcard
- Self doubt when results don’t go his way
- Balancing performance of bikes in superbikes – and how the TV cameras might be doing him a favour
It’s 15 minutes of intriguing chat with the greatest superbike racer of all time, so stick the kettle on, grab a comfy chair and tune in before this weekend’s season finale.
