Jonathan Rea Finally Set for WorldSBK Return
Jonathan Rea will make his return to WorldSBK action this weekend at Cremona following a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to injury
Six-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea will make his first appearance of the 2025 season at Cremona this weekend, pending a final medical check.
Rea suffered multiple fractures in his left foot injury during a pre-season crash at Phillip Island and the ex-Kawasaki rider has been working tirelessly to make his return.
As part of his recovery, which Rea admits has taken longer than expected, the six-time world champion recently shared detailed footage of where he sustained fractures in his ankle.
Rea’s Yamaha team-mate Andrea Locatelli heads into this weekend’s Cremona WorldSBK round off the back of his maiden win in the series, proving how competitive the R1 is in 2025 which should fill Rea with confidence.
Rea is arguably making his return at the perfect time although expectations will obviously be limited. That said, the Northern Irishman is raring to go despite Cremona being a circuit he’s not competed at before after missing the 2024 round.
Rea said: “I’m super excited to be back in Cremona after the injury sustained in Phillip Island! It feels like a really long couple of months, but in the last 3-4 weeks I’ve maximised regaining strength and function of my left foot. The injury was a lot more serious than first expected and I just want to thank everybody that was behind me to get back on track, especially the fans and all the messages of encouragement.
“I feel confident and ready – Cremona is a track that I haven’t raced at before but I was able to spin a few laps in testing last season. I’m just so happy to be back with my team and riding my Yamaha R1! Since I’ve been away the team has made some great improvements and achieved fantastic results with Locatelli including his first win in Assen, so I’m really motivated to start – to understand what my level is and work from there. Can’t wait to see everybody, looking forward to riding again with a smile on my face and trying to have a good weekend in Cremona!”
Rea will make his first appearance of 2025 on Friday during FP1 which takes place at 9:20am UK time. Racing at the Italian round kicks off with the first of three races on Saturday at 13:00.
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
