After the announcement came earlier today that Jonathan Rea would leave Kawasaki at the end of this season it has now been announced he will ride for Yamaha in WorldSBK for the next two seasons.

For Jonathan Rea’s 16th full season in WorldSBK he will take on a new challenge as he will switch from the Kawasaki green to the blue of Yamaha. This will be the third manufacturer that Rea has rode for in the WorldSBK paddock.

Rea won six WorldSBK titles in his first six years with Kawasaki, but the last three seasons has seen no title success for Rea or Kawasaki. Now that the 36-year-old is switching to Yamaha his hopes for a seventh WorldSBK title will be reignited.

\ea will partner Andrea Locatelli for the 2024 season after Toprak Razgatlioglu decided to leave Yamaha to join BMW at the end of the 2023 season.

Eric de Seynes, President & CEO, Yamaha Motor Europe, said: “We are very happy to welcome Jonathan to the Yamaha family and we are very much motivated to collaborate with him for the future. 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.”