Six-time world champion Rea set to retire

At the end of the 2025 season, Jonathan Rea, the six-time World Superbike champion, will stop competing fully for motorcycles.

After the final round of the championship in Spain in October, the Yamaha rider will retire from his decorated career.

Rea, a 38-year-old Northern Irishman, won six consecutive World Superbike titles between 2015 and 2020 to clinch his spot as the series’ most successful rider ever.

Rea won 119 race victories and 105 of his 459 championship races, earning 264 podium finishes.

Rea stated, “I’ve been considering this day for a while, and finally I’ve made the decision to stop doing full-time racing and retire.”

“I have a passion for this sport. From a young age in Northern Ireland with hopes of competing in the sport of motorsports to achieving success in the World Superbike Championship.

I’ve only ever had one goal in my career, and that was to win, which made me who I am throughout my career. I never competed to be the best, but I did so to pass the test.

Rea won his first two race victories with Honda the year before taking the stage again in 2008.

In 2011, he made the switch to Kawasaki, breaking every championship record.

He received the MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 2017 as a commendation for his accomplishments in the sport.

He came in second place behind Sir Mo Farah in the 2017 BBC Sports Personality of the Year competition.

Rea praised the accomplishments I’ve made throughout my distinguished career, including six world championships, more than 100 race victories, and numerous other accomplishments along the way.

“These are some records that I didn’t think could be possible,” he said. However, the people and memories that I’ll always carry with me are more important than the records, medals, or race victories.

Rea surprisingly signed for Yamaha last year following a record-breaking nine-year partnership with Kawasaki, which led to over a century of race victories.

However, the Ballyclare rider’s unsuccessful attempt to win a seventh world title ended in disappointment as he only finished third overall.

Rea battled a challenging 2024 on the bike, and this year he suffered a serious crash during pre-season testing, which has hindered his progress.

Andrea Dosoli, Yamaha division manager, described Jonathan as an “extremely talented rider who has accomplished remarkable things in his 17 years racing at the highest level of production racing.

Jonathan Rea was only eight years old when we first met. He warned me, “Watch out for the Rea name.” I’m going to be a world champion because racing is in my family’s blood.

Although it may have been the youth’s dream, Jonathan’s dream came true 20 years later, and the memory of that day endures.

Rea was able to surpass his hero with the help of Northern Ireland’s five-time world champion Joey Dunlop.

He is the country’s most successful motorcycle rider after winning six straight world championships, and Kawasaki’s partnership is unquestionably one of the best in motorsport history.

Rea has always been a fierce and determined competitor, and she was also crowned Irish Motorcyclist of the Year nine times in a row. He is one of the most sage, modest, and articulate sportsmen I have ever met.

I feel very fortunate to have had a front row seat to his remarkable journey because of his career, which has given BBC Sport NI unprecedented access to his life.

He will undoubtedly gain a lot of interest as a test rider in the future, and we might even see him compete in endurance races.