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Belfast Telegraph
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Jonathan Rea lifts lid on ‘strong talks' over future prospects in World Superbikes
The six-time champion earned his best result of the 2025 season in Saturday's opening race at the East Midlands circuit, finishing fifth after qualifying strongly in fourth place on the Pata Maxus Yamaha. It was a fitting performance to mark his tribute to Northern Ireland motorcycle legend Joey Dunlop. Rea wore a custom-made replica of the road racing great's iconic yellow Arai helmet over the weekend to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his tragic passing in a racing accident in Estonia on July 2, 2000. Michael Dunlop, who surpassed his uncle Joey's record of 26 Isle of Man TT wins in 2024 and has now won 33 times at the event in total, attended the Donington round where he presented the top three in the Superpole race of Toprak Razgatlioglu, Nicolo Bulega and Sam Lowes with their trophies on Sunday. Rea scored a satisfactory sixth in the Superpole race but ended the weekend in a disappointing 15th in the final race at Round Seven due to an issue with the front brake. He is in the final year of his Yamaha contract after signing with the manufacturer for 2024 and 2025 following nine years at Kawasaki. Rea struggled in his first season on the R1 and finished 13th in the Championship, claiming his only podium result at Donington in the summer of 2024. The 38-year-old was playing catch-up in 2025 after a crash in a test at Phillip Island in Australia in February left him with multiple fractures in his left foot, with the complexity of the injury ruling him out until the Fourth Round at Cremona in Italy at the beginning of May. Rea is currently in 18th place in the Championship, but he doesn't feel his 'difficult moment' will have too much of a negative impact on his prospects of securing a competitive ride for 2026. 'I think this difficult moment we're facing is a moment in time,' said Rea. 'I've no doubt about my ability, and I think when I look at my stats and my career, I don't have to sell (myself) too much, really. The people understand that, and I don't think it's going to affect what happens next year. 'Of course, conversations now are ongoing quite strong about different options here and there, so let's see. I'm sure by the summer break, I'll understand at least what all the options are, and then it will be time to put my head together and understand what I want to do.' The Eighth Round takes place at the Balaton Park track in Hungary from July 25-27 – a new venue on the calendar in the 2025 season – before the six-week summer break. Factory seats are up for grabs at both Ducati and BMW following the confirmed departures of Alvaro Bautista and reigning champion Razgatlioglu respectively, while HRC Honda riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge's futures remain in the balance. Razgatlioglu is making the step up to MotoGP in 2026 with the Pramac Racing Yamaha team and showed why he is in high demand with a dominant display at Donington. The Turkish star completed a clean sweep of all three races to move into the title lead for the first time in 2025 by four points from Nicolo Bulega ( Ducati), who was second in each race. Razgatlioglu won the Superpole race by 2.8 secs from Bulega, with Briton Sam Lowes making it onto the podium at his home round on the Marc VDS Racing Ducati. His brother Alex was declared unfit to race on Sunday after crashing while leading Saturday's opening race. In the final race, Razgatlioglu won by 2.9 secs from Bulega, with team-mate Bautista in third. Sam Lowes was in second place when he crashed out in the early stages. Rea's Yamaha team-mate Andrea Locatelli – fifth in the Superpole race – crossed the line in fourth in Race Two.
Sunday World
15-06-2025
- Automotive
- Sunday World
‘I'm no longer a priority' – Jonathan Rea facing uncertain future at the end of the season
Ballyclare racer Jonathan Rea (right) Rea's struggles on the R1 machine continued yesterday at round six at Misano in Italy, where the 38-year-old finished 12th in the opening race of the weekend. The Ballyclare man missed the first three rounds this year after injuring his left foot in a crash during the final winter test at Phillip Island in Australia in February and made his return at Cremona in Italy at the beginning of May, finishing outside the points in 19th, 16th and 18th. He scored his best result of the season next time out at Brno in the Czech Republic with 10th in the first race and 10th in the Superpole race, before slipping a few places to 13th in the final race. Rea has been linked with a move away from Yamaha next season, with reports suggesting he would prefer a Ducati ride, but the record 119-time race winner is no longer at the front of the queue for the best bikes in the championship. 'Before Toprak [Razgatlioglu] joined BMW, I was always one of the first to be approached,' said Rea. 'This is no longer the case. I am no longer a priority. 'I want to be competitive. I don't know yet what options I'll have. My idea is that I make a decision after Donington (in July). 'If nothing exciting comes up, I'm prepared to stay home. But I want to know beforehand how competitive I can be with this bike and my crew. For me, this is unfinished business. 'The road can go either way. First I have to find out if I'm interested in continuing as I do now. 'And Yamaha has to find out if they want to keep me on board.' Rea made the switch to Yamaha for 2024 after nine seasons at Kawasaki, during which time he became the most successful World Superbike rider in history, winning the title six times consecutively from 2015 to 2020. However, he endured the worst season of his WSBK career last year, ending the campaign in 13th with a best finish of third at Donington Park. He was determined to make amends in 2025 but his injury setback at the start of the season happened at the worst possible time. Rea, who qualified 16th at Misano yesterday, will be looking to climb further up the leaderboard in today's races. His Pata Maxus Yamaha team-mate, Andrea Locatelli – who has penned a new two-year deal with the team – was fifth in race one and is clearly more comfortable on the R1. Reigning champion and factory BMW star Razgatlioglu will move to the MotoGP World Championship next year with the Pramac Yamaha team, while former champion Alvaro Bautista is a free agent after confirming he won't be retained by Ducati. Razgatlioglu won yesterday's opening race by one second from championship leader Nicolo Bulega, who has signed a one-year extension with the Ducati squad. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Ducati) was 16 seconds down on Razgatlioglu in third, narrowly holding off Briton Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) for the final rostrum spot. The Superpole race is at 10am today with Race Two at 1pm.
BBC News
14-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Rea 12th as Razgatlioglu wins Misano Superbike opener
Northern Ireland's Jonathan Rea finished 12th as Toprak Razgatlioglu won the opening race of the weekend at round six of the World Superbike Championship at Misano in Italy on battled it out at the front throughout with series leader and early pacesetter Nicolo Bulega, with the two-time champion prevailing on his BMW by just one second at the chequered was a seventh individual race win of the season for Razgatlioglu, who reduces his arrears to his Ducati rival to 26 points in the championship was revealed earlier this week that the Turkish rider would transfer to the MotoGP series in 2026, having signed a deal to ride a Yamaha for Prima Pramac Petrucci overcame England's Alex Lowes in a hotly-contested battle for third spot, the Italian claiming that position for the fourth consecutive was 15.5 seconds adrift of Bulega and sits third in the series going into Sunday's Superpole race and Race world champion Rea missed the opening three rounds because of injury and has now secured 13 points to lie 18th in the standings.
Belfast Telegraph
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Frustrated Jonathan Rea admits he has lots to do after early struggles at Misano
The Ulster rider missed much of the first free practice session at the Marco Simoncelli Circuit after his Pata Maxus Yamaha R1 developed an electrical issue. Rea squeezed in a lap at the end of FP1 but there was more frustration in the afternoon when the 38-year-old was unable to make much progress with the set-up of the machine. He finished 18th after the opening day, 1.715s down on pacesetter and championship leader Nicolo Bulega ( Ducati). Rea is now aiming to make up for lost time in final practice and qualifying on Saturday ahead of the opening race of the weekend at 1.00pm. 'Tough start to my day which put us on the back foot because we had a technical problem in the morning that kept me in the box,' Rea said. 'Fortunately, the mechanics worked incredibly hard and I was able to get a lap at the end of the session to verify the bike was okay and give us some confidence to move on in the afternoon. 'Unfortunately, FP2 we didn't make much progress with the set-up as temperatures rose and the track felt different, a bit greasy, and I really struggled with a lot of chatter and understeer. 'It was hard to be precise, I couldn't stop like I want to and be on the correct part of the circuit. 'I tried to take a wheel to understand what other riders were doing, but the more I tried, the worse it got. 'Definitely room for improvement tomorrow and very disappointed with today.' Rea made his return from injury at Cremona in Italy last month after missing the first three rounds following a crash in testing at Phillip Island in Australia. He is out of contract at Yamaha this year and is reported to be seeking a deal with a different manufacturer for 2026. Rea is the most successful rider in World Superbike history, winning the title in six successive years between 2015 and 2020. After leaving Kawasaki, he has struggled to find the same form at Yamaha and finished last year in 13th in the standings, with his best result a third place at Donington Park. Italian Bulega, last year's title runner-up, was 0.190s faster than reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) yesterday, with Alvaro Bautista ( Ducati) in third. Bulega leads the championship by 31 points from Razgatlioglu going into round six and is bidding to win the crown for the first time in only his second season in World Superbikes. Razgatlioglu, meanwhile, is set to make the move to the MotoGP World Championship next year with the Pramac Yamaha team and is determined to retain the title for BMW before taking on a new challenge next year. 'On one side, I feel sad; on the other, I'm so happy,' said Razgatlioglu, whose crew chief is Northern Ireland man Phil Marron. 'I'm sad because I feel like World Superbike is part of my family. I know everyone, 'I'm really happy with the paddock. This paddock is relaxed, and everyone is friendly. 'Moving to MotoGP as a three-time World Superbike champion is my biggest dream for this year. 'We're still fighting for the title with Bulega and we're not so far behind, just 31 points. I hope we get the title this year. 'This is my last year with BMW, and I need to give something to them before I move to MotoGP.' On Sunday, the Superpole race is at 10.00am with Race Two at 1.00pm.
Gulf Today
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- Gulf Today
Twice Superbike champ Razgatlioglu to ride for Pramac in MotoGP in 2026
Twice World Superbike champion Toprak Razgatlioglu will make the switch to MotoGP in 2026 after agreeing to join the Prima Pramac Racing team, Yamaha announced on Tuesday. Razgatlioglu, the first Turkish Superbike world champion who is known for his showmanship and has 63 wins, won his first title with Yamaha in 2021 before making the switch to BMW, winning the title again in 2024. Pramac made the switch from Ducati bikes to Yamaha this season. Razgatlioglu is currently second in the 2025 Superbike championship. "Toprak, the most victorious Yamaha rider of all time in Superbike, has proven to be an exceptional talent, securing the WorldSBK Title twice, which is no mean feat," Paolo Pavesio, the managing director of Yamaha Racing, said in a statement. Toprak Razgatlioglu poses on the podium after securing himself as the 2021 WSBK champion at the Mandalika Circuit, Central Lombok. File/AFP "His transition to MotoGP is both a 'homecoming' and an exciting new challenge that's been set up with the clear goal of progressive growth over time." Razgatlioglu had previously tested the Yamaha bike in 2023. Pramac currently have Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira as their riders this season, with Yamaha saying the 2026 lineup will be confirmed in due course. Current WorldSBK leader Nicolo Bulega is also set to join Ducati's MotoGP test team next year ahead of a potential switch in 2027 when MotoGP's new regulations come into effect. Reuters
