While working to get up to speed with Yamaha in the Superbike World Championship, Rea is also looking for history

The great Giacomo Agostini, a 15-time FIM Grand Prix world champion who won 122 races throughout his career from 1964 to 1977, is considered by many to be the greatest motorcycle racer of all time.

Jonathan Rea wants to equal Aug’s record.

The six-time FIM Superbike World Champion with 119 victories to his name, Rea, from the Pata Prometeon Yamaha World Superbike organization, aims to equal the records of the sensational Italian, but must first try to get on the podium for the first time this season.

New to Yamaha in 2024 after nine consecutive seasons with Kawasaki Racing, Rea made a profound off-season change when he switched to Yamaha to race their YZF-R1. The results have not been what the 36-year-old Irishman is used to. Due to slow performance, gremlins and outright misfortunes, Rea came nowhere near the podium. His best result in the first three rounds was fifth place in the Superpole race at Assen.

“It’s been difficult the last few months,” admitted Rea, who is counting down the days until the next round at Misano in mid-June. “And with these gaps in the calendar, it is one of the biggest difficulties I am facing when changing teams. The format of this year’s calendar has been very punishing, as have the World Superbike regulations to minimize testing days for the teams that were strong last year. We started the season at Philip Island and then there was a gap for the second race in Barcelona and then there was another gap for Assen and then there was another gap for Misano. You know it’s been hard to find some momentum. I mean, Assen was a decent turning point for us, but now we’re waiting another five weeks to get back on the bike and racing. We have some testing planned in Italy in the coming weeks, but nothing can prepare you or give you a baseline like a race weekend.

“The waiting is the difficult part. Especially when you have areas to improve, you want to get back on the bike and start working, for real. There are limited testing days. I mean, my team will test two days in Cremona, the new circuit. Then we will test two days in Misano. However, with testing restrictions now, I can only use two and a half days in total for the rest of the year. So we have to be smart in how we use them. I just need more time, man. I was with my previous team for a long time and I love everything about the Yamaha R1, but I just need time. The team also needs time to understand me and my riding style. There’s no doubt we’ll get there, but it’s just a slow process. I want to run before we can walk, I feel.

For now, Rea needs to focus on small gains and upgrading both himself and R1.

“Yes, we 100 percent need to look at the small wins,” agreed Rea. “I hate to lower my expectations, but sometimes you have to accept the small victories, be positive and patient, rather than being relentless, making big changes and trying to turn the tide. I think things are going well and we just need to be patient and without a doubt everything will fall into place soon.

“You know the bike is competitive. I feel like I’m in the best moment of my career, so I just need to hope that everything works out. It’s as much a question of the team understanding me as it is of me understanding the new bike. I probably underestimated this before making the change. Everyone at Yamaha is amazing, but they are different. It’s probably like a golfer changing caddy. You probably don’t instinctively need to tell your caddy which club to take out of the bag. The caddy just knows. I feel like I need to drive the Yamaha a little more and work even closer with the crew, which I love. Even in the most difficult moments of this season, the atmosphere has been great. The team manager has been great. I feel a lot of support, but we are not where we want to be. We want to fight for the podium and for race victories. We seem to be a little out of it now.

“And we can’t underestimate the competition in the Superbike World Championship right now,” noted Rea. “The manufacturer support is phenomenal. I’ve been in this championship since 2009 with Ben Spies and Yamaha and Nori Haga and Carlos Checa and Ducati and Max Biaggi and Marco Melandri… I’ve seen all the different Superbike seasons, but at this moment the support of the manufacturer from Honda, from Kawasaki, from Yamaha, Ducati, BMW… It’s simply unbelievable. It’s really.

“In MotoGP they still spend a lot of money, but it’s more about marketing and showing their brand. At Superbike they are trying to sell road bikes and exactly what they build. What you can buy now in the showroom is incredible. It all stems from what we race, so it’s very, very competitive. If you’re a little off on race weekend, you’re nowhere. You have to be in the game and have everything running smoothly just to be competitive. Like I said, we’ll definitely get there, but it’s taking longer than I really expected.”

Rea then spoke about where Yamaha is looking and exploring to improve the performance character of the R1.

“The most important thing is trust in our electronic system,” he said. “Nowadays we have over 220 horsepower and you’re trying to kill that. That’s huge. We spent a lot of time with fuel mappings and traction control and wheelie control and engine braking, and I know it’s there, but it hasn’t occurred to me until now to fully grab this bike by the scruff of the neck and grit my teeth. I can go fast and I can go close to the limit, but to take liberties with the bike and get stuck, I just need that last bit.

“In the next tests we have a big plan to try very different things with our electronics. We want to try different ideas and software and the team is trying hard. They really trust me and also lean on my experience.

“I really love the bike. I love the chassis, I love the character of the engine. We could use a little more power, but overall I love the bike. I just need to make it mine. In the next races, Misano and Donington, I want to be on the podium, for sure. That’s the next objective. I think we are a little far from winning, but I think if we can get on the podium, it will be a good weekend.”

Still, the opportunity to put his name alongside the great Giacomo Agostini with more victories continues to be a strong motivator.

“I’m on par with Giacomo Agostini in the FIM world championship and that’s a big goal of mine to try and achieve that record. That would be huge for me,” he said. “Winning a race is definitely a long-term focus for the next few races. Just get more comfortable with the bike and try to fight for the podium. If we can do that more consistently, then winning races will be the next goal.”