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Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) is ruthless; we’ve seen it time and again on the track when he’s cut through on a rival and now we’ve seen it off-track with confirmation that the six-time FIM Superbike World Champion will switch from Kawasaki machinery to Yamaha for the 2024 campaign. With only two wins to his name over the last 15 months, Rea has been reminded constantly that the glory days are over. In Rea’s mind, Kawasaki are a spent force and the fact that he was willing to pay a reputed €800,000 to get out of his commitment for 2024 gives that viewpoint an exclamation mark. Rea’s been the reference for so long in WorldSBK but for the first time in his career, he now faces questions. Can he be successful at Yamaha? Can he stack up to Toprak Razgatlioglu’s success on the blue machine? Can he make it work next year?

MOTIVATION STILL THERE: a new approach to challenging for title #7

Rea is still an elite rider and competitor and he will have total belief in his ability to prove that he is still the best rider in Superbike racing. Motivation won’t be a problem over the winter and he should adapt to the Yamaha quite easily. So many riders have jumped onto that bike with totally different styles and been successful so there’s little reason to suggest Rea won’t adapt quickly to it.

For Rea, the change of scenery will be a shot in the arm. He’ll have new challenges and new relationships to build, he'll have to galvanise a team around him in a similar way to when he joined Kawasaki in 2014 and there'll be familiar faces in the Yamaha pit box, such as his former electronics engineer Davide Gentile. There’ll be a long queue of engineers looking to work with Rea but the queue will start with his current crew chief, Pere Riba.

WILL RIBA MOVE? A new dynamic for one of the most successful crew chiefs

Riba has been instrumental to the success of Kawasaki’s WorldSBK programme. Going back to the early days of Provec with Joan Lascorz it was Riba that was at his side. The Spaniard has developed a reputation as one of the best in getting the most out of his riders. Whether it was Lascorz or Loris Baz in those early days, Riba gave the rider the confidence to push to their limit. It was the same with Rea from the outside. The only difference was that Rea wasn’t a raw rookie, he was already the finished article. That talent and experience matched perfectly with Riba.

Will they rekindle their relationship in blue? That remains to be seen and no doubt, this weekend at Magny-Cours, there will be negotiations to force Riba to make a decision. It’s no guarantee that he’ll leave to sign with Rea either. Closer to the end of his crew chief career than the start, would Riba run out of a safe contract with Kawasaki just to be alongside Rea for what is likely to be the final two years of his contract?

REA’S REPLACEMENT: multiple names in the frame

A big deciding factor could be who Kawasaki replaces Rea with. Scott Redding, Axel Bassani, Xavi Vierge and Adrian Huertas were the names being talked about the paddock before Rea’s announcement. Huertas is the interesting one. He stepped onto Rea’s bike for a day at Aragon and impressed with his speed. His times were aided by Superpole tyres at the end of the day but he has impressed in the Supersport class this year.

YAMAHA’S STATEMENT OF INTENT: they want the title back

The signing of Rea is one that also shows Yamaha are willing to push the boat out. Having spoken so often about their bLU cRU development programme and bringing riders through the ranks, it was a surprise to see that they would leave that approach for 2024. However, it’s also obvious that they had no chance of replacing Toprak with a sure-fire replacement unless they hired the six-time World Champion. Winning races and titles are what Yamaha expect and they didn’t feel that the other riders in their ranks offered them the same opportunities.

WHEN CAN WE SEE REA’S FIRST TEST? We already can’t wait 

With Rea and Razgatlioglu in different colours for 2024, the opening round of the season is one that can’t come soon enough. Their first outings on their new machinery will also be a massive moment for WorldSBK. It’s expected that Rea will be released from his Kawasaki commitments and ride the Yamaha in November whereas Toprak will have to wait until January. The silly season for WorldSBK this year has been the craziest we’ve ever seen. The hope is that next season will be one to remember.

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