Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) will miss the upcoming Acerbis Italian Round for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship with Yamaha endurance and test rider Niccolo Canepa drafted in to replace the six-time Champion. Rea crashed at the end of the opening lap of Race 1 at Magny-Cours and sustained injuries to his hand which required surgery but will miss the visit to the Cremona Circuit as he focuses on his recovery.

Rea had been making gains on the Yamaha R1 in recent rounds and was hoping he could take advantage of mixed conditions in France to fight for a podium. However, at the Turn 16-17 chicane, both Rea and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) came down at the same time in separate accidents, with the #65 going to the medical centre for a check-up and then hospital for further evaluation. He underwent surgery to repair a deep abrasion to his right thumb and, in his vlog, stated a recovery time of 2-3 weeks. The decision comes based on medical advice from the surgeon in France and a local medical team in Northern Ireland, although he is aiming to be back at the Aragon Round a week later.

In a post on Instagram, Rea said: “I’m disappointed having to sit out this weekend in Cremona. After speaking with Dr Antonie Martens who performed the surgery in France and Dr Michael McBride who is following my case at home in Belfast, both insist that the tendon graft and skin grafts on my right thumb need a little more time to heal and avoid any setbacks. I am doing everything at home to be back at 100% as soon as possible. Thanks to everyone who is standing with me during this tough time.”

With Cremona coming two weeks after the crash, Rea will be forced to sit on the sidelines for the Italian Round. He will be replaced by 2007 STK1000 title winner Canepa, whose retirement has been delayed by at least a week. Canepa had announced he would end his racing career after last weekend’s Bol d’Or but with his call-up to replace Rea, that’s been put on hold as he returns to WorldSBK action for the first time since 2018.

The Italian has competed in 79 WorldSBK races between 2008 and 2018, claiming a best finish of P7 on two occasions – in Race 1 at Moscow in 2012 and at Misano Race 1 in 2016. He took two wins and 16 podiums during his time in STK1000, including the 2007 title where he beat Claudio Corti by just four points. Canepa was also a three-time winner in STK600 as well as claiming a further seven podiums.

The 36-year-old has been a key part of Yamaha’s success in recent seasons as a test rider for the Japanese manufacturer, as well as a big part of their endurance racing success. He’s taken two world titles in EWC with Yamaha, and narrowly missed out on making it a third in 2024. He raced last weekend in France in the EWC season finale, finishing third alongside Marvin Fritz and Karel Hanika, but will be on track not long after as he races alongside Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) in an all-Italian line-up for the team.

Discussing his last-minute call-up, Canepa said: “The news may come as a bit of a surprise since I announced my retirement a couple of weeks ago! But to be honest, I am really proud to do one more race weekend – especially with this team, Pata Prometeon Yamaha, Crescent and Yamaha’s official R1 WorldSBK with this crew. I am really sorry for what happened with Jonathan, and I wish him a speedy recovery. On the other side I am thankful to Yamaha for this opportunity. It’s always great to race for this team and to race for Yamaha in WorldSBK. Cremona is a track that I don’t know so well, I just did a few laps one day with the Yamaha R7 for the WorldWCR shakedown and I am aware that it is going to be a challenging weekend in terms of performance. For my job as the WorldSBK test rider, we may have something to test and if I can give feedback to help the other Yamaha riders on track then it will be “mission accomplished”. I am really happy and looking forward to the “very last” race weekend of my career now, so let’s see what we can do!”

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