Jonathan Rea's (Pata Yamaha) Jerez test was a good sign for the six-time World Champion, while damp morning conditions turned to an outright downpour, he was unfazed by the weather and recorded several fastest laps. In his last lap of the day, he set the best lap of the session with a 1’53.058s, clearing him of the second fastest rider, Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) by over half a second.

OFF SEASON UPGRADES: Pata Yamaha and Jonathan Rea look to return in 2025 more competitive than in 2024

Rea, Team Principal Paul Denning and the rest of the Pata Yamaha team have been hard at work to bring their Yamaha R1 package forward to propel their riders into podium contention. In doing so, Denning spoke after Day 1 about the bike and the things they would like to see improve. Rea was optimistic about his bike but looks forward to taking the next step forward.

Discussing his day, where he posted a 1’53.058s and completed 40 laps across two bikes, Rea said: “You need all the good ingredients to make a good cake. I think the best is yet to come, we still have parts coming in the coming weeks and months into the season.”

NEW CREW CHIEF: Rea looks forward to Uri Pallares’ new role

After finishing last season 13^th in the Riders’ Championship, his worst finish in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship since 2008, one of the changes made in the offseason was a change in Crew Chief. Uri Pallares became Rea’s crew chief who had previously worked with the six-time Champion as a mechanic during Rea’s remarkable run of success

“It’s been a super easy transition to be honest, he has the respect of the team, he did such a good job in November with the test plan that he received a round of applause from the crew and now he’s just down to business really,” said Rea. “He’s a guy I trust a lot, he has incredible experience, it’s one little box ticked in a long list that we have to check off before the season starts.”

BACK INTO FORM: outlining changes to both him and his bike

Rea expanded on his preparation he and the team have made this offseason to try to get back in the podium fight in 2025, including both physical and mechanical improvements to the team.

“All over the bike we’re trying to improve, the engine, the chassis, electronics, the total package,” commented Rea. “Also from my side as well, I tried to take off some weight in the offseason with a bit of success in order to put everything together.”

GOING FORWARD: Pata Yamaha look ahead to evolving further throughout the season

Looking forward to the next test in Portimao, Rea emphasised how he and his Pata Yamaha team want to keep striving forward to bring their bike into the podium fight.

“More new parts in Portimao and I’m sure Australia,” said Rea. “We’re still in a period of development, it’s still a period of development, we’re still analysing things and it’s good to be a part of a team that’s forward thinking like that. I think it was a huge shock to everyone how uncompetitive we were last year but we’ve reacted in a positive way and I’m excited to see how completive we can be when the lights go out.”

Can Yamaha continue this forward momentum in the 2025 campaign? Find out with full access  through the WorldSBK VideoPass!