Jonathan Rea was in Jerez this week for two days of World Superbike testing, completing 173 laps. The Pata Yamaha rider worked with three different bikes and various components, already feeling competitive aboard the YZF-R1.

The six-time world champion told worldsbk.com: ‘It’s been really positive and I’ve really enjoyed riding the bike at this test, especially on day one when the temperature was warmer than expected and similar to the race. We were able to get a lot of work done. I had 3 bikes to try different options on and loads of different parts. We never managed to put everything together to be perfect but we still have a lot of time and we got through the main test items. We managed just about everything on the list; some items we can discard, some very interesting going forwards’.

While acknowledging he hasn’t yet reached the bike’s limits, Rea ensured he already feels competitive: ‘I completed the test with a race simulation which was positive; the more laps I do on the R1, the more I understand it and how it behaves in certain conditions and also, the more confidence I get. I don’t feel like I’ve found the limit with the bike yet. I’m understanding the last part of braking but I feel competitive already’.

O conteúdo ‘I don’t feel like I’ve found the limit with the bike, but I feel competitive already’ – Jonathan Rea aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

This week marked Jonathan Rea’s debut with Pata Yamaha in the two days of testing for the World Superbike Championship in Jerez. These were his first laps on track in a new phase of his career as a six-time champion, after nine seasons with Kawasaki.

At the end of the testing, the British rider commented that it was primarily a test aimed at the initial adaptation: ‘My first feelings with this team have been fantastic, ever since I agreed to make the move. Both the team and Yamaha have been really welcoming and making everything easy. The first test was just about getting familiar with the bike – it was a bit of a shock, I had a lot of different sensations than I am used to – but in a positive way!’.

Regarding his impressions of the YZF-R1, Rea stated that it is an easy bike to ride, providing a sense of confidence: ‘The R1 is very user-friendly – not necessarily easy to go to the absolute limit just yet, but easy to ride. It generates a lot of traction which encourages you to go fast and inspires confidence. You can get into the throttle and use the power of the machine – it feels good and now I can see how Toprak [Razgatlioglu] was riding the way he was, also [Andrea] Loka being so competitive this year. It’s all good! Just a nice first contact with the set-up and the team, so I expect next time we can get more deeply into it’.

As for his work program on the previous day, rider #65 mentioned: ‘Step-by-step today we have tried some different things, fork spec, different tyre combinations so that I can understand how the Yamaha uses different compounds – I could see from the past that Yamaha have been able to maximise the SCX tyre. I requested some different electronics set-up – but not really too much. I have been using the current «base setting» let’s say of the R1 and in the next test we will start to work on development parts’.

In conclusion, Rea added: ‘A really positive experience on both days and the R1 is feeling more like my bike, particularly as we have been lucky with the weather this afternoon and got through more than we expected. I’m sure I could wake up tomorrow and even more performance would come but now I have to wait a couple of weeks…! Thanks to everybody – I really enjoyed myself!’.

O conteúdo Jonathan Rea and his debut on Yamaha’s SBK: ‘It was a bit of a shock!’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Toprak Razgatlioglu has decided to embark on a new chapter in his World Superbike Championship career in 2024 by joining BMW. Earlier this year, he had the opportunity to move to MotoGP with Yamaha, but even after testing the bike, it became clear that this transition wouldn’t be possible for the upcoming season.

Andrea Dosoli, the Yamaha WSBK team manager, explained that the Turkish rider was already looking for a new professional challenge, and MotoGP could have been just that. However, when he realized that the transition wouldn’t be possible now, he looked for something else: ‘Even before the Jerez test with MotoGP, Toprak was looking for a new challenge, and MotoGP could have represented exactly that. But when he realized that the transition wouldn’t be possible right away, he looked for something else. All great athletes are always looking for new challenges’.

Quoted in GPOne.com, Dosoli expressed understanding for Razgatlioglu, who, in his words, displayed good potential during the MotoGP bike test: ‘In my opinion, he showed all his talent during the test, and I have no doubt he could have performed well there too. But when he realized he wouldn’t have a seat in MotoGP immediately, he looked for other challenges, and that’s normal in the lives of all athletes. I would say we have one here, and that’s [Jonathan] Rea’.

O conteúdo ‘When Toprak Razgatlioglu realized he wouldn’t go to MotoGP, he looked for other challenges’ – Andrea Dosoli aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Toprak Razgatlioglu is not participating in the World Superbike Championship testing in Jerez with BMW, thereby missing the start of preparations with his future team for 2024. However, it wasn’t due to a lack of openness from Yamaha, with whom he is under contract until the end of November.

Andrea Dosoli, Yamaha’s team manager, explained, as quoted by the GPOne.com website, that they couldn’t reach an agreement with the rider for the test:

– We all understand the advantages for a manufacturer and a rider to be able to conduct a test, and we also understand what we are talking about, being able to test calmly with Jonathan Rea. We discussed with Toprak to find a solution, but unfortunately, it was not possible to reach an agreement. However, there was an attempt to get him to the test. There was an openness under certain conditions.

O conteúdo Yamaha was open to let Toprak Razgatlioglu test with BMW… but there was no agreement aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The battle for the win in the final race of the World Superbike Championship season was breath-taking, with a lot of excitement provided by Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha).

Despite the title being secured by the Spaniard the day before, neither of the two riders wanted to end the season without one last victory – especially Razgatlioglu, who bid farewell to his team.

It was the Turkish rider who came out on top in this intense battle. According to the official WSBK social media, from the tenth lap onwards, there were 38 passes between Razgatlioglu and Bautista before everything was decided. These impressive numbers illustrate the competitiveness at the top of the championship and already anticipate new battles in 2024.

O conteúdo Impressive numbers: 38 overtakes in the fight for the win in the last race of the WSBK season aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jonathan Rea started the new chapter in his World Superbike Championship career on Tuesday. After several years with Kawasaki, he moved to Pata Yamaha, and the first on-track work took place on the opening day of testing in Jerez.

The Briton commented his feelings in this first day with the Iwata-based manufacturer: ‘It was fantastic to get the first laps on the R1 because you always have anticipation and maybe a preconception of how the bike’s going to be. I’ve been super excited until this morning, and then I got really nervous all of a sudden. I was thinking: «Can I be fast with the bike?» or «what’s it going to feel like sitting on the bike during the bike fit?»’.

According to Rea, after some skepticism at the start, he soon got positive feelings: ‘I got comfortable but the position felt strange, and I couldn’t imagine riding the bike. As soon as I exited pitlane, there were a lot of positives straight away I could take’.

Regarding the working plan, the six-time world champion just regrets the rainy conditions: ‘We did three outings. The weather has been far from perfect. Even this morning, at a lot of corners, it was full of wet patches. Just before lunch, we got a lot of drizzle and then the track got soaked. We considered keeping the bike nice and dry for tomorrow and keeping with the test plan. Hopefully the track can dry out tonight, maybe it’ll be a late start tomorrow, but it’s also important to ride in the wet’.

O conteúdo ‘I got really nervous all of a sudden; I couldn’t imagine riding the bike’ – Jonathan Rea aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jonathan Rea made his debut with Pata Yamaha in World Superbike Championship testing at Jerez on Tuesday. This is an exciting moment for the Iwata manufacturer’s team.

Paul Denning, the team boss, spoke to the official championship website about Rea’s debut and didn’t hide his emotions: ‘I’m really excited! It’s a very short transition I have to say, from the emotion of Sunday and 24 hours later, taking pictures of Jonathan Rea sat on our bike. It’s kind of surreal, almost too quick a transition – also for him, to be jumping out of green after eight years. However, here we are, they are the logistics, we’re here at the test and I couldn’t be more excited. We had a great day yesterday, like an introduction day, working together in a physical way. I am absolutely intrigued to see what today and what the next day brings as part of the first part of the journey’.

According to Denning, everything that led to Rea joining Yamaha was strange but enjoyable: ‘It’s been a real pleasure to get to know the person behind the competitor, his family and the process was stressful but strangely enjoyable. It’s quite a surreal moment’.

O conteúdo Jonathan Rea’s debut it’s ‘kind of surreal’ for Yamaha aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Jonathan Rea had an emotional end to the season at Jerez with Kawasaki, the team with which he spent nine years and won six World Superbike titles. Now on the Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK team, were tests are taking place, the Briton continues at Jerez, one of his favourite tracks, but with different colours.

Here are the first images of the 36-year-old Yamaha rider in a new phase of his career in the category:

O conteúdo Gallery: Jonathan Rea’s new colours are revelead, now understand on Yamaha aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Yamaha is not making it easy for Toprak Razgatlioglu in his transition to BMW in the World Superbike Championship, wanting the contract to be honored until the end. The rider won’t be able to test in Jerez this week and has also turned down the possibility of testing on November 22 and 23.

According to SPEEDWEEK.com, the 2021 champion would have had to wear a leather suit with no logos and could not speak to the press about comparisons between Yamaha and BMW bikes until the contract with the Japanese manufacturer ceases at the end of November.

Razgatlioglu did not liked these demands, and as a result, he is expected to make his debut with BMW from December 4 to 6 in Jerez, once the contract with Yamaha has already expired.

O conteúdo Toprak Razgatlioglu rejects Yamaha’s demands and will only test for BMW in December aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Alex Lowes retired from the World Superbike Championship’s Superpole race at Jerez following a bizarre and dangerous accident. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) overtook him on the way to turn one, but positioned himself right in front of Lowes’ bike, and the British rider couldn’t avoid to hit the rear wheel with his helmet. He suffered some abrasions on his face as a result.

The Kawasaki rider stated, as quoted on SPEEDWEEK.com, that he doesn’t think it was a clean maneuver: ‘Toprak passed me in the first corner and I felt it wasn’t a clean manoeuvre. It doesn’t look like it from the outside, but the way he got in front of me and delayed, he didn’t give me any room’.

While acknowledging his luck in avoiding more serious injuries, Lowes also refrained from making extensive criticisms of Razgatlioglu: ‘I don’t want to complain about the action because I like the way he rides […]. Still, it’s a shame about the crash and I was lucky to get away with it. The impact was violent. Now I have a few stitches around my eyes and quite a lot of swelling on my face’.

O conteúdo Alex Lowes reacts to the crash with Toprak Razgatlioglu: ‘I felt his manoeuvre wasn’t clean’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.