Jonathan Rea “wasn’t ready” for Honda WorldSBK return

Jonathan Rea has admitted he “wasn’t ready” for the Portuguese WorldSBK round after missing the top-10 in all three races.

Rea, who retired from full-time racing at the end of last season, made his debut for Honda since joining the factory as its World Superbike test rider at the end of 2025, replacing Jake Dixon who was unable to ride due to injury.

The Northern Irishman is a 13-time race winner at Portimao, so it seemed like the perfect place for him to make a stand-in appearance for HRC.

But after multiple surgeries in the winter on the knee he injured at the final round of 2025 in Jerez, as well as the foot he injured in 2024, Rea had been able to manage only short runs in the limited amount of testing he was able to do over the winter, and at the two-day WorldSBK test at Portimao on 9–10 March.

It meant that Rea had not done a race distance on the Honda before Race 1 of the Portuguese Round on Saturday, and the race came as a “shock” to his body.

“I finished my race weekend at Jerez in the medical centre, so it was a horrible way to finish a weekend,” Jonathan Rea told WorldSBK.com after Race 2 in Portimao.

“So I want to thank HRC Honda for giving me that opportunity to come here and feel a little bit better. 

“But, evaluating the weekend, it’s been tougher than expected, especially from a results point of view. 

“Physically, I wasn’t ready. 

“I’ve had two surgeries since the off-season, so I’ve been recovering, and the 20 laps was a shock to my system because I’ve done five- or six-lap runs in testing and nothing prepares you for that. 

“For sure in this job I’ll have some more opportunities to race during the season and I’ll be much better prepared for those races than here.”

The Dutch Round at Assen is in three weeks on 17–19 April. Dixon’s fitness for that round will determine whether Rea will race there or not.