Jonathan Rea has been ruled out of the opening round of the 2025 World Superbike Championship after sustaining fractures to his left foot in a crash during Monday’s official test at Phillip Island in Australia. The Pata Maxum Yamaha rider came off at the Southern Loop during the opening practice run, resulting in a red flag. Rea was taken to the medical centre for a check-up and has been declared unfit for this weekend’s first round of the season. The 38-year-old had been running outside the top ten when the incident happened, with Rea credited with the 15th fastest time after the conclusion of FP1 with a best time of 1’30.885s, completing 20 laps before his crash. It is a major blow for the six-time world champion, who had been hoping to make a strong start to the season after struggling to 13th in his maiden year as a Yamaha rider in 2024. A statement from Yamaha said: “Jonathan Rea will miss the opening round of the 2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship after a crash on the first day of testing at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. “Rea fell on the exit of Turn 2 in the closing stages […]
While Honda made some strides forward at Sepang this week, Yamaha appears to have taken significant strides toward reclaiming a competitive position in the MotoGP field. While it’s still too early to draw definitive conclusions, further assessments in Thailand next week will provide more clarity. That said, the early signs are highly encouraging for Yamaha, particularly for Fabio Quartararo. The Frenchman expressed plenty of optimism after completing over 150 laps during the three-day test at Sepang. Fabio Quartararo “I am really happy! This is the first time that I reached a 1’56s here, so I am happy, and I think that today was a good day for us. The conditions were really good, so in general it was a positive day. Hopefully, during the Buriram Test we will have the same feeling. I’ve been working during the winter break, and not just on a road bike. In general, I was trying to be faster on one lap. I think this was a good point of improvement, but I also think the bike improved in some areas, which helps me to be fast on one lap. I think the goals I set for this test were neither too positive nor too negative. […]
