Is Jonathan Rea a good test rider? Honda is confident; at Kawasaki there were doubts

At Honda there are high expectations for the work Rea will be called to do as a test rider.

He will no longer be a full-time rider, but Jonathan Rea still has a strong desire to race motorcycles and in 2026 he will still have a role in the Superbike World Championship. As is well known, he will be a Honda tester and will contribute to the development of a CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP that may still have untapped potential. His experience could be a great help, especially considering that two rookies, Somkiat Chantra and Jake Dixon, will arrive in the HRC team garage, both coming from the Grand Prix paddock and who will benefit from measuring themselves against a six-time world champion.

Chris Pike, project manager of HRC’s test and development team, expressed confidence in Rea’s ability to be a good test rider: "I think so, otherwise we wouldn’t have signed him. I told Jonathan from the beginning that he wouldn’t always be testing things he likes. When he races, we can give him a fast bike; but when he’s the one testing, we might arrive at solutions he doesn’t necessarily like, but that another rider might. He told me he’s handling his new role well".

Pike has already worked with the Northern Irish rider when the latter was a Honda Superbike rider, and he is convinced he will be able to make a major contribution to the technical project. We’ll see if that’s the case. Pere Riba, Rea’s crew chief at Kawasaki, had questioned JR65’s ability to lead development: "Jonathan’s skills on the bike are very good, the results show that. But he is not the best rider to develop a bike, he is not the best test rider. But he himself knows it". This new experience with HRC will allow a better understanding of the six-time SBK champion’s abilities as a tester.

In addition to carrying out tests, he should also race as a wild card in at least a couple of rounds on the 2025 calendar. Portimão and Donington Park should be the places where we’ll see him back on the grid. Not to mention that in 2026 he will also be competing in the 8 Hours of Suzuka, a prestigious round of the Endurance World Championship where he has already been victorious with both Honda and Kawasaki.