Jonathan Rea, how was his return to SBK? "There's nothing to celebrate

Few points, lots of information: for Rea and Honda, a tough SBK weekend in Portugal. Chantra’s debut isn’t one to remember either.

There was great curiosity to see Jonathan Rea back in action in the Superbike World Championship, one of the main storylines of the Portimao round. His full-time racing adventure had ended badly in 2025, with an injury that prevented him from competing in the final race at Jerez. There was also the desire to observe his performance on the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. Not that achieving specific results was his mission, having become a tester, but a six-time world champion nicknamed Cannibal couldn’t be satisfied with simply taking part either. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a memorable weekend for him and the HRC team.

From free practice it was already clear we shouldn’t expect too much: the Northern Irishman set the 17th time in all SBK sessions held at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. It was also hard to imagine a surprise in Superpole, where he took 17th again, doing 27 thousandths better than the returning Somkiat Chantra on the other Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.

As for the races, the results were as follows: 19th place in Race 1 (Chantra 18th), 18th in the Superpole Race (Chantra retired), 12th in Race 2 (Chantra 15th). In the two long races Rea finished more than 35 seconds behind the winner Nicolò Bulega, while in the sprint the gap was 19.5 seconds. It was not a weekend to remember for the HRC team at Portimao.

The former Kawasaki and Yamaha rider wasn’t yet fully physically ready to face a race weekend again, something very different from the tests he carried out over the winter: “It was tough,” reports Speedweek. “I had no idea how I would physically cope over 20 laps; it had been a long time since I had covered race distance. My winter training wasn’t normal due to convalescence; I couldn’t do motocross. I’m in good shape, but not all my muscles remembered it on a track like Portimao.”

Racing at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve is demanding, and Rea had to grit his teeth a bit in his return to World Superbike: “In the first practice session, after four laps my arms were sore and I wondered how I would survive the weekend. There’s nothing to celebrate with results like these, but it was great to come back and ride without the pressure to get good results.”

Rea ended his Superbike career in the Jerez Medical Center in 2025. He underwent two surgeries that required rest and a rehabilitation period. He couldn’t do normal physical preparation and already in the first test of 2026, at Jerez, he admitted he wasn’t yet at 100%. Even though some time has passed since then, evidently it still wasn’t enough to be fully prepared.

The six-time SBK world champion is fully involved in the Honda HRC project and wants to significantly help develop the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP: “We approached the weekend like a test,” he explains, “and we tried some important things on the electronics and chassis. One thing is clear: if we continue with our current approach, we won’t make progress. We managed to gather information and draw conclusions that we’ll take to the next test to improve further. I understand the bike and I know where we need to improve it.”

Rea also recounted an episode at Portimao that shows the approach he took: “In the Superpole Race, I had Manzi in 17th place in front of me, he ran wide in a corner and I thought about passing him. Then I asked myself: what the hell am I doing there? It was for 17th place! That’s no longer my job. Racing at Assen too? We’re talking about it, although the priority is to get Jake back. Let’s say I’m on standby.”

The next WorldSBK round will be held at Assen on the weekend of April 17–19, and it is still uncertain whether Jake Dixon will recover in time from the injury he suffered at Phillip Island. His return could come later, perhaps at Balaton Park (May 1–3). JR65 could be called upon to replace the English rider for the TT Circuit weekend as well.