Official: Jonathan Rea to race at Portimao; Honda HRC also welcomes back Chantra

Rea returns to racing in WorldSBK, will replace Dixon in Portugal and line up alongside the returning Chantra.

The Superbike round at Portimão scheduled for the weekend of March 27-29 will feature a welcome return: Jonathan Rea. The six-time world champion will race with the Honda HRC team, replacing the injured Jake Dixon. Also confirmed is the return of Somkiat Chantra, who was recently on track with the Northern Irish rider during the test at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve and has now fully recovered from the injury that sidelined him in January.

JR65 last raced with Honda in 2014, at the Qatar round, where he took fourth in Race 1 and second in Race 2. Replicating those results in 2026 is unlikely, but the six-time SBK world champion isn’t under pressure to secure specific finishes during the Portimão weekend, where he also took his last win as a Honda rider: in Race 2, also in 2014.

This year he serves as a test rider, and for him it will be crucial above all to rack up laps and provide useful feedback for the development of the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. Of course, a superstar like him will try to finish as far up the order as possible, but without taking unnecessary risks. He ended his full-time World Superbike career with an injury that also affected his very first outings as an HRC test rider, and he doesn’t know the bike well yet, so he will surely manage the weekend at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve very intelligently.

His presence will also be useful for Chantra, who will in effect be making his official debut in a WorldSBK round. The Thai rider, having put his disappointing MotoGP experience behind him, is eager to do well in the production-derived championship. Dixon, who came from Moto2, will have to watch from the sidelines: the good news is that his rehabilitation program is progressing positively, without setbacks. We’ll see if the British rider can return to action at the Assen round (April 17-29).