The Yamaha era of Jonathan Rea’s WorldSBK career is officially underway as he was on hand with team-mate Andrea Locatelli to reveal the Pata PROMETEON Yamaha R1 they will campaign in the 2024 WorldSBK Championship.
The Ulsterman – a six-time WorldSBK Champion – arrives ay Yamaha after almost a decade with Kawasaki bidding to get back to the form that sees him hold the record for WorldSBK race wins at an extraordinary 119 victories.
However, after seeing his unbroken streak of six titles ended by Toprak Razgatlioglu – the rider he replaces at Yamaha – in 2021 and winning only a single race in 2023, Rea embarks on a new chapter with Yamaha in 2024.
He will pair up with Locatelli, who heads into his fourth season with Yamaha bidding to secure his first WorldSBK win after ending the 2023 season fourth overall.
The Crescent Racing-run factory Pata PROMETEON team will be flanked by official satellite spin-off GYTR GRT with riders Remy Gardner and Dominique Aegerter, plus independent efforts from GMT 94 with Philipp Oettl and Motoxracing with Brad Ray.
“Our expectations are high heading into the new season with a strong rider line-up including four world champions, a national champion and a Grand Prix podium finisher,” said Yamaha Racing Europe’s Andrea Dosoli.
“Jonathan’s career statistics tell his story, he is the most successful rider in WorldSBK history and we are excited he will line-up on the R1 this year alongside Andrea, who enters his fourth year with the team on the back of his strongest season yet.
“Remy and Dominique impressed in their rookie season so now with a year of experience, they are in a strong place.
“Bradley too now has a year of experience under his belt and enters 2024 fully fit, while Philipp joins Yamaha as a proven top ten contender in WorldSBK.
“We have worked hard over the winter to improve the R1 in key areas and we feel we are in a strong position to fight again for the World Championship title, but we know that we need to maximise every opportunity to score points in order to do so.
“Thank you to our riders and teams for their efforts so far and I wish them the best of luck for the 2024 season.”
