Jonathan Rea returned to action at Portimao in Portugal as the Honda HRC test rider filled in for injured World Superbike rookie Jake Dixon.

Rea recently underwent surgery on an old foot injury and revealed he is far from feeling his best after also recovering from a bout of sickness, but the six-time world champion is enjoying being back on the factory Honda Fireblade at the two-day test in Portimao.

“I just really enjoyed being back on the bike. I'm not feeling like a million percent because I'm just getting over a bit of a sickness, but I enjoyed the bike, first laps were good,” said Rea.

“I've missed obviously Australia; in January I only did 25-odd, good laps in the dry, so confirmed feeling, really, and working step by step.

placeholder image — Honda HRC rider Jonathan Rea in action at Portimao in Portugal. (Photo by Honda Racing)

“But nice to be here in Portugal, nice to ride again, and we found a direction, the base of the bike quite good, but there's some clear feedback where we can improve.

“It's not so much about testing and development, this test for me. It's about trying to... get ready; the race team, they're not worried too much about testing new parts. It's about trying to make the setup sharp and let's see how we end up.”

Honda is running a new-look line-up in World Superbikes this year, with Moto2 Grand Prix race winners Jake Dixon and Thailand’s Somkiat Chantra replacing Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona.

Chantra is set to compete in his first race at round two at Portimao from March 27-29 after sustaining a fractured right arm in a training crash at Sepang in Malaysia.

British rider Dixon fractured his wrist in a spill on the final day of testing at Phillip Island, ruling him out of the first round of the season.

Northern Ireland’s Rea retired from full-time racing at the end of last season and took up a new role as a test rider for Honda.

The 39-year-old could make some race appearances in 2026 as a wild card.

“There's going to be some opportunities for me to race as well this year, so we just keep an open mind to that,” he said. "There might be some possibilities of wild cards.

“I’m going to do some testing for the Suzuka 8 Hour race as well – I might get involved with that. Right now we’re quite open to do many things, but of course the main part of my job will be testing and development work.”