World Superbike legend Jonathan Rea 'always knew' he would have race opportunities in 2026 with Honda
Jonathan Rea said he “always knew” there would be an opportunity to race again in 2026 after taking on a new role as a test rider for Honda HRC.
The six-time World Superbike champion returns to the track this weekend at Portimao in Portugal as a replacement for injury-hit Jake Dixon, who is recovering from a fractured wrist sustained in a crash at Phillip Island in Australia.
Rea will line up in the opening race of the weekend on Saturday, five months after his last competitive outing at the 2025 championship finale at Jerez in Spain.
On that occasion, Rea endured cruel misfortune when a crash in the Superpole race on the Pata Maxus Yamaha left him with a knee injury that forced him to miss the final race of his full-time racing career.
The 39-year-old will be hoping for much better luck this weekend as Rea leads the Honda line-up alongside Thailand’s Somkiat Chantra, who is poised to make his injury return after missing the opening round in Australia following a training crash at Sepang.
“To be honest, when I discussed this opportunity with HRC, I knew in the background there was going to be some wildcard appearances,” Rea said.
“We just had to select which ones during the season. I always knew there was that opportunity to race again.
“In the wintertime, I tried to recover from my injuries. I had two surgeries, one to repair the damage to my right knee at Jerez and secondly, just five weeks ago, to remove the metalwork in my left foot [from a foot injury sustained at Phillip Island in 2025].
“I didn’t finish in the best way at Jerez. I’m enjoying this new challenge. I actually really enjoyed the bike during the winter. In the limited number of laps we did, I enjoyed it.
“Honestly, I’m back to being in a really good way. I couldn’t explain how much pain I was in last year to the media and my rivals, but last year after the crash at Phillip Island, I couldn’t walk without pain.
“Now this is gone, I feel so much better. I’ve been able to train better and much more lightly as well because I have no metal plates in my foot.
“Looking forward to this and seeing how we can really get on at a track that’s familiar.”
Rea says he is approaching this weekend with “no goals” in mind other than avoiding injury and continuing his development work with the factory Honda Fireblade.
“I don’t have results or goals in mind, because I’ve not done so many laps and definitely not competitive laps with the current grid,” Rea said.
“For me, I have no goals, just try to come out of here healthy and to work in a good way with the team, enjoy and keep moving the bike forward. If we can tick those boxes, it’ll be a successful weekend.”