Second Jonathan Rea Yamaha World Superbike replacement announced

The second replacement for Jonathan Rea at the Pata Maxus Yamaha team has been announced for the upcoming WorldSBK Portuguese Round.

Rea will now be replaced by farmer BSB race winner Jason O’Halloran, who announced last year his withdrawal from BSB in favour of a factory contract with Yamaha’s official Endurance World Championship team: YART.

O’Halloran, who as part of his Yamaha contract is also the brand’s official WorldSBK test rider, hasn’t raced since last year’s BSB finale at Brands Hatch in October, but has been called on now as the original replacement, Augusto Fernandez, has now been called on to replace Pramac Yamaha MotoGP rider Miguel Oliveira – who was injured at last weekend’s Argentinian Grand Prix – at the Grand Prix of the Americas on the same weekend as the World Superbike race in Portimao.

Due to the timing of the decision for Fernandez to replace Oliveira, O’Halloran will not get the chance to test the WorldSBK machine before he races it.

“I’m excited to get the opportunity to ride for the Pata Maxus Yamaha team in Portimao while Jonathan [Rea] continues to recover,” said O’Halloran, whose World Endurance season is set to get underway just a couple of weeks after the Portuguese Round at Le Mans on 19–20 April.

“I have really enjoyed being back on the R1 in pre-season testing with YART, it’s a bike I’ve always gelled well with, and I had a lot of success with the R1 in BSB, so to try it in full WorldSBK spec is something I’m looking forward to.

“Of course, heading into a race weekend with no testing is jumping in at the deep end a little bit but I will give it my best for the team and for Yamaha while also remembering that the EWC season starts in just a few weeks!

“I’d like to thank Yamaha and the team for the opportunity and to wish Jonathan a speedy recovery.”

Niccolo Canepa, Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Sporting Manager, added: “We are really happy to welcome Jason [O’Halloran] to the Pata Maxus Yamaha team in WorldSBK.

“He is currently our EWC rider and is also our WorldSBK test rider, but he has not had the chance to ride the bike yet!

“The Portimão weekend will be a good opportunity to get a first touch of the bike together with our competitors to understand the bike’s level so he can contribute to our development work as we continue to look to improve.

“Of course we all know Jason’s speed, he is the most victorious rider for Yamaha in BSB and knows the R1 well in BSB spec, which is very similar to WorldSBK spec, and he also knows the Pirelli tyres.

“He has been extremely fast in the winter tests with the EWC YART bike so I believe he will have a good race weekend.

“We are very close to the Le Mans test and race so thanks to YART for allowing us to borrow Jason in this very busy period for them.”