Having ridden for the official Kawasaki Racing Team for nine seasons in all, from 2015 to 2023, Northern Irishman Rea will leave the paddock at the end of the year as the most successful WorldSBK rider ever - irrespective of whatever any other competitor achieves from now to the final round at Jerez in October.
 
After Tom Sykes had won the 2013 WorldSBK Championship on the Kawasaki Racing Team Ninja ZX-10R, Rea’s arrival in the official Kawasaki WorldSBK effort two years later began a run of success that is literally unparalleled in the world of production-derived racing.
 
Currently, Rea has secured 119 career WorldSBK race wins from 459 race starts, with 104 of those victories achieved on a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R or ZX-10RR. He has taken 264 podium finishes in all, for three manufacturers. A vast 221 of those 264 podiums were scored while he was a Kawasaki rider. His six World Championship titles are two more than the next best rider, and all were achieved on Ninja machinery.
 
Rea, like all his peer group in 2025, will have four more rounds to complete before the end of the season and with it the culmination of Rea’s record-setting full-time WorldSBK career.
 
Some significant figures from Rea’s time with Kawasaki in WorldSBK took the opportunity to offer their thoughts about Jonathan and his impact on Kawasaki as a whole and themselves as individuals.
 
Shigemi Tanaka, Managing Director of Kawasaki Motors Europe, stated:
“On behalf of Kawasaki Motors Europe, I would like to congratulate Jonathan Rea on what has been a remarkable and record-breaking career. Riding our Ninja machinery, he won six consecutive WorldSBK Championships and was also a core component of KRT accumulating six Manufacturer titles. Jonathan is the stuff of legend within the Kawasaki family and it's with great pride we were associated with such a consummate athlete. Like many within Kawasaki and his global fan base, we regard the relationship between Jonathan and Kawasaki as iconic. We wish him and his family every success and happiness in the next phase of their life together and to put on record our deep respect for this great rider.”
 
Guim Roda, Rea’s KRT Team Manager and current BbKRT Team Manager, stated:
“After working for more than eight years with Johnny and achieving six world championships, I can say that I have had a very honest and sincere relationship with him, built on the deepest mutual respect and the constant search for perfection. He has been one of those people with whom everything in our conversations was aimed at performance. And when that wasn’t the reason, many times we just sat together without saying much, simply with the comfort of knowing that if at any moment we had to pursue a difficult goal, he would be each others best companion. It is honest on his part to say that this is a ‘slow down’ rather than a complete farewell, because fire still runs through his veins. I hope that every time he gets on a bike in the future — and he will — he enjoys it to the fullest. I also want to take this opportunity to thank his wife Tarsh for her quiet support in the background. Now Johnny will have to better balance his attention as a father and watch from the sidelines as his children bring out the best of the ‘Reas’ in football!”
 
Steve Guttridge, Kawasaki Europe Race Planning Manager, stated:
“I recall like it was yesterday when we were presented with the opportunity to sign Jonathan to ride in WorldSBK for our Kawasaki Racing Team. We knew he had already achieved a lot in his career, but I think both parties believed strongly that there was a lot more to come. That said, the achievement of six WorldSBK Championships – and in such a short space of time – was like a dream come true.  Jonathans work ethic and professionalism, along with his crew chief Pere Riba and a tight-knit team in his pit box, was the embodiment of his personal mantra of “dream, believe, and achieve”. Everyone involved in Kawasaki’s racing endeavors thanks Jonathan for his achievements whilst at Kawasaki and wishes him and all of his great family the very best for their future.”
  
Pere Riba, Rea’s KRT Crew Chief and current BbKRT Crew Chief for Alex Lowes, stated: 
“It’s been an absolute privilege to share part of the extraordinary path of JR’s career, together with JR and the Kawasaki Racing Team. We have shared extraordinary moments, winning races and championships. This is now over, but his friendship and his attitude to work hard and to push the limits will remain within the KRT family and me personally forever.”