WorldSBK: Jason O'Halloran to replace the injured Jonathan Rea at Portimao

Jason O’Halloran will stand in for the injured Jonathan Rea in the Pata Maxus Yamaha team next weekend as the World Superbike Championship heads to Portimao.

Rea suffered multiple fractures to his left foot during the pre-season test at Phillip Island and has since undergone surgery as a result. The six-time world champion missed the opening round of 2025 at the Aussie circuit, and a return date has not been set.

Initially, Yamaha MotoGP test rider Augusto Fernandez looked set to replace Rea, however, due to the shoulder injury sustained by Miguel Oliveira in Argentina last weekend, Fernandez has been drafted in for the Grand Prix of the Americas on the same weekend as Portimao.

O’Halloran steps in after re-joining the Yamaha racing family following the conclusion of the 2024 Bennetts British Superbike Championship season. The Australian has joined Yamaha’s factory Endurance World Championship team (Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team) for 2025, and also became Yamaha’s official WorldSBK test rider as part of the deal.

The Australian became Yamaha’s most successful rider in BSB history in terms of race wins (26) during his time with McAMS Yamaha (2019-2023), coming close to title success in 2021 and 2022.

“I’m excited to get the opportunity to ride for the Pata Maxus Yamaha team in Portimão while Jonathan continues to recover,” O’Halloran said. “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.”

After spending his final BSB campaign onboard the FS-3 Racing Kawasaki ZX-10RR, O’Halloran jumped back on his beloved R1 during the winter months with the YART EWC team. This year’s EWC season begins with the famous Le Mans 24-Hour on April 19.

“We are really happy to welcome Jason to the Pata Maxus Yamaha team in WorldSBK,” Niccolo Canepa, Yamaha Road Racing Sporting Manager said. “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.”