Jason O'Halloran will replace the recovering Jonathan Rea at Portimao
03/20/2025 08:06 AM
Jason O'Halloran will ride for the Pata Maxus Yamaha WorldSBK Team at Portimao.
At the Portimao World Superbike Round, Jason O'Halloran will replace the recovering Jonathan Rea.
The Australian rider joined the Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team for 2025 and is also set to begin a role as Yamaha's WorldSBK test rider.
O'Halloran is no stranger to Yamaha having spent five seasons aboard an R1 in the British Superbike Championship from 2019-2023, achieving 26 victories in this period to become Yamaha's most successful rider in the British Championship in terms of race wins and establish himself as a regular title contender.
Originally, Augusto Fernandez was supposed to replace Rea, but due to his MotoGP call-up to replace the injured Miguel Oliveira, he can no longer make his World Superbike debut.
"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."
"We are really happy to welcome Jason to the Pata Maxus Yamaha team in WorldSBK," Nicolo Canepa added.
"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."
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