SBK, Yamaha presents the R1s of Jonathan Rea and Andrea Locatelli

On the eve of the two-day World SBK test in Portimao, the time has come for Yamaha to remove the veils from the R1s with which Jonathan Rea and Andrea Locatelli will take to the track next season, joined by fellow GRT team members Remy Gardner and Dominique Aegerter.

A completely unchanged rider lineup for both teams, seeking redemption after a difficult 2024. Coming off an apprenticeship season riding the R1, Rea is indeed aiming to take a step forward in the upcoming year. In which his boxmate Locatelli will try to consolidate the progress made last year and achieve his first win in the premier class of production-derived machinery.

In a season that marks the tenth year of cooperation between Pata Snack, Yamaha Motor Europe and the Crescent Yamaha team, it is precisely the Pata brand that will return as the title sponsor of the official Yamaha team, which will take on the name Pata Maxus Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team.

No major changes regarding the livery of Rea and Locatelli's R1s for 2025, where blue will once again be the dominant color, accompanied by a few touches of black, white and light blue. The latter due to the presence of the team's new co-title partner Harris Maxus, a brand of the Harris Group, a leading distributor of commercial vehicles in the U.K. and Ireland. For the tenth year in a row, the Pata logo will instead be on full display on the sides of the factory team's bikes, as well as on the R1s of the GRT team and the Yamaha bikes fielded by the Ten Kate team in World Supersport.

“2025 marks a significant milestone for Yamaha as we celebrate ten years since our return to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in 2016, alongside a decade of invaluable partnership with Pata Snack," commented Andrea Dosoli, head of Yamaha Motor Europe's Motorsport division. "While our results in 2024 fell short of expectations, the dedication and collaborative effort from our engineers, the wider YME management team, our riders and our teams has been unwavering. Over the winter, everyone has been working hard to make a step forward for 2025 and encouraging progress in winter testing fuels our confidence as we prepare for another year of racing. The competition in WorldSBK is at a really high level, so we are excited for another year of close, thrilling battles on track.”