Jason O’Halloran will stand in for the injured Jonathan Rea in the Pata Maxus Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team for the second round of the FIM Superbike World Championship at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, Portimão next weekend.
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.
Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP test rider, Augusto Fernandez, who was initially slated to replace Rea in Portimão, has been called back to his GP duties as a replacement for Miguel Oliveira at Prima Pramac Yamaha for the U.S. Grand Prix, which takes place on the same weekend as Portimão.
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.
He has undergone several winter tests with the YART EWC team in recent months, where his speed has impressed as the team prepare for their 2025 season which kicks off at Le Mans next month.
O’Halloran will get his first taste of the R1 WorldSBK in Free Practice on Friday 28th March as the second round of the championship gets underway on the Algarve.
Jason O’Halloran – Pata Maxus Yamaha
“I’m excited to get the opportunity to ride for the Pata Maxus Yamaha team in Portimão while Jonathan continues to recover. 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.”
Niccolò Canepa – Road Racing Sporting Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe
“We are really happy to welcome Jason 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.”
