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Jonathan Rea to race Dutch WorldSBK as Jake Dixon return pushed back
Jonathan Rea will replace Jake Dixon at the 2026 Dutch WorldSBK for his second race appearance of the season.
Jonathan Rea is set to make his second appearance of the 2026 WorldSBK season as he again stands in for Jake Dixon at the Dutch Round on 17–19 April.
Dixon was forced to miss the first two rounds of his rookie WorldSBK season in Australia and Portugal after a crash in testing at Phillip Island that left him with wrist injuries.
The timing of Dixon’s injury meant he went unreplaced at the Australian Round, but HRC test rider Jonathan Rea was able to step in at Portimao last weekend (27–29 March), taking a best result of 12th in Race 2, alongside Somkiat Chantra who made his WorldSBK debut after missing the opening round through injury himself (Chantra fractured both his arms during a training session at Sepang in January).
A statement from Honda says that Dixon will now aim to return at the Hungarian Round on 1–3 May.
“The Honda HRC team will line up with Somkiat Chantra and Jonathan Rea for the Pirelli Dutch Round at Assen (17-19 April), with test rider Rea again standing in for the recovering Jake Dixon,” the HRC statement reads.
“Dixon’s recovery is progressing well and in line with expectations.
“The target for the British rider’s return is [round four], the Motul Hungarian Round (1-3 May), subject to final medical clearance.”
Following the conclusion of the Portimao weekend, Rea said that he was still not back to full fitness after two surgeries he had over the winter. But he added that he expects to be in a better condition for any additional races he does later in the calendar.
There are three weeks between the Portuguese and Dutch rounds for Rea to recover more of his physical condition.
Like Portimao, Assen is a circuit where Rea has seen substantial success over his World Superbike career, taking 17 wins there including a treble there in 2021, and doubles in three consecutive seasons between 2015 and 2017.
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Jonathan Rea will replace Jake Dixon at the 2026 Dutch WorldSBK for his second race appearance of the season.
Jonathan Rea is set to make his second appearance of the 2026 WorldSBK season as he again stands in for Jake Dixon at the Dutch Round on 17–19 April.
Dixon was forced to miss the first two rounds of his rookie WorldSBK season in Australia and Portugal after a crash in testing at Phillip Island that left him with wrist injuries.
The timing of Dixon’s injury meant he went unreplaced at the Australian Round, but HRC test rider Jonathan Rea was able to step in at Portimao last weekend (27–29 March), taking a best result of 12th in Race 2, alongside Somkiat Chantra who made his WorldSBK debut after missing the opening round through injury himself (Chantra fractured both his arms during a training session at Sepang in January).
A statement from Honda says that Dixon will now aim to return at the Hungarian Round on 1–3 May.
“The Honda HRC team will line up with Somkiat Chantra and Jonathan Rea for the Pirelli Dutch Round at Assen (17-19 April), with test rider Rea again standing in for the recovering Jake Dixon,” the HRC statement reads.
“Dixon’s recovery is progressing well and in line with expectations.
“The target for the British rider’s return is [round four], the Motul Hungarian Round (1-3 May), subject to final medical clearance.”
Following the conclusion of the Portimao weekend, Rea said that he was still not back to full fitness after two surgeries he had over the winter. But he added that he expects to be in a better condition for any additional races he does later in the calendar.
There are three weeks between the Portuguese and Dutch rounds for Rea to recover more of his physical condition.
Like Portimao, Assen is a circuit where Rea has seen substantial success over his World Superbike career, taking 17 wins there including a treble there in 2021, and doubles in three consecutive seasons between 2015 and 2017.
Jonathan Rea is set to make his second appearance of the 2026 WorldSBK season as he again stands in for Jake Dixon at the Dutch Round on 17–19 April.
Dixon was forced to miss the first two rounds of his rookie WorldSBK season in Australia and Portugal after a crash in testing at Phillip Island that left him with wrist injuries.
The timing of Dixon’s injury meant he went unreplaced at the Australian Round, but HRC test rider Jonathan Rea was able to step in at Portimao last weekend (27–29 March), taking a best result of 12th in Race 2, alongside Somkiat Chantra who made his WorldSBK debut after missing the opening round through injury himself (Chantra fractured both his arms during a training session at Sepang in January).
A statement from Honda says that Dixon will now aim to return at the Hungarian Round on 1–3 May.
“The Honda HRC team will line up with Somkiat Chantra and Jonathan Rea for the Pirelli Dutch Round at Assen (17-19 April), with test rider Rea again standing in for the recovering Jake Dixon,” the HRC statement reads.
“Dixon’s recovery is progressing well and in line with expectations.
“The target for the British rider’s return is [round four], the Motul Hungarian Round (1-3 May), subject to final medical clearance.”
Following the conclusion of the Portimao weekend, Rea said that he was still not back to full fitness after two surgeries he had over the winter. But he added that he expects to be in a better condition for any additional races he does later in the calendar.
There are three weeks between the Portuguese and Dutch rounds for Rea to recover more of his physical condition.
Like Portimao, Assen is a circuit where Rea has seen substantial success over his World Superbike career, taking 17 wins there including a treble there in 2021, and doubles in three consecutive seasons between 2015 and 2017.
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