After emergency hospital treatment including an induced coma, after a month he was transferred by a specialised medical aircraft from Japan to London.
[2][3] After partial recovery, Rea has been invited to ride a machine in a parade lap at the Le Mans 24-hour round of EWC in April 2023.
[4] Rea's team mates, together with substitute rider Alan Techer, clinched the 2022 Endurance World Championship title at the Bol d'Or race in September 2022.
Rea joined the Buildbase Suzuki team as a substitute rider at the fourth British Superbike race of the 2020 season.
Rea won the Championship in his third year claiming a win and 6 podiums in total, clinching the title by a single point in the final round at Portimão.
At the final race of the year, he battled for a podium spot with the Moto2 World Champion Marc Marquez but fell at turn 2.
With backing from his father and a loan machine from UK bike manufacturer FTR and support from his loyal fans, the Rea's set about running their own team.
They would compete in the remaining European rounds but would miss the three flyaway races in Malaysia, Australia and Japan due to budget constraints.
Rea was on for a strong finish to the season and looked to score points at Sepang, Malaysia until a crash at turn 2 resulted in his right foot being run over, leaving him with three broken metatarsals.
Rea joined the CIA Landlord Insurance PTR Honda Team to make a return to the World Supersport Championship.
He went into the final few races in position to challenge for the top five in the World Supersport Championship standings but had to battle through injury after a horrendous crash at Magny Cours, France when his front brake locked on, sending him over the handlebars.
In 2016 Rea signed with a newly formed team named GRT Racing, switching bike manufacturer to MV Agusta to remain in World Supersport.
[19] A run of technical failures and uncompetitive machinery throughout the season resulted in a career worst Championship standing of 17th with a best finish of 6th at Misano, Italy.
[21] Due to COVID-19 and financial issues, the Ducati didn't arrive so the team made a last minute switch to a Kawasaki ZX-10RR.