Five rookies are set to take the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship by storm. Domestic Champions, MotoGP™ race winners, two WorldSSP Champions and more are joining this year’s grid, all looking for success in their new challenge. All eyes will be on how the five rookies perform during their maiden season with testing giving an indication of who could be where in the pecking order.

THE MANIAC RETURNS: what to expect from Iannone?

One of the biggest rookie names to hit WorldSBK is Andrea Iannone, who joins with Team GoEleven. It’s his first year back in competition and he’s opted to come to WorldSBK on an Independent Ducati Panigale V4 R. ‘The Maniac’ was quick at Jerez during two tests at the Spanish venue and wasn’t far off at Portimao despite it being his first time there on a race bike. With several wins already under his belt, including one in MotoGP™, and three Moto2™ title fights to his name, Iannone will be aiming for the top in 2024.

BULEGA TO CHALLENGE BAUTISTA? An impressive start throughout testing…

After two seasons in WorldSSP, including claiming the 2023 title in stunning style, Nicolo Bulega was promoted straight into the factory Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team for 2024. He’ll partner double WorldSBK Champion Alvaro Bautista. 16 wins came last year on his way to the title and his adaptation to the V4 R has been incredible. In four days of 2024 testing, ‘Bulegas’ topped three days. Is he setting himself up for a shock start to his new adventure?

MACKENZIE LINKS UP WITH HONDA: can the 2021 British champion stun in WorldSBK?

Tarran Mackenzie (Petronas MIE Racing Honda) is finally in WorldSBK on a full-time basis, after taking a route that took him from British championship glory to WorldSSP to WorldSBK. He opted to race with the same team last year in WorldSSP and it was a challenging season despite a race win at Most in difficult conditions. He’s graduated back to Superbike machinery, on the Honda CBR1000RR-R, and will be aiming to have a strong rookie season when he re-adjusts back to a big bike, and he gets his hands on the full 2024 package.

SAM LOWES BACK IN THE PADDOCK: new rider, new team…

Sam Lowes will make his WorldSBK debut in 2024 with the Elf Marc VDS Racing Team, who are also new to World Superbike. It’s a return to where he became World Champion, when he won the 2013 WorldSSP title before his move into the MotoGP™ paddock. A Moto2™ stalwart, plus a season of MotoGP™, Lowes faces a new adventure this year on the Panigale V4 R. For extra fun in 2024, he’ll be competing against twin brother Alex on the world stage. Which of the two brothers will come out on top, and how will Sam fare in his rookie season?

NORRODIN STAYS WITH MACKENZIE: staying together in WorldSBK

Mackenzie and Bulega are not the only riders moving up from WorldSSP, with Adam Norrodin also joining World Superbike. The Malaysian stays with the Petronas MIE Racing Honda outfit after racing with them in WorldSSP last year alongside Mackenzie. Norrodin does have some Superbike experience from his time in the Asian championship, but WorldSBK will be a step up from what he’s raced before having been on CBR600RR-R last season.

A NEW ERA BEGINS: watch every single moment from 2024 using the comprehensive WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

The start of the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is fast approaching, with lights out in Australia closing in rapidly. With HUGE changes to the 2024 grid thanks to some bombshell transfers, new rules and much more coming in for this season, you won’t want to miss any of the action. The best way to ensure you watch everything LIVE and UNINTERRUPTED is by using the comprehensive WorldSBK VideoPass for just €69.90.

Subscribing to the WorldSBK VideoPass gives you access to every session live, from Phillip Island in February to Jerez in October. 12 rounds promise non-stop drama, plenty of history to be made, records to be broken and more. Four Championships are set to be on track as the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Champion debuts and joins WorldSBK, WorldSSP and WorldSSP300. Every session is live and uninterrupted, and you’ll want to watch it all throughout 2024.

Not only does VideoPass give you access to every session live as well as every race, but you’ll also be able to dive into the archive and watch classic races from years gone by. The archive is full of incredible moments from WorldSBK’s history which you can enjoy whenever you want. Maybe you want to re-watch some stunning battles from the past or relive some historic moments from WorldSBK’s illustrious history.

A NEW ERA BEGINS: watch every single moment live throughout 2024 using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

The 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship grid looks completely different from last year. Surprising moves, strong rookies and a new team have all conspired to give this year’s grid one of the biggest shake-ups in the Championship’s history with two Champions on the move, replacements being found and rookies looking to make their mark on WorldSBK. It’s been a massive change to the grid, and it all builds into a season that will be unmissable.

HOW IT ALL STARTED: Razgatlioglu moves from Yamaha to BMW

One of the first moves to be announced was Toprak Razgatlioglu leaving Yamaha for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team; a seismic move and yet we would see bigger just a few months later. The 2021 Champion has adapted well to the M 1000 RR, showing incredible speed and pace throughout testing. Partnered with Michael van der Mark once again, can the duo rekindle the success they had at Yamaha for the German manufacturer? 

EXTRAORDINARY FOLLOWS: the Rea-KRT era ends as he joins Yamaha

With Razgatlioglu’s shock move to Yamaha came a vacant seat at Pata Prometeon Yamaha. Step up… Jonathan Rea, who ended a nine-year, six-title partnership with Kawasaki to work with the Crescent Racing-run team. Rea’s switch to blue was a shock but immediately on the pace on his R1 during testing, perhaps this is what the #65 needed to be able to fight for an unprecedented seventh WorldSBK title. He partners Andrea Locatelli this season, while there’s been some movement in the crew chiefs too, with Andrew Pitt moving across to join Rea from Locatelli’s side and Tom O’Kane joining the team.

BASSANI’S DREAM MOVE: Rea’s replacement is named

Rea’s departure opened up a seat at Kawasaki and the team opted to take a punt on a young gun in Axel Bassani. After three seasons with Motocorsa Racing and the Panigale V4 R, it’s a big change for ‘El Bocia’ to adapt to the inline-4 engine of the ZX-10RR. Bassani has often made it clear that his dream is to be in a factory team and now he has his chance, but he’ll need to capitalise on it. He was a podium contender regularly on the Ducati, how will he fare on the Kawasaki?

DUCATI MAKE THEIR OWN CHANGE: Bulega promoted from WorldSSP

This move wasn’t part of the ‘butterfly effect’ from Razgatlioglu’s shock move to BMW, yet it was a big move for several reasons. Nicolo Bulega was announced as partnering Alvaro Bautista at the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team before he wrapped up the WorldSSP crown, and the news spurred him on. A record-breaking season in 2023 means he heads into 2024 full of confidence – which has been seen in testing, with ‘Bulegas’ often the rider to beat.

THE KNOCK-ON EFFECT: bombshell transfers and rookies change the grid 

Bulega’s move to the factory Ducati outfit meant Michael Ruben Rinaldi was looking for a seat and, while there were lots of rumours about how his future depended on Marc Marquez’s decision in the MotoGP™ paddock, in the end, the #21 opted for Motocorsa Racing. Elsewhere, Razgatlioglu’s move to BMW meant they had a decision to make, with Scott Redding linking up with Bonovo Action BMW in place of Loris Baz. Andrea Iannone’s return saw him sign for Team GoEleven – and he’s also been quick – meaning Philipp Oettl was left without a ride. The German signed for GMT94 Yamaha in the end, with Lorenzo Baldassarri returning to WorldSSP. The Petronas MIE Racing Honda team promoted from within, as Tarran Mackenzie and Adam Norrodin came up from their WorldSSP squad in place of Eric Granado and Hafizh Syahrin. It didn’t have a knock-on effect, but Elf Marc VDS Racing Team with Sam Lowes as the Brit makes his WorldSBK debut this year.

SOME LINE-UPS STAY THE SAME: four teams keep the same from Australia ’23 to Australia ‘24

Very few riders are the same as started the 2023 season. Team HRC opted to keep both Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge for this season, taking them into their third campaign with the Japanese manufacturer. Danilo Petrucci secured himself a second year with the Barni Spark Racing Team after his podium exploits while the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team kept Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner for 2024. Although he didn’t compete in the non-European rounds last year, Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) sticks with the same squad for his sophomore season. It’s also worth noting that, although Tito Rabat didn’t start 2023 with the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing outfit, he did end the season with them.

A NEW ERA BEGINS: follow every moment from 2024 LIVE and UNINTERRUPTED using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

The start of the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is getting closer, and more teams are launching their challengers for this season. The latest is the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team which unveiled its Yamaha YZF-R1 machine at the iconic Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, as they look to add race wins to an already vast success inside the WorldSBK paddock. GRT Yamaha are one of the few teams to have an unchanged line-up in 2024, with Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner leading their charge.

Both Aegerter and Gardner impressed in their rookie seasons, culminating in the team taking podiums at Jerez in the season finale because of Aegerter while Gardner was just behind. Throughout testing, Gardner has been rapid at both Jerez and Portimao as he gears up for a second season while double WorldSSP Champion Aegerter is heading into the season on the backfoot, having missed both 2024 tests through illness.

While Gardner has taken up the bulk of the team’s testing programme, GRT Yamaha will be optimistic heading into 2024 with the #87 alongside Aegerter. The latter was on the front row three times last year, and finished with two podiums, while Australian star Gardner took a front row at Most and had a best finish of fourth on two occasions to give the 2021 Moto2™ Champion a solid platform heading into his second season.

Speaking at the team’s launch, Gardner said: “We had a positive debut season, we kept progressing each round and understanding each other. I am confident we could have a strong 2024 together, we also had some productive test sessions throughout the winter. The goal is to stay regularly in the front places and improving every round, with the target of enjoying my career-first WorldSBK podium.”

Aegerter added: “I cannot wait to begin the 2024 season! Unfortunately, I was not able to take part at the test we had in January as I’m still recovering from the viral infection, but I am keen to enjoy the first round in Phillip Island. Last year we finished the Championship on a high note, the target is to keep improving and fight consistently for the front positions. I would like to be on the podium once again during the season and try to win my first WorldSBK race.”

Team Manager Filippo Conti outlined the team’s goals for 2024, saying: “We are all excited for a thrilling 2024 WorldSBK Season. Having Dominique and Remy with us for another season means we can keep progressing and pick up where we left off last season. Both had a positive rookie season, finishing the season on a very high, which give us a lot of confidence for the upcoming Championship, where we would like to fight regularly for the front places. I want to thank Yamaha for the great support they give us every year. In the same way, I’m keen to thank all the partners who will support us once again, as well as I’m delighted to welcome the new ones who will be crucial to the team’s results.”

A NEW ERA BEGINS: follow every moment from 2024 LIVE and UNINTERRUPTED using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com