The weeks preceding the inaugural round of the season are the busiest of the year for much of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, both on and off the track. While pre-season testing takes up the bulk of the preparation on the tarmac, the flip side of the coin are the annual team presentations, where teams introduce their exciting new projects to the world. Liveries, line-ups, and the usual pre-season anticipation: here is what has been confirmed up to now.

BMW IN BERLIN: The launch of a new era

The German manufacturer is first off the blocks as far as the factory teams are concerned, with BMW Motorrad Welt in Berlin hosting the launch of both the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team and the Bonovo Action BMW team on the 17^th of January. This will be Toprak Razgatlioglu’s first public event in BMW colours after debuting on-track at the beginning of December, with an autograph session and other activities scheduled for the day of the presentation. Featuring the most ambitious line-up in the manufacturer’s history – completed by Michael van der Mark, Scott Redding, and Garrett Gerloff – this one is unmissable.

THE CHAMPIONS ARE BACK: Ducati return to Madonna di Campiglio

Did anyone say “three-peat”? That will be the target for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati squad in 2024, after two historic title-winning campaigns with Alvaro Bautista. The beautiful scenery of Madonna di Campiglio, a ski-resort town in Northern Italy, will once again provide the backdrop to the launch of Ducati’s WorldSBK and MotoGP™ projects. Bautista and new teammate Nicolo Bulega will both be present on the 22^nd of January, before heading off the Jerez for their first test of 2024 on the 24^th and 25^th.

MORE CONFIRMATIONS: Yamaha and Kawasaki unveil plans

We’ve already seen Jonathan Rea on an R1 in their testing livery, but the 28^th of January the world will see the real deal for the first time: the number 65 on the blue factory Yamaha. The Pata Yamaha Prometeon team of Rea and Andrea Locatelli will launch their 2024 project with an online presentation on the 28^th of January.

The Kawasaki Racing Team, meanwhile, will unveil their livery and updated line-up of Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani on the 8^th of February, also online. The remaining factory team, Team HRC, are yet to confirm their plans as of writing.

INDEPENDENTS GET THE HOLESHOT: Motoxracing, Marc VDS…

The Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team were the first squad to launch their season, on the 12^th of January, with Bradley Ray prepared to start his sophomore campaign. Three days later, it’s the turn of the brand-new ELF Marc VDS Racing Team, who will introduce both their Moto2™ and WorldSBK projects – the latter featuring a debuting Sam Lowes – in Modave, Belgium.

Two more independent outfits have confirmed their plans: GMT94 Yamaha will launch their season online on January 31^st, while the BARNI Spark Racing Team and Danilo Petrucci will be present at the Ruote da Sogno event in Reggio Emilia on the 11^th of February to present their second season together.

Any further confirmations will be included as they come in, so stay tuned!

CONFIRMED DATES SO FAR (ongoing):
12th January, Fiano Romano (Italy): Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team
15^th January, Modave (Belgium): ELF Marc VDS Racing Team
17^th January, Berlin (Germany): ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, Bonovo Action BMW
22^nd January, Madonna di Campiglio (Italy): Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
28^th January, online: Pata Prometeon Yamaha
31^st January, online: GMT94 Yamaha
8^th February, online: Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK
11^th Feburary, Reggio Emilia (Italy): BARNI Spark Racing Team

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Source: WorldSBK.com