After a stunning MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship campaign, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was crowned World Champion for a second time. Despite the best efforts of Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK’s Toprak Razgatlioglu, the reigning Champion successfully completed the defence of his title as he wrapped up the crown in Race 1 at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto with victory, becoming the first Ducati rider to defend the title with the #1 since Carl Fogarty way back in 1999. Following his success, the Spaniard sat down for an in-depth interview that covered everything from the highs and lows of the year, celebrating with family and his rivalry with Razgatlioglu.

WINNING A SECOND CHAMPIONSHIP: “it’s very difficult to win a title, it’s even more difficult to defend it…”

Bautista switched to the #1 plate for 2023 after winning the title in 2022 and he was able to retain it this year despite Razgatlioglu pushing him all the way. It was his third world title – after the 125cc World Championship in 2006 and WorldSBK last year – but the first he could celebrate with everyone after wrapping it up in Europe. Bautista reflected on claiming a second WorldSBK crown and being able to celebrate it with his friends and family, including his wife and daughter.

An emotional Bautista explained: “To be World Champion in 2023 sounds really good, especially because it’s very difficult to win a title and it’s even more difficult to defend it. At the beginning of the season, I chose to use the #1 because I felt strong enough to defend the title with it. Defending the #1 on the bike is always really nice and it’s a pleasure for me to be part of the history. My previous Championships were won in Australia in 125cc in 2006 and last year in Indonesia. I enjoyed the moment a lot with the team, but to win at Jerez was amazing. I could share all these incredible moments with my friends and family. It was a dream come true to have the chance to celebrate the Championship with everyone. I was really happy to share the Championship with my daughters. Every time they see a heart, they say ‘a heart like daddy’ so my first thought was to do the heart sign for them. They celebrated with me, and it was amazing.”

15 WINS IN 16 RACES: “the start of the season was unbelievable!”

Bautista had the best ever start to a WorldSBK campaign with 15 wins in the first 16 races, winning every race he finished but crashing out of the Tissot Superpole Race at Mandalika. A hat-trick in Australia set the tone for the first half of his season, with Bautista only defeated on the track for the first time at the Donington Park Superpole Race, when the #54 took his second win of the season as he started to put the pressure on.

On the first half of the season, Bautista explained: “For me, the most important race was the first one in Australia. It started to rain before the race. I think many people thought that if it was dry, I would’ve been too fast and won but in wet conditions, they said, ‘I have a chance to beat Alvaro’. For me to win that race was really important and a bigger sign to say that I’m here, it doesn’t matter about the conditions or situation, I’m here to win. The start of the season was unbelievable. We won 15 races from 16, so it was really, really impressive. I can’t believe it. We had the references from last season so, every weekend, we started with a really good base. From there, we started to build up the performance in all races, all circuits, and all conditions. It was so nice to win so many races but, sometimes, when you win a lot of races you can come into a relaxed feeling, and it is not so good.”

COSTLY CRASHES? Imola and Aragon tumbles explained…

The second half of the campaign featured some incredible fights between the top two in the Championship, but Bautista stayed ahead in the standings thanks to his results in the first six rounds. There were crashes at Imola and two at Aragon which allowed the Turkish star to close the gap substantially, which, combined with on-track results meant the title fight would go on to the final round. 

Bautista reflected on these mistakes, saying: “From Imola, I learnt a lot. Maybe I had more tension than normal. I don’t know if it was because the weather was too hot or the track conditions. I think I crashed because of that. I didn’t have a good appreciation of the reality and maybe, in that corner, I touched the inside kerb and then I crashed. It was my mistake but fortunately I learnt from it. Aragon was a bit different from Imola. In that crash, I was too confident. I had a bit of a gap to second and maybe I was too relaxed. The second one was because I tried to gain two positions in one corner. I could expect that crash because I was over the limit.”

FIGHTING WITH RAZGATLIOGLU: “his performance was unbelievable!”

One of the big talking points towards the end of 2023 was Razgatlioglu and Bautista’s stunning fights, most notably at Portimao and Jerez, both of which featured more than 30 passes for the lead between the two. After the season ended, the Spaniard was full of praise for his rival’s showing throughout the year as Razgatlioglu took the Championship battle to Jerez despite the double Champion’s record-breaking season.

Lavishing praise on Razgatlioglu, the 39-year-old said: “My fight for the Championship with Toprak this season has been difficult, especially in the second half of the season. Toprak was very strong. He never made mistakes. I had a record of victories this season but, even with this, he kept the title alive until the last round. That means his performance was unbelievable. When you fight with him for the Championship, you can’t say ‘okay, today I’m second, I get some points’ because he’s always there. For that, I had to do the whole season by attacking. Doing my best, never relaxing and always on the limit. Portimao, especially Race 2, I said to everybody that I didn’t want to think about the Championship, I just wanted to fight until the end and get the maximum. For me, it was easy just to stay second and not risk anything. It is not my mindset. When you win and your rivals have the talent they have, it’s more important to win like this. I’m so proud of how I could manage the situation and the races.”

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Six WorldSBK podiums, a top six finish in the title race in 2023 and claiming Best Independent honours in the last two years: that’s why Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) finally got his dream of becoming a factory World Superbike rider. Now, that journey is well underway as he’s in his second test with Kawasaki during the off-season, with the adaptation continuing during his second test at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto. 

“We worked a lot on the setup of the bike, especially the front, because I need to find a good feeling with the front and we made a really good step,” began Bassani, speaking at the end of day one. “Now, I’ve started to feel good with the bike; it’s not easy because it’s completely different compared to the Ducati but step-by-step, test-by-test, we’re starting to feel good.”

There’s plenty of things to learn for ‘El Bocia’ in his first season in green, perhaps the biggest being his transition from a V4 engine configuration at Ducati to the inline four of Kawasaki’s ZX-10RR. Often, the transition has proven difficult when moving from V4 to inline four, with Scott Redding struggling in 2022 and 2023 in comparison to his 2020 and 2021 results with Ducati. The same was seen for Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who, after 16 wins in 2019, achieved just two podiums in his two years at Team HRC in 2020 and 2021. 

Elsewhere, Bassani will also have a teammate for the first time in his WorldSBK career. Since joining Motocorsa Racing in 2021, he was the team’s only rider and the team, who continue with Michael Ruben Rinaldi in 2024, despite wanting to expand, will remain with just one bike. In fact, the last time Bassani had a teammate was back in 2016 when he won the FIM Europe Cup, a sub-class within WorldSSP, when he was partnered with Alessandro Zaccone at the San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki team. Five top ten finishes and a best of fourth in the overall WorldSSP class showed the potential of Bassani from the start and now, coming full circle with Kawasaki, he’s keen to show what he can do.

Talking about having a teammate for the first time in nearly eight years in the WorldSBK paddock, Bassani stated: “Having a teammate is good because you can work with them and learn about their riding. It’s nice and they’re always your first opponent! We’re slowly arriving to Alex. We only need to enjoy and find a good way to follow during this winter for next year.”

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Whilst the rider line-up at Team HRC may not have changed for a third season, there’s a lot of personnel changes coming. Leon Camier will depart as team manager but in his last tests with the team, he confirmed that Tom Jojic, former crew chief to the likes of Kenny Roberts Jr, Hiroshi Aoyama and Bradley Smith in MotoGP™, will be Iker Lecuona’s crew chief for next season. Jojic was seen in action for the first time during a two-day test at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, as he got used to Lecuona, who in-turn got used to the new Honda ahead of 2024. On the other side of the box, Xavi Vierge will continue to work with Gorka Segura.

“The decision was made; we felt that Tom could add a lot of experience with his background in development and engineering,” began Camier, overseeing his final tests as team boss for Honda’s factory WorldSBK effort. “It’s something we felt like we needed. Basically, I know some people that worked with Tom before and he had some really, really good references and we felt he’d be a super good fit for taking the project another step further. First impressions are really good and what we’re hoping for.”

Jojic has a sparkling CV, having achieved two Constructors’ Championships with KTM’s Moto3™ effort as well as well as a Riders’ Championship during the early, development years, whilst being a test engineer on the development test team. He was crew chief to Hiroshi Aoyama at the BQR Avintia team during the CRT era of MotoGP™, as well as in the two years before that with the Interwetten Honda outfit. Prior to that, he was part of the Kawasaki’s MotoGP™ test team in 2008, working with Olivier Jacque, famously trialling a ‘screamer’ engine although eventually opting to continue work on the 2007 engine. Prior to that, he was crew chief to Kenny Roberts Jr in the Team Roberts outfit. Prior to motorcycle racing, he was an electronics design engineer for BAR Honda’s F1 team, as well as an electronic data engineer for TWR Racing, working with Le Mans-style cars as well as F1 cars in the late 90s.

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All eyes are on… everything ahead of 2024! There are so many stories, headlines and topics, the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is going to have some hype in the coming months. Meanwhile, one of those stories – at Honda – is developing quickly. In his final tests before leaving the team manager role, Leon Camier talks us through all the updates, what they exactly mean and how it should translate on track, whilst his replacement “will probably be known or announced maybe at the next test or soon after” and that “it will be someone from the MotoGP™ paddock but not someone who is known.”

NEW ITEMS: split throttle bodies, lighter crankshaft, different weight distribution and wings

Talking about the difference of the new bike, Camier was clear that better acceleration, deceleration, edge grip and traction are key areas, with split throttle bodies playing a big part: “There’s a few changes with the new bike; the split throttle bodies is something that’s a good step in the right direction for the race bike and what we want on track. The normal thing to expect is more edge grip and better connection when you first touch the gas because you’re only opening two cylinders, not four. Many other manufacturers are running this but for us, it’s something we wanted for the race bike. For the lighter crankshaft, it’s a small difference but we should expect a little bit better acceleration and deceleration. We have a different weight distribution of the bike; Honda wanted to go in this direction because it’s better for what we need for racing; it’s all going in the right direction.

“The first feelings with the bike are quite good, even though there are positives and negatives. With it being the first test, it’s good that the riders are feeling the positives and with the negatives, they’re things we have to work with. Setting the bike up, putting things in the right places… it’s normal that it takes time to smooth things out. Both riders need time to set it up for their style and their way of riding. First impressions are positive so we need to get through these two days, see where we are at the end of it and keep making a step forward.”

“With the lighter crankshaft, the normal thing is you have more acceleration but it’s about putting that power down. This is something that the split throttle bodies should help with, especially with the first touch of gas and first opening, creating a smoother, more tractable power which is something that is really important with Pirelli tyres and Superbike racing in general; you need to get the grip. Then, keep the grip going forward because if you break traction then you never get it back. There’s an optimal spin ratio that you have with every tyre and you have to play within that area. It’s important to manage the first opening of the throttle and first acceleration. This is all in that direction: to create grip and acceleration where we need it. Then, you go into the area of the wings and trying generate downforce, you don’t have so much wheelie and this is what we’re hoping to achieve with the aero package. Until we get up to speed with this bike and we learn it, we don’t know where we’re at.”

BIG STEPS FORWARDS: “It’s a lot more based on Pirelli’s… the changes that have been made have been good from a racing point of view”

A huge topic is whether or not the bike had been developed around Pirelli tyres instead of the usual development on other brands, Camier confirmed that it has had time on WorldSBK’s Official Tyre Supplier rubber: “It’s been on Pirellis for sure. I’d say it’s lot more based on Pirellis. What we’re looking at, the changes we’ve made and what we’re asking for in the race team. They’re going more in the direction that we’ve been asking for but it’s a working progress. 

“From a team’s side, the changes that have been made have been good from a racing point of view and then we just need time to understand if it’s enough or not or what the next steps need to be going forward. Where we’re at right now, with the first test, we’ll need to go away from here, make changes – probably not for the next test as we’ll be too short of time – hopefully by the beginning of next year, there’ll be more changes. It’s important that this test indicates what we want for the next test and then we can make a decision on the race package for Australia.”

SUPER CONCESSION NOT INCORPORATED: “They’ve gone a slightly different direction”

With Honda having the super concession rule for 2022 and 2023, they didn’t incorporate that into 2024’s bike, opposite to how BMW operated at the start of the year: “It hasn’t been incorporated; they’ve gone a slightly different direction with what we learnt with the super concession but we don’t know yet until we see it on track and have a bit of time to play around with geometry and setup. We need some time to understand if this is the right direction as well but we’ll go from there.”

Talking about whether the bike itself is longer, as had been tried multiple times in the last few years, Camier explained: “It’s done in a different way with a different weight distribution; the centre of gravity is a little bit different. Overall length, I’m actually not sure where we are but I think it’s something similar but you can play around with that anyway. Alter the swingarm length a little bit and you can have a big change, so it’s just done in a slightly different way.”

COMPETITIVITY: will this actually means better results? “Theoretically, everything is going in the right direction”

“I’d love to say yes, but I don’t know the answer,” responded a coy Camier. “Theoretically, everything is going in the direction we expect but you have to put it on the bike and put it on the bike to see how the combination works together. Right now, first impressions are quite good; there are still some things that need to be worked on and improved. Until we have time on the bike to work on the setting and details, we’re not at the point to say whether it will be super competitive or not, it’s always working progress.”

PERSONNEL: “There’re many Japanese engineers here, predominantly from the R&D”

With more Japanese engineers present at this test than at any other, as well as scheduled to be present at the forthcoming tests, Camier detailed why and how important it is: “There’re many Japanese engineers here, predominantly from the R&D department which is the development side and who develop the bike in the background in Japan. Then, there are more here that are understanding what’s going on and setting the bike up. They were with Tetsuta Nagashima for two days and they gave us the bikes this morning. The race riders jumped on it this morning and will go their direction with it. They need time to go over the data with the goal of making changes for the next one. Then, with a test at the end of December, with the test rider, they’ll make another step with the items. The race riders will go back on track in Europe in January and then hopefully, they’ll be some new items again to take another step forward. At the moment, the test rider is Tetsuta but for the future, I don’t know the answer.”

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Two days of testing for the Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK team came to an end on Tuesday at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto with Andrea Locatelli working together with Jonathan Rea for the first time following the six-time World Champion’s shock switch to the Japanese manufacturer after nine seasons with Kawasaki. Speaking after the second day concluded, ‘Loka’ was on hand to give his thoughts on bike improvements heading into 2024, working with a different crew chief and how Andrew Pitt, his former crew chief, will benefit Rea.

TEST OVERVIEW: “We found a really good base setup”

Locatelli completed 155 laps during the two-day test and set the fastest time with a 1’38.447s, matching the best time set by Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) at the same circuit a few weeks back; the Australian posted a 1’38.448s. For ‘Loka’, the test was a chance to be back on the bike after not taking part in the first Jerez test, with the Italian happy with the work completed by him and the team in Spain.

Reviewing the test, Locatelli said: “I’m so happy about these two days of testing at Jerez because, in the past, it’s been a little bit difficult for me to do a really good job here. I think we found a really good base setup and I had a really good feeling on the bike. I was fast in all conditions and the whole day, so this was really important. We were happy about the lap time and the rhythm. I think it’s one of the best tests we’ve done, especially because we’re at Jerez and the feeling I had after the round wasn’t amazing, but we improved it a lot. We understood a lot during these two days.”

MAKING GAINS: “Tried to work on acceleration… we can bring something good to improve”

Of course, the goal of any test is to find improvements with Team Principal Paul Denning saying after Day 1 that the goal was to find gains when it comes to acceleration. This was reiterated by the #55 after the test concluded with the 2020 WorldSSP Champion believing Yamaha will be able to find improvements, while also explaining how the work done at this test will be evaluated before the team’s next scheduled outing, in January.

He added: “Comparing the bike, we changed different parts of the bike and I think we found a good solution. I think it’s only the first two days with some new parts so it’s difficult to say if it’s much better or not, so we have to test them a little bit more. We have more days in January before Phillip Island. The best things were to confirm the base setup, the good feeling on the bike and then we got a lot of data to consider and to work for on the Yamaha stuff, especially during December, to maybe prepare something new or better or maybe we change which way we go to improve the bike and to make another big step. We tried to work a little bit on acceleration because sometimes this is a strange point for us. Sometimes we have a lot of spin, but I think we can bring something good to improve in this area.”

A NEW CREW CHIEF: not his 2024 right-hand man…

The 14-time WorldSBK podium finisher has worked with Andrew Pitt ever since his graduation to WorldSBK with the team, but there’s been a reshuffle in the box following Phil Marron’s departure to BMW with Toprak Razgatlioglu. Two-time WorldSSP Champion Pitt has moved over to work with former teammate Rea, while Tom O’Kane will join the team as Locatelli’s Crew Chief shortly. For the test, the Italian worked with GRT Yamaha’s Damiano Evangelisti, usually Gardner’s crew chief, and he explained how this helped him at Jerez.

Talking about his relationship with Evangelisti and how it helped during the test, Locatelli said: “I worked with Damiano during these two days. I want to thank GRT because he was able to work with us. I had a good relationship with him immediately, probably because he’s also Italian. I already know him, so it was nice to work with him, because sometimes it’s nice to meet new people, to see other people working. It was interesting. It was a good opportunity to work with him and try to make a step and also, I think he helped us a lot to help make an improvement.”

WHAT CAN PITT BRING TO REA? “He can help Jonathan improve a little bit and immediately try to have a good feeling”

With Pitt moving to work with Rea for 2024, there’s no one better to ask than Locatelli what the Australian will be able to bring to the Ulsterman’s side of the box as he adjusts to the Yamaha YZF-R1 machine. It’s the first time since 2014 that he hasn’t ridden a Kawasaki machine, but he’s now faced with a new bike and a new team to get his head around as he goes in search of an unprecedented seventh World Championship.

Explaining what Pitt can bring to Rea, Locatelli said: “To see Andrew on the other side of the box is a bit strange! He worked with me for three years, but our relationship is good because we’re friends. I think, for Jonathan, it could be different; he’s also a friend of his. It’ll be interesting. Andrew can do a really good BBQ in Phillip Island to prepare for Jonathan’s weekend! Also, the language is the same as Jonathan’s but he can also have another possibility to work with a crew chief who was a rider. It’s probably something that can help Jonathan to improve a little bit and come to our box and immediately try to have a good feeling and I think Andrew is a really good person for this job.”

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The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team have provided an update on Alvaro Bautista following his wildcard at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Spaniard revealed on the Sunday in Malaysia that he was suffering with pain in his neck following a testing crash at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto which limited his performance at Sepang, with the team now providing a further update on him. They have said surgery is not currently planned following examinations in Madrid.

Bautista finished 17^th in the Grand Prix on Sunday as he battled the problem, before disclosing it following the conclusion of his first MotoGP™ appearance in five years. It came after a post-round test at Jerez in WorldSBK. He had a highside at Turn 13 on the opening day of the two-day test which briefly brought out the red flags, but he returned to the track to complete his duties before heading to Malaysia for the wildcard.

After a tricky weekend where he finished well down the order in every session, Bautista first spoke of his injury and now the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati outfit have provided a further update on this. A release said: “In the week following the MotoGP™ Grand Prix in Malaysia, Alvaro Bautista underwent examinations by Dr. Angel Villamor in Madrid. After medical specialist consultation and cervical spine MRI review due to loss of strength, numbness, and tingling sensation in the left upper limb reported after the crash in Jerez test and MotoGP™ Grand Prix of Malaysia, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team’s rider was diagnosed with C6-C7 hernia and C5-C6 disc protrusions. Further medical examinations and tests will be carried out in the next few days in order to assess possible damages due to the cervical nerves compression. For the time being, however, surgery is not planned.”

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2024 continues to build and the second test of the off-season is done for Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto. The Spanish venue is always a well-frequented testbed and despite a bit of cloud and dampness in the morning, conditions came good for the middle of the day onwards, bringing more valuable track time to the six-time World Champion. With swingarm items and new Ohlins material on the agenda for day two, according to team principal Paul Denning who spoke at the end of day one, Rea’s adaptation continued.

“SOME VERY INTERESTING ITEMS GOING FORWARD” – improvement continue for Rea with Yamaha

Speaking at the end of the test, Rea was happy with the progress made, saying: “It’s been really positive and I’ve really enjoyed riding the bike at this test, especially on day one when the temperature was warmer than expected and similar to the race. We were able to get a lot of work done. I had 3 bikes to try different options on and loads of different parts. We never managed to put everything together to be perfect but we still have a lot of time and we got through the main test items. We managed just about everything on the list; some items we can discard, some very interesting going forwards. 

“I DON’T FEEL LIKE I’VE FOUND THE LIMIT” – more to come as Rea teases major pace

There was a big declaration from Rea, with the six-time WorldSBK Champion already comfy: “I completed the test with a race simulation which was positive; the more laps I do on the R1, the more I understand it and how it behaves in certain conditions and also, the more confidence I get. I don’t feel like I’ve found the limit with the bike yet. I’m understanding the last part of braking but I feel competitive already. We did 173 laps and 766km so the guys did well. Big thanks to all the mechanics: they work so hard, working with three bikes and a lot of changes. It’s been an intense but very valuable couple of days. It’s a nice way to sign off 2023, everyone can go back and everyone can get a good rest until the next test at the end of January.”

“WE’RE WORKING ON ALL AREAS” – acceleration gains just part of the puzzle

Talking about the development of the bike and where is still to improve, the #65 stated that it was more a matter of understanding more: “Of course, we’re working on all areas of the bike, not just acceleration. We still need to improve but compared to the first test with Yamaha but I feel we’ve already made a step. A lot of it is down to electronic preferences and how to get off the corner and really trusting in the engine characteristics of the R1.”

“THE BIGGEST AREA OF IMPROVEMENT OF IS ME!” – more time needed!

“Moving forward, I think the biggest area of improvement is still me,” said a humorous Rea, rounding off his evaluation of the test. “I have more of an understanding but I still need to tailor the bike to me. I have a lot of confidence with the bike now but still need to ride on that limit. I found much better front feeling than at the previous test. I think an area we can try to focus to improve is traction from a bike and chassis setup perspective and just tailor it to my riding style, it’s a bit different to the other riders. I’ve been so impressed with Yamaha; the amount of items we commented on at the first test and they have addressed every one of them at this test. Step by step, it’s been a positive test with no mistakes.”

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While the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is on its off-season following 12 intense rounds of thrilling and non-stop action, it’s time to look back and analyse some of the data that came from the season. This time, we take a look at the 2023 Falls Report and see which rider crashed the most, which corner was the trickiest in terms of the number of falls and much more.

OVERALL NUMBERS: fewer crashes in WorldSBK and WorldSSP300, more in WorldSSP

In total, there were 523 crashes across WorldSBK, WorldSSP and WorldSSP300. These can be broken down by 172 in WorldSBK, 220 in WorldSSP and 131 in WorldSSP300. In World Superbike, the number was down from 217 last year, an average of 14 per event, while in WorldSSP it increased from 120 last year. In WorldSSP300, the number decreased from 131 to average 11 per event in the eight rounds the Championship was at.

THE RIDERS WITH THE MOST CRASHES: Lowes leads the way, Razgatlioglu with the fewest

In WorldSBK, two factory riders lead the way in terms of crashes. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) went down 15 times this season, while Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) was only two behind. Third on the list went to Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) with the Italian crashing 11 times, one ahead of Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) with ten. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) recorded nine, while Championship runner-up Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) only went down twice. These were crashes in Australia, when he was caught up in a crash by Lowes, and Most, when a tyre failure forced him out of contention for a stunning victory.

In WorldSSP, Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) recorded the most crashes with 15, closely followed by Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) with 14. Tom Edwards (Yart-Yamaha WorldSSP Team), Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) and Jorge Navarro (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) had 11 each. Ruben Bijman (Arco Motor University Team) led the way in WorldSSP300 with 12, with rookie Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) on ten. Four riders finished with six falls each: Samuel Di Sora (ProDina Kawasaki Racing), teammate Mattia Martella, Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) and Juan Pablo Uriostegui (Sublime Racing by MS Racing).

CRASHES BY TRACK: Most the most challenging followed by Imola

Two circuits recorded more than 60 crashes each in 2023. The Autodrom Most was top of the list with 65. WorldSBK and WorldSSP300 both recorded 23 of these, while WorldSSP made up the other 19. It was closely followed by the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola with 63. This time, they weren’t split as evenly. WorldSSP had 33 tumbles at the iconic circuit, with WorldSBK on 16 and WorldSSP300 on 14. The Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” had 58 tumbles across all three classes, split fairly evenly: 21 in WorldSSP300, 20 in WorldSSP and 17 in WorldSBK.

THE HARDEST CORNERS: first and last turns at different circuits

With Most and Imola making up two of the top three circuits for crashes, it’s no surprise to see corners from these tracks feature here too. The second part of the Variante Bassa, Turn 22, at Imola had the most crashes, 17, closely followed by the right-hand hairpin of Turn 5 at Magny-Cours with 16. Two corners had 14 crashes each. These were Turn 1 at Most, the first part of the opening chicane, and Turn 10 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

As always, we would like to send our thanks and gratitude to every single Marshal whose invaluable support throughout 2023 helped to keep our races, and our racers, as safe as possible. Without them, we would not be able to enjoy the sport we all love.

Total crashes for WorldSBK riders in 2023 (wildcards and replacement riders not included)

15 – Alex Lowes

13 – Iker Lecuona

11 – Lorenzo Baldassarri

10 – Alvaro Bautista

9 – Loris Baz, Garrett Gerloff, Jonathan Rea, Michael van der Mark

8 – Michael Ruben Rinaldi

7 – Dominique Aegerter, Eric Granado, Xavi Vierge

6 – Axel Bassani, Remy Gardner, Oliver Konig

5 – Philipp Oettl, Scott Redding, Tom Sykes

4 – Andrea Locatelli, Tito Rabat, Bradley Ray

3 – Danilo Petrucci

2 – Toprak Razgatlioglu, Isaac Vinales

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Source: WorldSBK.com

The Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK outfit are busy preparing for their 2024 title tilt with testing continuing at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto venue in Andalusia, Spain. Now with a full team as Yamaha’s new recruit Jonathan Rea is joined for the first time by Andrea Locatelli, Jerez was the venue for the first hard testing to take place, after the first test at the start of November was primarily focused on allowing the six-time World Champion to get comfortable with the bike. Sun throughout the day and within the 20 degrees range, conditions look set to be favourable once again for the second day of testing on Tuesday, 21^st.

BIG PICTURE: “We tested elements that will help with outright speed”

Talking about what was worked on across day one, team principal Paul Denning evaluated the team’s work: “All manufacturers and teams are looking to improve their packages for next season and try to become World Champion; we’re in that group and therefore, development never stops and the quest for increased performance never stops. We tested elements that will help with outright speed and hardware components, searching for more stability, grip and corner entry speed. Some big stuff, some small stuff and we split the work load between the riders and had a super solid day. Jonny did 88 laps across three bikes and then 82 laps for ‘Loka’ across two different bikes. That’s 750km-odd across both of them so that’s a lot of data for the guys to look at. In terms of mileage, consistency and without problems or crashes, it was a very productive day indeed.”

ACCELERATION THE TARGET: “If you accelerate better then you have better top speed”

“You can’t get through all the test-list componentry and hardware if you’re continuing changing the setup of the bike, looking for outright performance,” continued Denning. “Both riders did two or three base runs, just to get to a position where the bike was relatively comfortable and then started the test programme. Given that fact, the consistency and level of performance was really encouraging.”

“We’re looking for more acceleration and obviously, if you accelerate better then you have better top speed; we tested a lot of mechanical parts across engine and chassis to aid our overall performance. If I say ‘a rear swingarm’ or ‘fork clamp’ then it’s a piece of hardware that, honestly as the team manager, you get to a certain level where you’re not going to be looking at the bike going ‘wow, that’s brand new’. The changes are very nuanced and carefully thought out; the R1 is a bike that is not a new machine, so the changes we’re making are very much based on everything the engineers and the team already know. 

“We’re just looking to eke out that last little bit of performance. The level of the bike is already very competitive and very good; in order to become World Champion, there’s still a big gap between Alvaro Bautista and the rest of the field in the points at the end of the year. We’ve got work to do and that’s why we’re here doing 750km today. It’s great to do that amount, especially for Jonathan, as nothing beats the experience of the bike becoming yours after so many laps.”

YAMAHA’S WORK TO GET REA COMFORTABLE: “I think he’s been delighted!”

Talking about Rea’s adaptation to Yamaha machinery, Denning was positive: “The speed and reaction from the Yamaha guys between the first test and this one, just to bring some hardware that suits him better in terms of rider position and just small preferences, I think he’s been delighted that stuff has been designed, manufactured and delivered and bolted to the bike to his request. There’s no doubting their commitment to get the bike to suit him. He’s not really had to adapt his riding style, he looks very comfortable as he did at the first test. As always, it’s the last couple of tenths that are the challenge in terms of outright pace and consistency. The more he gets to know the bike and the more he can exploit its advantages, the more that pace will come. On the basis of what we’ve seen so far, it could’ve been bit of a worry – I think he said as much himself. Whether, after nine years on the same bike, he could ride something new. However, I think those doubts were expelled after 15 laps on the first test day.

LOCATELLI WORKING WITH EVANGELISTI: “Another positive indication of why it’s so important to have a good second team”

On Locatelli’s side, he wasn’t working with Tom O’Kane just, his new crew chief for 2024 and instead, working with Damiano Evangelisti from the GRT outfit for this test: “Tom is unavailable to us as of yet so we have Damiano with us from the GRT team, very kindly agreed to by Filippo Conti and Damiano himself. It’s of course useful for him and his work with Remy Gardner going into next year as all the stuff tested now will be available to those guys. He’s been great today working with Andrea, he fitted in very well and it’s been another positive indication of why it is so important to have a good second team and we’ve been able to use the strength of those guys too.”

DENNING AHEAD OF DAY 2: “We’ve got front fork stuff from Ohlins, a swingarm… there’s a lot that hasn’t been tested yet”

Talking about what was on the plan for day two: “Based on the feedback and the data, the plan this evening will be to try and put the best combinations together for both of the riders tomorrow. Start with the best combination of today and work through the testing programme for tomorrow. We’ve got some front fork stuff from Ohlins, a swingarm and other bits as well. There’s a lot that hasn’t yet been tested. It’s also quite positive that we’re testing separately in terms of the other teams because we don’t know based on track conditions but we’re only half a second off Cal on the Grand Prix bike and the lap time is very good. The boys aren’t going slowly but if for example, Ducati were here and going a little bit quicker than us at this stage, it doesn’t matter. It’s more important that the riders and the crews stay focused on the test stuff and that we develop the very best bike we can for 2024, are fast when we leave the final test in January and ready to compete at Phillip Island.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

After a challenging rookie season, Bradley Ray will remain on the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship grid in 2024 after penning a new contract with the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team for next season. It’s the same team he competed with in his rookie season, and he will be with them again as he looks to build on a campaign that provided ups and downs as he adjusted to the WorldSBK-spec Yamaha YZF-R1 in 2023, after claiming the British title with the same manufacturer in 2022.

Ray’s first WorldSBK appearance came in 2018 at Donington Park with the Buildbase Suzuki squad, and he scored points, but he wouldn’t return to the World Championship for another five years. In that time, he claimed the British title in 2022. Between 2017 and 2022 in the national championship, Ray amassed 33 podiums and 11 wins, with nine of those wins and 23 podiums coming in his title-winning year. Before his time in British Superbike, the #28 competed in the Red Bull MotoGP™ Rookies Cup, what was then the CEV paddock in different Championships.

The 26-year-old spent three years in the Rookies Cup, collecting one win at the Circuit of the Americas in 2013 and a further four podiums at Silverstone, Assen, Sachsenring and MotorLand Aragon. His best finish in the standings was fourth in 2014, his final season, before returning to the domestic scene as well as having a few races in CEV Moto2™ and making his Moto2™ World Championship debut in 2015.

His success in Britain earned him a move to WorldSBK in 2022 as a Yamaha rider, linking up with the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team for 2023. He took a best of sixth in Race 2 at Imola which was his only top ten of the season, with a shoulder injury forcing him to miss the visit to Most. Despite only one top-ten finish, the Brit finished 19^th in the standings as he missed four rounds compared to his rivals, scoring 19 points. He was one point behind fellow Yamaha rookie Lorenzo Baldassarri at GMT94 Yamaha, who competed at every round.

The team were scheduled to only compete in the European rounds in 2023, and therefore missed Australia, Indonesia, and Jerez – with the Spanish venue a late replacement for Argentina. For 2024, the team are planning a full-season campaign meaning they will travel to Australia for the season-opening round at the iconic Phillip Island circuit to start the new season.

Discussing his renewal with the team and previewing 2024, Ray said: “I’m really happy to sign with Yamaha and Motox again for the 2024 season. I feel like it’s important to get a second year to really blossom and be able to show your full potential! We had some strong races in 2023 together so I’m excited to build on that. I’m super happy to be doing the full Championship too and think this will be very beneficial for myself throughout 2024. I want to say a massive thank you to everyone at Yamaha and Sandro at Motox for giving me a second year and another opportunity to compete in WorldSBK. See you in Australia.”

Team Manager Sandro Carusi added: “I’m pleased to continue on the journey we began with Bradley in WorldSBK last year. His surgery during the season slowed our growth somewhat, but in the first part of the year we showed we could be competitive together. I’m confident, both that he will make a full recovery and that we can achieve positive results in the 2024 Championship.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com