Whilst there’s been a small break between the first and the second half of the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season, there have been an abundance of stories. Whilst there are always big topics to follow, we’ve put the biggest trends and patterns together from the first half of 2024. From surprises, disappointments, success and everything else, get the main learnings below.
TOPRAK CHAMPIONSHIP FAVOURITE: ten on the spin and 64 points clear
12 wins in 2024 from 18 races, he’s only one away from his own record of wins within one season and we’ve got half of the year to go. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) is in a league of his own as he continues to do the unthinkable. Three triples on the bounce, only Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) has managed that in his career – back in 2019’s first three rounds and also in 2023 from Assen to Misano. For Razgatlioglu, it’s ten wins with BMW that perhaps is the surprise, with even those within the team not able to comprehend, nor believe, what’s quite happening. The celebrations have ranged from speeding tickets to technical inspections, big wheelies to backgammon. It’s not a question of what could the next celebration be; it’s what will it be? With 12 wins in total, he’s got more wins in 18 races than reigning Champion Bautista’s has podiums. That’s why there’s 104 points between them and why Razgatlioglu is the title favourite going into the second half of the season.
BULEGA VS BAUTISTA: do Ducati have a new favoured son?
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) has cemented himself as the best performing Ducati rider over teammate Bautista in recent rounds, with exactly 40 points between them. The reigning WorldSSP Champion has ten P2 finishes to his name and a win from the first round of the season, whilst Bautista has two wins, two P2s and six P3s but is with just one podium in six compared to Bulega who has four in the same period. At Most, we saw the first clash between the two. Attempting a pass, the #1 couldn’t make the Turn 1 apex on the last lap of the Superpole Race, forcing teammate Bulega into the gravel as Bautista fell. Both were calm and measured when speaking about it but for Bautista, a double DNF on Sunday has given him a mountain to climb for the title – something that despite being not appreciating being asked about it whilst in the box in Race 2, he is now longer thinking about since a few rounds ago.
REA’S 8 STRAIGHT TOP TEN FINISHES: light at the end of the tunnel for #65 but how long is the tunnel?
Six rounds into 2024 and Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) hasn’t won a race – perhaps a surprise when we all thought how magical the new chapter could be. However, amongst the difficulties – and there’s been some big ones – moments to remember. Pole at Assen, a first podium of the year at Donington Park and what seemed like something of a breakthrough on Friday at Most, back in the top three in Free Practice. The six-time World Champion has had strong late race pace, particularly in Race 2 at Most when he was the fastest rider in the field in the last five laps but it’s the early part of the race – and Superpole – which cost him. Still, in the last eight races, he’s been inside the top ten and is thus in the top ten overall. 40 behind the top six – currently held by Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) – it’s a big second half of 2024 for the most successful rider in WorldSBK history.
LOWES CONTINUES STRENGTH: closing in on the top three in the world
Closing down Alvaro Bautista for third in the Championship, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) perhaps didn’t capitalise on the Spaniard’s misfortune at Most but he’s one point closer to P3 overall in the standings. The #22 has been riding well – perhaps the best we’ve ever seen of him – in 2024 with five podiums in the last 11 races and a myriad of top five finishes. The Phillip Island double race winner has been working with new crew chief Pere Riba for this year, with the ex-racer helping Lowes manage race situations better whilst also giving him the confidence. 20 points behind Bautista, it’s a story to follow as the rest of 2024 unravels.
TIGHT WITHIN THE REST OF TOP TEN: podiums galore as Locatelli leads the charge for the top four
After 147 days, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) returned to the podium in Race 2 at Most, whilst behind him in the standings, ‘The Maniac’ Andrea Iannone was likewise back on the rostrum with a determined Race 1 effort. He was beaten by Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) for P2, with ‘Petrux’ enjoying a phenomenal injury return with a joint-best career result. He’s eighth in the standings, with Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) splitting the Italian pair, whereas Michael van der Mark’s (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) fifth place in Race 2 saw him close right up on the fight for sixth overall, with just 19 points separating Iannone in P6 and van der Mark in P9, with Rea 10th.
OVERALL ROUND-UP: some facts and stats you DIDN’T expect to hear in the first half of 2024
Instead of writing something lengthy to sign off, we’ll leave you with some pretty wild facts from the first six rounds of the year that, when you put them bluntly, are quite astonishing:
– Toprak Razgatlioglu has won 12 races, 10 in a row and leads the Championship by 64 points
– Nicolo Bulega has more podiums than Alvaro Bautista
– Alex Lowes is 20 points behind Alvaro Bautista in the standings
– Michael Ruben Rinaldi hasn’t achieved a podium yet
– Nicholas Spinelli has won a race, Jonathan Rea hasn’t
– BMW lead the manufacturers’ Championship
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Source: WorldSBK.com