Why the 2024 WorldSBK season will be the best ever
The 2023 WorldSBK season was enthralling, breath-taking and action-packed throughout, but 2024 is shaping up to be even greater.
And here’s why…
- Bautista on Imola crash: ‘I didn’t have a good appreciation of the reality’
- Rea on leaving Kawasaki: ‘I wish to be world champion again’
Razgatlioglu and Rea on the move
Toprak Razgatlioglu, after four years with Yamaha and a title victory in 2021, has moved to BMW in the hope of bringing the German manufacturer to the top of the series.
BMW have not been major players when it comes to wins or titles, however, the addition of arguably the best Superbike rider in the world can’t be taken lightly.
Razgatlioglu has the type of talent we’ve very rarely seen from someone in Superbike racing, and with Michael Van Der Mark, Scott Redding and Garrett Gerloff all aboard M 1000 RR machines too, BMW should be more prepared than ever to put forward a serious challenge.
For Rea, his stunning journey with Kawasaki has ended and he’s instead replaced Razgatlioglu at Yamaha.
The six-time world champion should be more competitive next season and could be the main title threat to Bautista, depending on how Razgatlioglu and BMW get on.
If that’s the case then a battle similar to 2019 could take place when Rea came out victorious against the Spaniard.
Andrea Iannone joins WorldSBK
The headline addition to WorldSBK in 2024 is Andrea Iannone, after the Italian saw his four-year doping ban come to an end.
A MotoGP race winner, Iannone, like Razgatlioglu has a special ability on two wheels and is joining the series with Ducati, who possess the best package on the grid.
Iannone will be expected to produce despite his lengthy time away, and with the Panigale V4 R at his disposal, he could become the next best rider on that bike behind Bautista.
Hungary and another venue in Italy added
A calendar that sees 10 out of 12 races in Europe - only Phillip Island and Donington Park are the non European rounds - has resulted in two new venues being added.
The first of those is the Balaton Park circuit in Hungary which will host round eight of the season, before round ten sees riders go to Cremona in Italy.
This will present two new challenges for all the riders on the grid as previous data aboard Superbike machinery won’t be available.
New circuits introduced to a calendar tent to throw up unusual results and therefore these two circuits could be opportunities for new winners to be born.
