There is less and less left until the start of the new World Superbike season which promises to be among the most interesting in recent years. Many confirmations, but also great news that have shaken up the starting grid, starting with Toprak Razgatlioglu in BMW and Jonathan Rea in Yamaha, just to mention the best known. There won't be much time left to see the riders in action, the tests are just around the corner. But first we need to unveil the bikes with which everyone will try to stop the domination of the two-time world champion Alvaro Bautista.
The MotoXRacing team opened the dance for the presentations. Sandro Carusi's team also counts on Bradley Ray this year and unveiled his Yamaha last Friday in Fiano Romano, just outside Rome. From a confirmation to a novelty: the ELF Marc VDS team debuts in Superbike this year and does so with Sam Lowes. The Belgian team took off the Ducati which they will have at their disposal on January 15th in Modave, Belgium.
One of the most anticipated presentations took place yesterday. We are talking about BMW, which officially presented Toprak Razgatlioglu as a driver of the German brand, together with the confirmed Michael van der Mark. The event was jointly held with the Bonovo team, the independent BMW formation which this year features Garrett Gerloff and Scott Redding.
It will then be the turn of the world champion team: the Aruba team, formed by the Alvaro Bautista-Nicolò Bulega duo, will unveil the Panigale V4R on 22 January, in the now usual setting of Madonna di Campiglio, in a Ducati event together with the MotoGP. Then comes another highly anticipated presentation, that of Jonathan Rea, who we will see in Yamaha colours. The six-time world champion takes Razgatlioglu's place in the Iwata team and, together with the confirmed Andrea Locatelli, shows himself in blue with an online presentation.
The presentation of the GMT94 team will also be online only, Yamaha's satellite which this year is focusing on Philipp Oettl and will be revealed on January 28th, just as that of Kawasaki will be online. We will see the “green girl” through a simple video on February 8, in which Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani introduce themselves, in his first official experience taking Rea's place.
Big celebration instead for the Go Eleven team, which welcomes Andrea Iannone into its wing. This is perhaps the most awaited driver of this championship, the Abruzzo native returns in 2024 after the long disqualification for doping which forced him to be a spectator. The rider from Vasto starts again from Superbike, where this year he will ride the Panigale V4R. We will discover colors and motion on February 3rd, in the setting of Piedmont.
Misano will be the scene of the presentation of the GRT team. The other Yamaha satellite team presents itself without news, with Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner confirmed on February 5th. The Barni team closes the ball, which will also field Danilo Petrucci in 2024 and will present itself on 11 February with an event in Reggio Emilia.
SBK presentation calendar (updating)
Team |
Date and place |
MotoXRacing |
January 12th |
ELF Marc VDS Racing Team |
January 15th |
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team |
January 17th |
Bonovo Action BMW |
January 17th |
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati |
January 22nd |
Pata Prometeon Yamaha |
January 28th |
GMT94 Yamaha |
January 31st |
Team Go Eleven |
February 3 |
GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team |
February 5 |
Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK |
February 8 |
BARNI Spark Racing Team |
February 11th |
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