What are the biggest 2024 WorldSBK seats left to fill, and who are the contenders?
With the 2023 WorldSBK championship having reached the mid-season stage, here’s the latest on who could be riding where in 2024.
Plenty of factory WorldSBK seats have already been confirmed, as the series’ last three world champions in Jonathan Rea, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista have all been confirmed.
Rea and Bautista are staying put while Razgatlioglu will join BMW from Yamaha next season.
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Others to have their names booked onto the 2024 grid include Alex Lowes at Kawasaki, Garrett Gerloff with Bonovo Action BMW and Andrea Locatelli, remaining at Pata Yamaha.
But those six riders are the only ones to be announced, as Ducati, BMW, Yamaha and Honda all have factory and satellite seats up for grabs.
The most in-demand seat will be that of Michael Ruben Rinaldi at Aruba.it Ducati. A strong start to the season in terms of pure pace was a promising sign for Rinaldi, however the results and consistency have not reflected that.
Although it’s not been confirmed, Rinaldi could be moved on from Ducati as Nicolo Bulega is a rider who is beginning to gain major traction as it relates to replacing his fellow Italian.
In the satellite Ducati teams, Danilo Petrucci looks set to remain with Barni Ducati should he stay in WorldSBK.
After missing out on the second factory Kawasaki seat, it appears as though Axel Bassani could be staying put with Motocorsa Ducati, although his dream of joining the factory team is still a possibility.
Where there could be an opening is GoEleven Ducati, as Philipp Oettl has not delivered results consistently, while there’s also continued rumours linking Andrea Iannone with a return to world championship racing with Ducati in WorldSBK.
Iannone with a move to GoEleven or Barni Ducati should the team expand to a two-rider outfit, are potential moves to watch out for.
At BMW, the battle is on to line-up alongside Razgatlioglu as both Scott Redding and Michael Van Der Mark have admitted that their intention is to remain with the team.
Yamaha also have one half of their line-up sorted for next season, but the ride alongside Locatelli remains the balance.
The Japanese manufacturer has on more than one occasion stated that promoting a rider from within their ranks is the main priority, which could give the likes of Dominique Aergeter a very good shot at joining the team.
Finally there’s Honda, who are the only brand not to have confirmed a rider inside their factory team.
Rinaldi, should he leave Ducati is a name to watch out for, as is MotoGP rider Takaaki Nakagami should he move paddock.
Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge have struggled during their second season aboard the CBR1000RR-R, and could be in danger of losing their seats.
