Joined Mar 2023
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Australia
WSBK silly season
- Thread starter mikesbytes
- Start date
Platzt die Bombe? Kawa-Star Johnny Rea will zu Yamaha
Superbike-Rekordweltmeister Jonathan Rea hat mit Kawasaki einen Vertrag bis Ende 2024. Doch es ist unübersehbar, dass die Situation mit der nicht siegfähigen ZX-10RR für den 36-Jährigen zunehmend unerträglich wird.
www.speedweek.com
More silly season news.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Rinaldi will likely leave the factory Ducati team and be replaced by Bulega.
While I would've considered Bassani the more likely replacement, it's really not the best look when your teammate is completely dominating the championship and you're struggling to compete for Top 5 results.
Rinaldi and Andrea Iannone are both linked to a ride for the GoEleven Ducati team which means Philipp Öttl will more then likely get the boot.
Unfortunate Philipp has not been on the same level as the other customer Ducatis so it's pretty understandable if he's let go.
www.motorsport.com
Perhaps not surprisingly, Rinaldi will likely leave the factory Ducati team and be replaced by Bulega.
While I would've considered Bassani the more likely replacement, it's really not the best look when your teammate is completely dominating the championship and you're struggling to compete for Top 5 results.
Rinaldi and Andrea Iannone are both linked to a ride for the GoEleven Ducati team which means Philipp Öttl will more then likely get the boot.
Unfortunate Philipp has not been on the same level as the other customer Ducatis so it's pretty understandable if he's let go.
World Superbike: Ducati set to drop Rinaldi, promote Bulega
www.motorsport.com
Joined Mar 2023
1K Posts | 1K+
Australia
Rinaldi did great as an independent on the Ducati but didn't improve that much in the factory team.More silly season news.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Rinaldi will likely leave the factory Ducati team and be replaced by Bulega.
While I would've considered Bassani the more likely replacement, it's really not the best look when your teammate is completely dominating the championship and you're struggling to compete for Top 5 results.
Rinaldi and Andrea Iannone are both linked to a ride for the GoEleven Ducati team which means Philipp Öttl will more then likely get the boot.
Unfortunate Philipp has not been on the same level as the other customer Ducatis so it's pretty understandable if he's let go.
World Superbike: Ducati set to drop Rinaldi, promote Bulega
It will be interesting to see how Iannone goes after a 4 year layoff, perhaps comparing his performance to Pettrucci will be a reasonable measurement
Sounds like Öttl will be out of WSBK next year. Rinaldi is rumored to replace Lecuona at the factory Honda team if Iker rejoins MotoGP.
www.motorsport.com
World Superbike: Andrea Iannone favourite to join Go Eleven
www.motorsport.com
What I don’t get is the Rea to Yamaha thing. Not saying Rea is over the hill by any means but I don’t get why Yamaha went after Rea as opposed to Axel? No contracts to break or anything plus he’s looks like he’s got a promising future. You can say on that bike but he’s doing what’s expected…but by the same token can you say the same about Andrea? Andrea‘s a good rider but his results show that he’s not going to beat the top guys on good bikes, he’s on that second tier. The Japanese have been very short sighted of late as the results in SBK and MotoGP show. What is the point of getting Rea now? If Bautista was retiring this year ok yeah I get it, but I don’t see the point of going after Rea with Bautista sticking around another year. Not like there’s some brand new R1 next year, so why not invest in a hot young rider? You’d still get those podiums and top 5 finishes. All Axel really needs is a little consistency that comes with experience. I’d take him over Andrea. Put him on the Yamaha with a chip on his shoulder because Ducati snubbed him (snub or not it would be stupid for him to go to Kawi if Rea does leave). I’m a Yamaha guy and have nothing against Rea at all, but I really don’t like this move if it happens. don’t see the point from Yamaha’s side of things. Once again the Japanese being very short sited.
Yamaha have brought outside riders into the Yamaha system recently. They hired Gardener and Manzi, and while Gardener has not shown much this season, Manzi has made a major leap in World SSP. If Yamaha hired Bassani over the top of Manzi, it could cause issues for their rider recruitment, particularly since Manzi is doing more in SSP that Bassani was able to achieve.
Bassani is on the outside looking in. He's getting detuned thanks to the factory team and Bautista. He's probably not a threat to Yamaha if he jumps to Kawasaki. He's definitely not a threat in the near term at Honda. Axel probably won't beat Bautista next year, if they put him on the factory M1. When Bautista is gone, is Basssani markedly better than Manzi or Locatelli. They are probably betting no.
Bassani is in a tough spot. His best bet might be Kawasaki, if Rea leaves.
I get the Yamaha blu-cru rider dev path….. but if they are going after Rea ……..kind of kicks that to the side. With Gardner, Manzi and AG they shown their status. My point was simply this. Yamaha nor Kawi has a new bike coming. And with the status quo does anyone think Rea on the R1 is going to beat Bautista on the Ducati? Next year will probably be more of the same. With that said Axel has shown he’s a fighter he’s at the front he’s young and he hasn’t signed a contract. So he’d be worth a gamble like they took with Toprak. So yeah Toprak went to BMW. If Bautista had retired I could see going after Rea because that’s a good gamble …the bike is good and Rea still has skills. But in the current situation why not gamble with Axel? I don’t see how going to Kawi makes any sense for Axel. If they had something new coming you’d think they’d shared it with Rea to make sure he stays. Axel is currently beating the factory Kawi on a customer Ducati. And again it’s not like Rea has just forgotten how to ride so you have to look at the bike. With that said why leave a competitive for one that isn’t. That’s not going to show anyone anything. Just a curious thought I would have liked to seen Yamaha go after Axel because none of their current riders give me the impression of stepping up and they are where they are
I don't disagree that Bassani is a better lottery payoff, but I don't think that's Yamaha's goal. They lost Toprak to a competitor, and I think they want to deprive Kawasaki of Rea (assuming the rumors are true). I don't think a six-time SBK world champ upsets the rider development status quo, but riders aren't exactly predictable. If they hire Bassani they get another Italian prospect, and they don't really eliminate any threat to their organization or deprive a competitor of a key part of their team apparatus. They probably do upset the rider development status quo.
Bassani is not a bad pick for Yamaha, but the potential upside for him defeating Ducati and Kawasaki is remote. The potential downside of hiring him is angering the riders currently in development, particularly since Locatelli, Gardener, and Manzi all have titles and or race wins in international competition compared to Bassani's 6 career podiums. The potential downside of failing to hire Bassani is virtually nil because he's not beating the factory Yamaha riders at the moment, and he's probably not getting promoted by his manufacturer.
The factory teams don't have the luxury of saying "I like the cut of this guy's jib", even if Bassani is the most promising prospect in WSBK at the moment.
Joined Mar 2023
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Australia
When looking at the Raz/Rea/Bau fight at the front, there's not a huge difference between them, however if you look at the second rider in each of their teams there's a more significant difference between them and its Yamaha who appears to have the best 2nd rider at the moment or is it the bike? None of the 2nd riders appears to be good enough to step up into the Raz/Rea/Bau fight for the championship, so if/when these teams loose their 1st rider, as is happening with Yamaha, where do they go to get a rider that is better than their current 2nd rider?
Bassani would be a great hire for Yamaha and Kawasaki but I'd love to see Johnny on the Yamaha. He's 36 now but the recent races have shown he's still got something left in the tank. Realistically he's not gonna win another world championship with Kawasaki, it will be a stretch with Yamaha too but they've got a much better bike right now. I think it would make sense for Yamaha too, they'd get a proven 6-time World Champion who is absolutely not washed up yet.
Difficult to determine whether Yamaha's advantage in the #2 spot is Locatelli or the R1.
Also forgot that Rea and Kawasaki are sitting on the 500rpm concession. SBK is balance of performance so the advantage will be small, but if Kawasaki optimize the gear set for every track, maybe it will be enough to make Johnny stay.
Iannone confirmed to race with Ducati in 2024
www.crash.net
Ducati are still figuring out where to put him. GoEleven seems like the most convenient spot, but they may not have the personnel to support Iannone, supposing he can still ride at an elite level. The announcement is interesting because Iannone is signed with Ducati, not with the private team. Not sure if this is common place in SBK now or if this is the Ducati way.
Ducati confirm Andrea Iannone to WorldSBK in 2024
Ducati have confirmed the expected news of Andrea Iannone joining them in WorldSBK for 2024.
www.crash.net
Ducati are still figuring out where to put him. GoEleven seems like the most convenient spot, but they may not have the personnel to support Iannone, supposing he can still ride at an elite level. The announcement is interesting because Iannone is signed with Ducati, not with the private team. Not sure if this is common place in SBK now or if this is the Ducati way.
LFG!!!
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World Superbike: Jonathan Rea set for shock Yamaha switch in 2024
www.motorsport.com
Redding to Bonovo Action which will become a second BMW factory team, Baz out.
www.speedweek.com
Rätsel ist gelöst: So stellt sich BMW für 2024 auf
Seit der Verpflichtung von Toprak Razgatlioglu für die Superbike-WM 2024 hat BMW fünf Fahrer unter Vertrag, aber nur vier Motorräder zur Verfügung. Jetzt steht fest, wer aus dem Quintett gehen muss.
www.speedweek.com
Urgh... I was hoping he could get off the BMWRedding to Bonovo Action which will become a second BMW factory team, Baz out.
Rätsel ist gelöst: So stellt sich BMW für 2024 auf
Seit der Verpflichtung von Toprak Razgatlioglu für die Superbike-WM 2024 hat BMW fünf Fahrer unter Vertrag, aber nur vier Motorräder zur Verfügung. Jetzt steht fest, wer aus dem Quintett gehen muss.
Joined Oct 2008
6K Posts | 5K+
In Cider
Now that's a silly season!LFG!!!
World Superbike: Jonathan Rea set for shock Yamaha switch in 2024
it’s going down in WSBK right now. Iannone in at Ducati. Rea to Yamaha. Bulega now confirmed to replace Rinaldi at the Aruba.it factory squad. Redding to Bonovo, which promotes Gerloff to factory status I guess.
Bonovo wipl not longer compete as an "independent" team, Gerloff will stay at Bonovo and vdM will be Toprak's teammate.
