Six high-profile rookies took to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship grid in 2023, with multiple world and domestic titles between them to create arguably one of the strongest rookie line-ups ever. Now, with 2023 in the history books, it’s time to look at how the group fared during their first full seasons in WorldSBK. From podiums to a point-less season, there were celebrations and despair in a mixed campaign for our rookies.

PETRUCCI ON THE PODIUM: difficult start, strong end

Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was one of the highest-profile rookies to make the move to WorldSBK after a season in the USA. It was a challenging start to the Italian’s season as he struggled to make the top ten, leaving him questioning whether it was the right move. However, a breakthrough on home soil at Misano allowed ‘Petrux’ to fight for the podium even if results didn’t come that weekend. They soon did though, with third at Donington Park followed by a double podium at the Autodrom Most. The #9 finished the season seventh in the standings, the top rookie in 2023.

MAKING HISTORY: Aegerter secures Switzerland’s first podiums

Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) rider spent two seasons in WorldSSP, winning the title in both 2021 and 2022, before graduating to WorldSBK with Yamaha. He narrowly missed out on a debut pole position in Australia as he threatened the top five positions immediately, before crashes and an injury disrupted his season. He ended the year strongly with a double podium at Jerez in the Tissot Superpole Race and Race 2 to just pip teammate Remy Gardner to top spot in the GRT Yamaha pecking order.

GARDNER CLOSES IN ON A ROSTRUM: a best of fourth builds nicely into 2024

Like teammate Aegerter, Gardner ended the season strongly with a whole host of top-six finishes in the final five rounds. A mid-season lull where he struggled to crack the top ten until WorldSBK hit the Autodrom Most, where two top-six finishes kickstarted a run of form that lifted him into the top ten in the Championship standings. Fourth was the #87’s best result, coming at Jerez in Race 2, as he took ninth in the standings – only one place behind his teammate.

A CHALLENGING YEAR: Baldassarri misses out on a top ten

Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) finished as runner-up to Aegerter in the 2022 WorldSSP season and followed him into WorldSBK for 2023, linking up with the GMT94 Yamaha squad who returned to WorldSBK. It proved to be a challenging year for both team and rider, with ‘Balda’ securing a best result of 12^th on three occasions – on home soil at Misano and to end the season strongly at Jerez. However, the #34 is currently searching for a seat for 2024 with the team drafting in Philipp Oettl for next year.

RAY INTO THE TOP SIX: potential on show

Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) made his WorldSBK debut in 2018 but returned in 2023 for a full-time campaign with Yamaha for 2023. He secured one top-six finish this year, at Imola, as he scored 19 points in his rookie season, finishing one point and one place behind Baldassarri. The Brit missed one round through injury at the Autodrom Most, and also only competed in the European rounds, but returns for the same team next year with a full-season campaign planned.

DIFFICULTIES FOR GRANADO: injuries impact rookie season

After a one-off appearance in WorldSBK in 2020, Brazilian star Eric Granado returned in 2023 for a full season with the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team. It was a difficult year for the Brazilian as he missed several rounds through injury, and the #51 did not score points during his first full campaign, while teammate Hafizh Syahrin did. His best result was 17^th on two occasions, in Race 2 at Assen and in the Superpole Race at Most.

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A Champion will return to the FIM Supersport World Championship grid in 2024, with Lucas Mahias linking up with GMT94 Yamaha for next season. Mahias won the 2017 title on the Yamaha YZF-R6 machine when running with GRT Yamaha and will hope his return to Yamaha can provide some of the success he experienced before, while GMT94 Yamaha will hope Mahias’ arrival can return the French outfit to winning ways.

Mahias made his WorldSSP debut in 2014, completing two races and finish fourth in Qatar. That earned him a full-time seat for 2015 with a hit-and-miss year; taking one podium and three top-four finishes but only finishing four races. Nevertheless, his potential was on display and, after a few races in STK1000 and WorldSBK in 2016, he returned in 2017 for his second full campaign. It would prove to be his title-winning year after a stunning season.

Eight podiums in 12 races, including two wins, propelled him to the top of the standings ahead, 29 points clear of Kenan Sofuoglu. He returned in 2018, again with the GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP Team, and almost defended his title as he was defeated by Sandro Cortese. He finished fourth in 2019 and was second in 2020, both with the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing outfit, before graduating to WorldSBK with the same team.

Two seasons with the Independent Kawasaki outfit gave a best result of seventh in the Tissot Superpole Race at Donington Park in 2021, before losing his full-time ride with the team and switching to the Endurance World Championship. However, he remained in the paddock in 2023 with Kawasaki Puccetti Racing, competing 10 races in WorldSSP as Can Oncu missed out through injury and also three in WorldSBK as he stood in for Tito Rabat.

For 2024, the Frenchman will return to the class where he’s enjoyed so much success. 29 podiums, including nine wins, have come for Mahias in WorldSSP since his debut while he’s also taken eight pole positions. He will be hoping his return to Yamaha machinery allows him to add to these stats in 2024, while GMT94 Yamaha will hope the 34-year-old can gave the team their first win since Jules Cluzel won at Mandalika in Race 2 in 2021.

Discussing his return to WorldSSP, Mahias said: “I am extremely happy to join GMT94 for 2024. It’s a team that I know well having raced with them several times in endurance and scored some points which helped to clinch the title in 2016. I also won with them in the French Supersport Championship. I want to thank Christophe and all his partners for believing in my potential as much as I believe in them. We have all the cards in hand to have a great season.”

GMT94 Yamaha Team Manager Christophe Guyot added: “We are delighted to welcome Lucas Mahias. After the podiums scored with Corentin Perolari in Australia, Valentin Debise (twice in France) and by Jules Cluzel (23 podiums and 7 wins) with GMT94, we are consolidating our commitment to take national categories to the top of the World Supersport. Lucas will rely on a team that will be able to bring together the skills of members and riders from different backgrounds to win and share. Lucas’ talent, energy and ambition are the assets that will motivate an entire team and raise the hopes of the young French generation.”

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The PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team completed their first off-season test with both riders at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto on Wednesday and Thursday, with Tarran Mackenzie joined by Adam Norrodin for the first time on WorldSBK spec machinery. The duo, who were with the same team in WorldSSP, were running the old Honda machine during the test and both reviewed the test at the end of day two, with Mackenzie detailing where he was looking for improvements and Norrodin providing a fitness update.

MACKENZIE RETURNS TO SUPERBIKE MACHINERY: “There still some things I need to learn”

The Brit has plenty of experience of Superbike machinery, having raced in the British Superbike championship and won the title before joining the WorldSBK paddock, with the MIE Honda team in WorldSSP last year. He’s also tested their CBR1000RR-R on a few occasions throughout 2023 and he spoke about where he would like to improve on the Fireblade over the next tests, ahead of a maiden WorldSBK campaign, while also revealing his hopes to have the new machine at their next test.

Looking back on the test, Mackenzie said: “Day 2 was good; the conditions were a little bit better. It helped me a lot, I improved a little bit and had some more understanding. There are still some things I need to learn but we are on the old bike; hopefully, for the next test, we have the new bike which will change some things. I haven’t had so much time on a Superbike with traction control, only really at the Suzuka 8 Hours, so it was nice just to understand that side of it. I still need to understand and learn a lot, but the lap time was a little bit better. It was the last test of the year, but hopefully at the Portimao test in January we can make a step.”

DEBUT FOR NORRODIN: still searching for fitness

Malaysian star Norrodin missed the last couple of rounds after being injured in a crash at Magny-Cours, with the test also his first time on the CBR1000RR-R as he prepares for a maiden campaign in WorldSBK. While he admitted he still wasn’t at full fitness for the test, he outlined what his target was for the test and also explained how he’ll be working over the winter to get back to 100% fitness ahead of the team’s next test.

Explaining his two-day test, Norrodin said: “Unfortunately, I am still not 100% fit and so I wasn’t totally comfortable with my shoulder while riding. The target for the test was to build feeling with the bike, which we did, but my physical condition limited how many laps we could complete as I have little power in my arm and get fatigued after only a short run. I’m continuing with physio and rehab, but it’s going to be a long process, so now I want to visit my doctors back in Malaysia to see what else we can do to speed up the recovery process. A big thank you to the team anyway, as they’ve worked really hard this week. My focus over the next weeks is my physical recovery – I want to do all I can to better prepared for our next test in January.”

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With the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in the history books, it’s time to reflect on what was an epic season. The Official WorldSBK Yearbook, covering the 2023 season, is available from December 5th but you can pre-order now from the WorldSBK Store and you won’t want to miss out on it. Going into fine detail about the season, featuring stats and results and a chapter-by-chapter look at the 12 stunning rounds that made up the 2023 season.

From Phillip Island in Australia in February to Jerez in Spain in October, 2023 had it all. There were unforgettable races, incredible battles, stunning saves, and costly crashes as the riders battled it out for World Championship glory. In the end, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) prevailed over 2021 Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu to claim his second title in as many years. It was decided at the final round of the season, with so many stories to tell about it. The annual goes into detail about each round to give you more insight than ever before.

There’s also dedicated chapters to each World Champion from inside the WorldSBK paddock. Bautista’s defence is documented, as is Nicolo Bulega’s (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) rise to glory as he took the World Supersport crown in stunning fashion. Plus, there’s the story of how Jeffrey Buis, then at MTM Kawasaki, made history by becoming the first rider in WorldSSP300 history to win a second title.

The machines in WorldSBK are a fundamental part of the production-based Championship and the Yearbook allows you to explore them in stunning detail with technical specifications. BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha have all searched for glory and you can explore more about their incredible machines in the book. There’s also a section dedicated to Pirelli, the Championship’s sole tyre supplier, as they continued to innovate in WorldSBK.

The book will be a permanent reminder of the season just gone, which will be etched into WorldSBK history after an epic fight on track. Don’t miss your chance to dive deep into the 2023 campaign.

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Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) was one of a handful of MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship riders to hit the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto on Wednesday and Thursday as the Spaniard tested Honda’s vastly upgraded CBR1000RR-R machine for the first time. The #97, like teammate Iker Lecuona, was full of praise for the new bike after his first outing with it although outlined where there could be some improvements before racing gets underway in February.

JEREZ TEST OVERVIEW: “we really feel the strong points!”

Vierge was at EICMA when the bike was unveiled and immediately pointed out that, while it may look similar, there were a lot of differences internally as the Japanese manufacturer look for gains in WorldSBK. The one-time podium finisher explained how he felt when got on the new bike after testing it for the first time, stating that they were riding a base setup without changing too much while also feeling the strengths of the new CBR1000RR-R straight away.

Giving a review of the test, Vierge said: “We are happy. It has been a really good two days of testing and track conditions have been really good, so we can do many laps. The first test has been more about adapting ourselves to the new bike. We didn’t want to change too much. We rode with the base setup that they prepared for us Tetsuta in Japan. The first impressions have been really good. The bike looks similar but there are many changes. We really feel the strong points. At the moment, we can’t take enough advantage about the new strong points but it’s just the beginning; we didn’t change many things on the bike, we just did laps to see how everything works. Really happy and now we have some weeks to analyse all this data and to prepare a new plan for Portimao. We have another day before the winter break.”

COMPARING MACHINES: “felt a little strange in the beginning… there’s a lot of room to improve”

The #97 has been with Honda for two seasons, scoring one podium in that time in 2023, but was able to provide a comparison of where the improvements have come on the new machine. Despite admitting to feeling “a bit strange” when getting on the 2024 model to start with, the Spaniard quickly adjusted to it. At the end of the test, Vierge outlined where he felt the biggest change was in comparison to the 2023 model.

He explained: “I started with the old bike and when I jumped on the new bike, I immediately felt some strong points compared to the old bike. We had two years with the old bike so, at the beginning, I felt a little bit strange in some areas. During these two days, I was able to adapt and start to feel better. Right now, we are going a little bit faster than with the old bike, but the good point is that with the old bike, we always feel like we’re on the limit and we don’t know how to go faster, with this bike it’s like there’s a lot of room to improve. We need to understand the direction to follow to take profit from all the new things.”

MORE TO COME: always searching for gains

Whether it’s a new bike or an old one, every manufacturer and rider will be searching for improvements. Vierge explained one area where they could make more gains, saying: “The electronics are quite different so I think we can make a big step forward with that. The bike has, compared to last season’s bike, a lot of traction and drive but we are missing a little bit of that. We’ll try to use the electronics to find the edge grip earlier.”

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A few teams from the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship gathered at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto for two more days of post-season testing, with Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) trying the new Honda CBR100RR-R Fireblade for the first time at the Spanish venue. The #7 spoke about his first thoughts of the bike following the test, with the Spaniard giving it rave reviews following substantial upgrades made by Honda.

REVIEWING THE TEST: “in terms of chassis, electronics, engine… everything changed a lot”

The Jerez test marked the first time both Lecuona and teammate Xavi Vierge were able to get on the new bike, which was unveiled at EICMA recently. Lecuona looked back on the two-day test full of positivity after getting on the new machine, which features upgrades up and down the bike as the Japanese manufacturer look to become regular podium contenders and race winners as soon as possible. At the test, there was work done on both the 2023 and 2024 bikes to compare the two before all eyes turned to next year’s competitor. 

On the test, Lecuona said: “I’m really happy because it’s a big surprise about the step and the bike that Japan brings us. It’s a big surprise. In terms of chassis, electronics, engine… everything changed a lot. We made a good step in a few areas, and in other areas we are still struggling a little bit that we need to understand better. What is true is that we needed to learn about the feeling of the bike a lot in these two days. I needed to change my style a lot to go fast. Even with the SC0, the performance was amazing. The tyre wear is really good for us; we could never do these laps at the end of the race. Really happy about this.”

DAY 1 BETTER THAN DAY 2? “on the second day, I struggled to understand the bike more”

Lecuona has been competing in both WorldSBK and MotoGP™ for the last few weeks, standing in for Alex Rins at LCR Honda as he continues his recover. His latest Grand Prix exploit came on Sunday at the Qatar Grand Prix before travelling to southern Spain for the two-day test. With the 23-year-old also in Malaysia recently, which he flew to from the season-ending Spanish Round at Jerez, he admitted he still had work to do to understand the bike.

Lecuona added: “I’m very tired from all the travelling so on the second day, I struggled more to understand the bike. We tried to do our best in terms of electronics, where we need to do work compared to last year to understand more new things. I’m quite happy but still we need to improve, we need to understand this new bike. I think it’s a really good step. Let’s see in the next test how it is.”

NEW CREW CHIEF: “his methods and mentality, the way he works, I like the whole package”

Lecuona will have a new crew chief for 2024 with Tom Jojic, formerly crew chief to Kenny Roberts Jr, Hiroshi Aoyama and Bradley Smith in the Grand Prix paddock, joining the team in place of Pete Jennings. Jojic was at the test working for the first time with the #7 at the Jerez test, with Lecuona revealing his thoughts on his new right-hand man.

The Spaniard said: “Really happy with Tom because I feel that he has a lot of experience in MotoGP™. His methods and mentality, the way that he works, everything… I like the whole package. I feel the experience. He’s a really good guy. He’s similar to me: when it’s time to work, he’s working but he likes to joke a lot, smile a lot so I think he’s really good and positive for all of us. For now, I can say that I’m really happy to work with him.”

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It was a bright start to testing for Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), with the British rider getting good track time at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto in Andalusia, Spain. The #22 had a variety of things to work on throughout the day and will continue that into day two, where he hopes to find conclusive results to carry on making gains in the new year.”

“We were working on some electronics, the RPM that we can use in 2024 and some suspension modifications from Showa,” began the Englishman, who moves over to work with Pere Riba after Jonathan Rea’s departure. “We also had a chassis balance change from what I was using, something similar to what Jonny was using with some ideas from Pere. It’s really good working with him; obviously, he has a lot of experience working with Jonathan but also from when he was a rider himself, so I feel like he understands me quite well already and I’m really enjoying working with the new guys in the team.”

Lowes is joined by Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in the green team this year, with the six-time WorldSBK podium finisher needing to do plenty of adapting from V4 machinery of Ducati last year to the inline four of Kawasaki’s ZX-10RR for next year. The 24-year-old finishing sixth in the Championship in 2023, claiming Best Independent for the second season.

Commenting on his new teammate, Lowes praised Bassani: “Axel is doing a good job but obviously, he has a lot more work to do than when he was testing with the Independent team but it’s great to have him with us. For day two, long runs and putting everything together before we go into the winter with everything we found at the last test but also on day one this week, to see what else we need to really work on before the January tests and next season.”

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After a stunning MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship campaign, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was crowned World Champion for a second time. Despite the best efforts of Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK’s Toprak Razgatlioglu, the reigning Champion successfully completed the defence of his title as he wrapped up the crown in Race 1 at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto with victory, becoming the first Ducati rider to defend the title with the #1 since Carl Fogarty way back in 1999. Following his success, the Spaniard sat down for an in-depth interview that covered everything from the highs and lows of the year, celebrating with family and his rivalry with Razgatlioglu.

WINNING A SECOND CHAMPIONSHIP: “it’s very difficult to win a title, it’s even more difficult to defend it…”

Bautista switched to the #1 plate for 2023 after winning the title in 2022 and he was able to retain it this year despite Razgatlioglu pushing him all the way. It was his third world title – after the 125cc World Championship in 2006 and WorldSBK last year – but the first he could celebrate with everyone after wrapping it up in Europe. Bautista reflected on claiming a second WorldSBK crown and being able to celebrate it with his friends and family, including his wife and daughter.

An emotional Bautista explained: “To be World Champion in 2023 sounds really good, especially because it’s very difficult to win a title and it’s even more difficult to defend it. At the beginning of the season, I chose to use the #1 because I felt strong enough to defend the title with it. Defending the #1 on the bike is always really nice and it’s a pleasure for me to be part of the history. My previous Championships were won in Australia in 125cc in 2006 and last year in Indonesia. I enjoyed the moment a lot with the team, but to win at Jerez was amazing. I could share all these incredible moments with my friends and family. It was a dream come true to have the chance to celebrate the Championship with everyone. I was really happy to share the Championship with my daughters. Every time they see a heart, they say ‘a heart like daddy’ so my first thought was to do the heart sign for them. They celebrated with me, and it was amazing.”

15 WINS IN 16 RACES: “the start of the season was unbelievable!”

Bautista had the best ever start to a WorldSBK campaign with 15 wins in the first 16 races, winning every race he finished but crashing out of the Tissot Superpole Race at Mandalika. A hat-trick in Australia set the tone for the first half of his season, with Bautista only defeated on the track for the first time at the Donington Park Superpole Race, when the #54 took his second win of the season as he started to put the pressure on.

On the first half of the season, Bautista explained: “For me, the most important race was the first one in Australia. It started to rain before the race. I think many people thought that if it was dry, I would’ve been too fast and won but in wet conditions, they said, ‘I have a chance to beat Alvaro’. For me to win that race was really important and a bigger sign to say that I’m here, it doesn’t matter about the conditions or situation, I’m here to win. The start of the season was unbelievable. We won 15 races from 16, so it was really, really impressive. I can’t believe it. We had the references from last season so, every weekend, we started with a really good base. From there, we started to build up the performance in all races, all circuits, and all conditions. It was so nice to win so many races but, sometimes, when you win a lot of races you can come into a relaxed feeling, and it is not so good.”

COSTLY CRASHES? Imola and Aragon tumbles explained…

The second half of the campaign featured some incredible fights between the top two in the Championship, but Bautista stayed ahead in the standings thanks to his results in the first six rounds. There were crashes at Imola and two at Aragon which allowed the Turkish star to close the gap substantially, which, combined with on-track results meant the title fight would go on to the final round. 

Bautista reflected on these mistakes, saying: “From Imola, I learnt a lot. Maybe I had more tension than normal. I don’t know if it was because the weather was too hot or the track conditions. I think I crashed because of that. I didn’t have a good appreciation of the reality and maybe, in that corner, I touched the inside kerb and then I crashed. It was my mistake but fortunately I learnt from it. Aragon was a bit different from Imola. In that crash, I was too confident. I had a bit of a gap to second and maybe I was too relaxed. The second one was because I tried to gain two positions in one corner. I could expect that crash because I was over the limit.”

FIGHTING WITH RAZGATLIOGLU: “his performance was unbelievable!”

One of the big talking points towards the end of 2023 was Razgatlioglu and Bautista’s stunning fights, most notably at Portimao and Jerez, both of which featured more than 30 passes for the lead between the two. After the season ended, the Spaniard was full of praise for his rival’s showing throughout the year as Razgatlioglu took the Championship battle to Jerez despite the double Champion’s record-breaking season.

Lavishing praise on Razgatlioglu, the 39-year-old said: “My fight for the Championship with Toprak this season has been difficult, especially in the second half of the season. Toprak was very strong. He never made mistakes. I had a record of victories this season but, even with this, he kept the title alive until the last round. That means his performance was unbelievable. When you fight with him for the Championship, you can’t say ‘okay, today I’m second, I get some points’ because he’s always there. For that, I had to do the whole season by attacking. Doing my best, never relaxing and always on the limit. Portimao, especially Race 2, I said to everybody that I didn’t want to think about the Championship, I just wanted to fight until the end and get the maximum. For me, it was easy just to stay second and not risk anything. It is not my mindset. When you win and your rivals have the talent they have, it’s more important to win like this. I’m so proud of how I could manage the situation and the races.”

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