Superbike, and now? The current situation, manufacturer by manufacturer

It took just two days to revolutionise the Superbike grid, with two expected but nevertheless significant announcements. With Jonathan Rea on his way to Yamaha and the arrival of Nicolò Bulega on the Aruba team, one part of the puzzle has been solved while new ones are created.

Ducati

Ducati can be sure of many things, but there are still details to iron out. As for the new Aruba line-up, the logical consequence of Bulega’s arrival is the departure of Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who is now tasked with a rather complicated mission. The Italian needs to find a ride, but the opportunities on the table are limited.

It doesn’t appear that the Italian is in pole position for the vacant Kawasaki seat, and there’s no room at Honda with Iker Lecuona not moving to MotoGP. Motoamerica remains a possibility, a way to remain part of the Ducati family considering that there looks to be no room for him in Superbike right now.

The privateer Ducati teams have looked elsewhere, with Go Eleven expected to hire Andrea Iannone, Marc VDS fielding Sam Lowes, and Motocorsa that, if it were to split were Axel Bassani, has other ideas. As for Motocorsa, a decision is still to be made as to Axel, as well as to the possibility of fielding two bikes next season.

Kawasaki

First it was Yamaha to be left without a captain, and now the baton passes to Kawasaki. Having bid farewell to Rea, a new entry is now needed, and the main candidates look to be Scott Redding and Bassani, the latter pushed by his entourage.

On the second row is Rinaldi and, the latest addition, Adrian Huertas. The Spaniard already has a pre-agreement with Aruba for Supersport, but an offer from Kawasaki for Superbike – particularly after his surprising Aragon test – could mix things up.

As for the other Kawasaki teams, the first issue has to do with whether or not they will remain green. As reported in recent weeks, Puccetti, Pedercini and Orelac are considering their future and a move to another manufacturer would really change things. Manuel Puccetti’s team could boost its reputation by moving to BMW for example, perhaps targeting one of the big names still on the market.

Yamaha

There can be few surprises in store for Yamaha seeing as its two main teams – Crescent and GRT – are already sorted, with Rea and Andrea Locatelli on the one side and Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner on the other.

Motoxracing and GMT94 are still to name names, with Lorenzo Baldassarri looking more uncertain than colleague Bradley Ray, who returns to Magny-Cours after missing the Most round.

BMW

Like KTM in MotoGP, BMW has an abundance of riders. Right now, the German manufacturer has five riders under contract, or rather the four already riding the M1000RR and Toprak Razgatlioglu, which means that one has to go.

There are two possibilities at this point. On the one hand, the situation would be resolved if Redding were to head to Kawasaki, a move that would allow Michael Van Der Mark to remain on the factory team and Garrett Gerloff and Loris Baz with Bonovo.

On the other hand, if Redding does not go, BMW will have to decide whether to shift Scott or Van der Mark to Bonovo, with the Dutchman the most likely candidate for the factory ride. In this case, Loris Baz would pay the price – despite already having a signed contract – given that Gerloff has already earned Bonovo’s trust and will stay put in 2024.

Honda

All appears calm in the Honda camp, where things should remain as they are, at least as far as the factory team is concerned. As we’ve said, Lecuona will not move to MotoGP, considering the arrival of Johann Zarco at LCR and Nakagami’s renewal, and Xavi Vierge should be reconfirmed for next season.

Team MIE’s plans are still to be clarified, with current riders Eric Granado and Hafizh Syahrin having not yet confirmed their next moves.