WSBK 2020

WorldSBK
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The season is over, long live the season
Wednesday, 30 October 2019


When a monarch dies there is always a replacement waiting in the wings. The line of succession needs to be clear; otherwise a Kingdom can be left in peril. In WorldSBK when one season ends another begins immediately as WorldSBK commentator Steve English explains…

“What’s your plan for the off-season?” It’s an innocuous question until the realisation dawns that the new season has already begun for teams and riders. There is no off-season for teams and riders. Their goals are already shifted towards next season.

WorldSBK’s first group test of the 2020 season will take place in two weeks’ time at Motorland Aragon. From the moment the flight crates were packed at the Losail International Circuit and flown back to Europe from Qatar, the wheels were set in motion to get those bikes ready to be put onto trucks and sent to Spain. The turnaround of a race team is always incredibly impressive.

It will be the day when new riders take to the track with new bikes. Scott Redding has already sampled his WorldSBK Ducati at Valencia. Garrett Gerloff and Federico Caricasulo will get their first tastes of WorldSBK machinery at Aragon. Out with the old, in with the new. Teams and riders will be focused on the Aragon and Jerez tests for the next month before they can finally look to unwind in December for a few weeks.

The tests offer a first snapshot of what we can expect for next year. The first feelings riders have with their bikes. The season is over but the reset and repeat for 2020 has begun.

This year has been one of contrasts. Mostly we have focused on the battle at the front between Jonathan Rea and Alvaro Bautista. Whether it is seen as a title won or lost has been discussed heavily but it’s impossible to underestimate how impressive both riders have been this year. Bautista was dominant as a newcomer but when the bubble burst it came with a very fast descent. For Rea, this has been an incredible season where once again he has faced down the challenges of rivals and come away with a title.

He enjoyed the aftermath of retaining his crown. Taking a holiday, enjoying a few days of relaxing; but then his focus turned to the end of season. Winning races, getting ready for 2020 and whatever new challenges await.

One of those challenges will come in the form of the man who finished third in the world; Alex Lowes. The British rider will join Kawasaki alongside Rea, with the Aragon test his first opportunity to learn about a new bike. Jumping on the bike that has won so much is always a challenge.

For the rest of the field, they’ve spent years saying that “the Kawasaki is the best bike.” Suddenly, Lowes will be able to determine if it is better than his Yamaha. It’s all about the package of team and bike: it will take time to build those relationships.

For Lowes the task is clear: get up to speed as quickly as possible and see how he stacks up against Rea. Having been teammates with Michael van der Mark he knows what it’s like to have a fast teammate that can beat you.

“I think it’s been great working with Michael”, said Lowes after the Qatar Round. “We pushed each other, made each other better and we’ve always been able to shake hands and congratulate each other after a race. I think that growing up and fighting with my brother [Sam] on track taught me that we can try and beat each other, but we still have to be able to look past it when we’re away from the track.”

That ability could be crucial for Lowes over the winter as he compares himself to Rea and sees from the data where the five-time World Champion is strong. You need to have a very tough mentality to take the fight to Rea but even more so when you’re in the same garage.

For van der Mark it will be more of the same in 2020. He’ll stay at Yamaha and have a strong teammate – Toprak Razgatlioglu. The pair are two of the most naturally gifted riders on the grid and will have plenty to learn over the winter. Van der Mark will have Andrew Pitt as his crew chief after three years with Lez Pearson. Building that relationship will be key for the Dutchman. For Toprak, everything is new. The Yamaha R1 is a very different beast to the Kawasaki ZX10-RR but the WorldSBK race winner will bring with him plenty of confidence.

Up and down the grid every team and rider are now processing change. How quickly they adapt will be crucial. If they can do it in time for Phillip Island, like Bautista last year, they could spring a surprise and give Rea something to think about.

The season is over. Long live the season.

2020: How is the grid shaping up?
Monday, 4 November 2019


From paddock whispers to contract signatures, the 2020 WorldSBK field is taking shape, with team expansions and rider signings headlining the forthcoming season…

Since the summer break, there has been an array of signings and renewals for the forthcoming 2020 season. All five manufacturers have confirmed at least one rider for next season, whilst some have brought in new additions for a better crack at the coveted WorldSBK crown. So, who is where and which teams are fielding which riders?

Starting with those that we know, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) both signed two-year deals last summer and look are certain to stay put for the duration of their respective contracts. Joining Davies at the ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati team, Scott Redding. The popular, charismatic British rider will make his WorldSBK debut in 2020, replacing former MotoGP™ teammate, Alvaro Bautista.

On the other side of the Kawasaki garage, Alex Lowes will be sitting next to the 2019 reigning World Champion. With nine podiums added on his tally this year, the British rider finished third in the championship, and with no doubt Lowes and the Provec squad will be a force to be reckoned with for 2020.

Toprak Razgatlioglu will replace Lowes joining Michael van der Mark at the Pata Yamaha team to form a rider line-up built to spend a decade at the top of the standings. The vacant seat left by Razgatlioglu at the Puccetti Racing Team will be filled by another strong contender who will make a sensational return to the series next year. 2018 Best Independent rider Xavi Fóres will join the Italian squad, ready for a strong comeback on the Kawasaki machine after a year away from WorldSBK.

Tom Sykes’ results on the all-new BMW has seen his services retained for another season, as he looks to be fighting for a second WorldSBK crown in 2020. He will be joined by Eugene Laverty, with the Irishman resurrecting his partnership with team principal, Shaun Muir. Sykes and Laverty duelled for the title in 2013 and want to do the same as teammates in 2020.

Another team partially confirmed for next season is that of the all-new HRC World Superbike outfit, spearheaded by none other than Alvaro Bautista. The Spaniard was confirmed as their star man and we are yet to learn the length of contract, his teammate and the bike performance. One thing is for sure: it will add an incredibly interesting dynamic to the championship in 2020, with HRC’s full factory effort seeking to return the Japanese manufacturer back to the top of the WorldSBK championship tree.

There’s been no official confirmation on who will sit on the other side of the Honda garage, but several reports link Leon Haslam to the new 2020 Honda effort. The 36-year-old has been hindered by a few injuries this season. However, he was able to put in a sterling effort to take the Japanese manufacturer to their first Suzuka 8 Hours win in over two decades.

GRT Yamaha has recently confirmed a brand-new line up for 2020. 2019 WorldSSP runner-up Federico Caricasulo will step up to WorldSBK with the team, while American star Garrett Gerloff is set to make his debut in the series with the Yamaha squad.

BARNI Racing Team will also have a new rider for 2020, with Leon Camier joining the Italian outfit next year. With the British rider confirmed on the Ducati Panigale V4R of Barnabò’s team, Michael Ruben Rinaldi is currently out of a ride for 2020. However, the Italian rider seems close to switching to the Ducati bike of Team Goeleven.

German rider Markus Reiterberger is also still looking for a seat for next year, but also Leandro Mercado has still not signed yet. With Orelac Racing VerdNatura confirmed to be on the 2020 grid, the Argentinian looks close to remain with them, but this might not be so sure as we think. In terms of other Independent riders, Jordi Torres confirmed to worldsbk.com that he will remain with the Team Pedercini Racing for 2020, after steady progression this year. Joining Torres in the new two-rider squad at Pedercini is former WorldSBK front runner, Lorenzo Savadori; the Italian returns to the team on a two-year deal. The team also confirmed their places on the grid for 2021, fielding two bikes.

Laverty: "BMW? I have already won by going from one bike to another": "Switching from Ducati's V4 to BMW's 4 line will not be a big problem. If we could beat Rea? He gets better every year

Alvaro Bautista: «If I felt that I could not beat jonathanrea, I would be at home » No doubt the 2020 season is going to be a show, with great drivers and brands betting heavily on the championship

Jonathan Rea vs Alvaro Bautista: Where It All Turned Around
Steve English on Sat, 2019-11-09

2019 saw Jonathan Rea face and overcome a new rival, but how did the dramatic season unfold?

The 2019 WorldSBK season is in the books and with testing around the corner, a new campaign is drawing near. After one of the most talked about WorldSBK title campaigns in memory, WorldSBK.com sat down with the protagonists Jonathan Rea and Alvaro Bautista, to get their thoughts on the season.

Having seen Bautista reel off eleven wins in a row, his coronation seemed a foregone conclusion. But a sudden series of crashes left Bautista reeling. With Rea in relentless form, the world champion overturned a 61-point lead to be crowned champion with two rounds remaining.

Facing the impossible

"I’ve never really seen a turnaround like this one," admitted Rea. "My target was always to win the championship but after four rounds it was…a big dream. We couldn’t see any weakness in the package of Alvaro Bautista and Ducati. It’s the strongest package I’ve ever faced. Winning at Imola was so important, because up until then we were drowning. That was a gasp of air that was enough to compose ourselves.

"Coming into the season I didn’t know much about Alvaro. I knew that I needed to keep the pressure on him because the season is long. To keep the lead all year is hard. At the beginning of the year I couldn’t see much hope, but the mistakes in Misano and Jerez were completely uncalled for. I was just trying to keep doing my own thing. It’s really hard to manage the championship from the front, I’ve been in that position, and when you’re chasing you have nothing to lose at times."

A grand entrance

Bautista came to WorldSBK with nothing to lose after finding himself exiled from MotoGP. With a factory Ducati he dominated the opening four rounds, before Rea started to apply some pressure.

"It was ten years since my last win when I won in Phillip Island," the Spaniard said. "It was very special to win again. Assen was another good moment because it was very difficult conditions and we managed to win the races. We have had many good times in the season and bad times. To start by winning the first eleven races was really impressive. I said before the start of the season that I didn't want to expect anything, but even in my wildest dreams I didn’t expect to win the first eleven races.

"At the same time, in my nightmares, I didn’t expect to lose the championship in just a few rounds. So you have positive and negative things from this season. In this sport you have to be prepared for everything. During the season I never thought about the championship. We had a big gap, but still we continued working to improve. In this sport it’s always when you try improving that you find something.

"During the season we started to try to develop the bike, to improve the setting but maybe we made some wrong steps. When you have a rival like Jonathan, who gives everything in all situations, you cannot lose these things. In the end, it was strange. We had a bit of bad luck with crashes that were not my fault, but that’s racing. I think it’s the good side of racing, that you never know what happens until the checkered flag, it’s why I love this sport."

Pressure point

The unknown always makes racing special, but the reason fans love the sport is because of the rivalries that develop. Whilst Rea didn’t know what to expect from Bautista on track, he quickly learned that his level of talent was high but also that there was a vulnerability for him to press.

"Throughout the year we saw different sides to Alvaro," Rea reflected. "At the beginning of the year he was a really smiley guy on TV. Every time the cameras went in the garage he was full of smiles and double hand waves. He was like an angelic kid. After the first crash it was still the same; he was still his happy-go-lucky self. After making a few more mistakes though, he was a shadow of the beginning of the season. You could see the stress on his shoulders. That’s when we just had to keep relentlessly delivering results every weekend. I didn’t need him to see me on the top step of the podium. I just needed him to look at me standing next to him. I wanted him to know that I was right there and that he couldn’t have a bad weekend."

Rea was trying to keep the pressure on Bautista; and the Spaniard learned that the biggest challenge facing anyone with Rea is his ability to consistently get the most from himself, even if on any given weekend he didn’t have the bike to beat them.

"I think that the strong point for Jonathan is that maybe he isn’t always the fastest rider, but he can control the championship," Bautista believes. "I beat him, Van de Mark beat him, Chaz beat him, Toprak beat him, but he always found a way to keep on top of his championship charge. He’s not strong in every race, but he always manages to stay near the top. If not first, then second or third, but always on the podium. At the end of the championship, it’s important to get points and not to make mistakes. I think a big part of this is that he has a lot of experience with the bike. He has a lot of experience with the team, with the championship, the tyres. He knows how everything works very well. I think we missed that experience this season."

Consistency is king

For Rea the praise has been effusive. His consistency was the hallmark of his fifth crown, but not one that he feels needs to be praised. For Rea it was just the smart way of approaching the season.

"Finishing second so often was the logical thing to do," Rea explained. "If I was a team, I’d struggle to work with a rider that would throw a strong result away, when he could just finish second when it was clear the other guy was so far ahead. You can’t just get on the bike and magically find three tenths a lap. You have to think that today you’re racing for second, and then go and try to do it. It’s about building a championship.

"I tried to keep working hard all year and I didn’t expect the Laguna Seca weekend to turn around the way it did. For Alvaro not to score in all three races, that really helped my cause. To go eleven races unbeaten and then to face the challenges he has, I just can’t understand it. I really can’t. I can’t understand how you can go to Phillip Island in your first race, on a new bike and new championship and mentally be that strong to win races by fifteen seconds. To then go to Thailand and do pretty much the same. Then we went to Aragon and he was still winning by a distance. It looked like there was no chance for the season to turn around like it has."

Rock bottom

For Bautista the weekend in the United States quickly turned into a Californian nightmare. That was the pivotal weekend and one that he admits left his hopes in tatters.

"Laguna was the worst moment of the year for me," admitted the Spaniard. "To get three zeros in Laguna was really important for the championship. I was injured after the Superpole crash, and in my career I’ve raced many times with injuries but it left me injured after the summer break. When you’re injured you cannot give 100%. Laguna was the worst moment of my season."

While Laguna was the end of Bautista’s title challenge, it was only the start of Rea’s quest for records. With a fifth title secured at Magny-Cours he went on to break the single season wins record with 17 victories. The Northern Irishman ended the campaign with one more than Bautista, but the crucial difference was 34 podiums to 24 in Rea’s favour. That was what swung the campaign his way. With a fifth world title and Bautista joining Honda, the dynamics of their rivalry will change again for 2020.

Oschersleben returns as WorldSBK heads back to Germany
Tuesday, 12 November 2019


With a rich history in World Superbike, the German round is back on the calendar and will take place at Oschersleben for the first time since 2004

From July 31st to August 2nd, the 2020 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship takes place in Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. This means WorldSBK is returning to Germany after two seasons without a round. Crowds should brace themselves for plenty of thrills, spills, action and drama as the world’s fastest production-based Championship looks to provide an exhilarating spectacle, supported by the FIM Supersport World Championship and FIM Supersport 300 World Championship among others.

The Motorsport Arena Oschersleben itself has already been part of WorldSBK from 2000 to 2004 and will be one of 13 rounds of the world’s highest class for production-derived motorcycle racing in 2020. The Championship battle looks certain to provide tough fights for victory with new riders and teams ready to duel on their return to Germany.

Jonathan Rea topped the standings by far after tough competition all year, securing a record fifth consecutive title. Coming up next season, Rea will try to defend his title again with Kawasaki in order to achieve six Championship titles in a row. However, competition never sleeps, and his rivals won’t let the reigning Champion continue to dominate. Among them is the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team with former Champion Tom Sykes and new signing Eugene Laverty, who are making progress and getting closer to the leading group in their past comeback season and look set to fight for the title once again.

2019 WorldSBK runner-up Alvaro Bautista, Rea’s new teammate Alex Lowes, Ducati rider Chaz Davies and Dutch rider Michael van der Mark are going to challenge the reigning Champion, not to mention home-hero, WorldSSP rookie and former Moto3™ Grand Prix winner, Philipp Öettl. As well as this, German-speaking reigning WorldSSP Champion Randy Krummenacher will get as close as possible to a home round.

Ralph Bohnhorst, Executive Director of Motorsport Arena Oschersleben is looking forward to the return of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship to Germany: “First of all, I am happy that WorldSBK – a World Championship under the auspices of the FIM – will race again in Germany. It is a great opportunity for the Motorsport Arena to be a good host for a prestigious international championship. I am taking to heart the matter of enabling the return of the Superbike World Championship to Oschersleben after its last appearance in the years from 2000 to 2004. I am sure that both us and our guests will be able to experience the finest of motorsports and exciting races at Oschersleben.”

Gregorio Lavilla, WorldSBK Executive Director, Sporting and Organization Departments expressed his delight at returning to Germany and indeed Oschersleben: “I am very happy to see the FIM Superbike World Championship return to Oschersleben, it is a place I have fond memories of and some good results. This area of Germany as enthusiastic about motorcycle racing and providing the fans with a world-class spectacle such as WorldSBK is an honour. I look forward to the round in front of the German audience and can’t wait to see the racing action unfold in Germany for the first time in three years.”

Aragon WorldSBK test: Rea and Kawasaki remain wingless
13.11.2019 BSN


Jonathan Rea and the all-conquering Kawasaki WorldSBK team look set to remain sans wing for the 2020 season as no aero was in evidence on the 2020 bike at Eicma or today at the Aragon test.

At the Portimao test earlier this season, Rea’s bike was seen with a set of aerodynamic wings attached for at least one session but apparently even though some benefits were seen, the idea has been shelved for this season.

Currently, Ducati’s Panigale V4R is the only bike in the series homologated with wings that is being tested at Aragon as Honda have elected to test privately before revealing their pace to the rest of the world.

Camier makes Ducati debut
13.11.2019


Leon Camier has made his debut with the Barni Racing team at the Aragon WorldSBK test, putting in some shakedown laps on the Panigale V4R.

After a rainy start to the day, Camier spent the morning in the garage, making all the necessary seating adjustments to his new steed before rolling down pitlane for the first taste of Panigale power.

Camier hasn’t raced a Ducati since 2008 when he partnered Shane Byrne in the Airwaves-backed British Superbike squad.

2020 WorldSBK Calendar - 13 Rounds, Qatar Moved, Oschersleben Returns
David Emmett on Thu, 2019-11-21

The FIM has announced the 2020 WorldSBK Calendar today. The series will hold 13 rounds in 10 different countries, starting at the end of February in Phillip Island, and ending on 11th October in Argentina.

The calendar sees a certain amount of reshuffling. The Qatar round of WorldSBK has been moved from the final race of the year to be second, and takes place a week after the opening MotoGP round at the Losail circuit. Qatar takes the place of the disappearing Thai round at Buriram, which has dropped WorldSBK in favor of MotoGP.

Oschersleben returns to the calendar, bringing WorldSBK back to Germany, with that race being held at the end of July. And Barcelona is to host both MotoGP and WorldSBK, the Superbike round to be held from 18th-20th September next year.

The calendar sees just one clash with MotoGP: the races in Assen are to be held on the same weekend as the Argentina round of MotoGP from 17th-19th of April. Given the snow that fell during the 2019 round of WorldSBK, that is a risky proposition. Mid-April can either be sunny and 20°C, or windy and sub-zero temperatures.

The 2020 calendar:

Date Country Circuit WorldSBK WorldSSP WorldSSP300
28 Feb – 1 March Australia Phillip Island twitter twitter
13 – 15 March Qatar Losail twitter twitter
27 - 29 March Spain Jerez twitter twitter twitter
17 - 19 April The Netherlands Assen twitter twitter twitter
8 - 10 May Italy Imola twitter twitter twitter
22 - 24 May Spain MotorLand Aragón twitter twitter twitter
12 - 14 June Italy Misano twitter twitter twitter
3 - 5 July United Kingdom Donington Park twitter twitter twitter
31 July - 2 August Germany Oschersleben twitter twitter twitter
4 - 6 September Portugal Portimao twitter twitter twitter
18 - 20 September Spain Barcelona twitter twitter twitter
25 - 27 September France Magny-Cours twitter twitter twitter
9 – 11 October Argentina San Juan Villicum twitter twitter