꧂The 2024 WorldSBK season is arguably the most🌄 highly-anticipated in the championship’s history.

Rider moves, new names and a weight limit rule💧 are just some of the main storylines.

But who is our pick to win the title?

Alvaro Bautista

A two-time reigning world champion, Bautista is the clear favourite to repea🌠t as champion although the new weight limit rule has without question thrown a spanner into the mix.

Bautista has not looked his usual self durinওg pre-season testing, however, some of that is due to recovering from an injury he suffered at the end of last year.

The weight limit has certainly presented its challenges to Bautista and Ducati, but the Spaniard has🐭 still been impressive when it comes to race pace.

Bautista has been nothing short of sensational since his return to Duca♔ti and until a rider consistently pro🤪ves they can get the better of him, picking against the former MotoGP rider is a very tall order. 

Biggest surprise - Nicolo Bulega

While we expect Bulega’s team-mate to win the world championship again in 2024, our prediction for Bulega is that he will not only finish as the rookie of the year, but inside the top four in the c🐓hampionship.

Michael Rinaldi struggled alongs𝔉ide Bautista and only managed one win over the last two seasons.

But Bulega has sho📖wn devastating pace in pre-season testing, so much so that we expect him to🔜 become a multiple race winner this season.

Expectations for Toprak Razgatlioglu, Jonathan Rea

Razgatlioglu has been Bautista’s closest challenger in the last two seasons, and during that time produced the type of perfo💝rmances we’ve never seen before.

BMW have not been as competitive as they would have hop♛ed in recent years, but Garrett Gerloff showed exactly what the M 1000 RR is capable of in 2023, when he claimed pole at Magny-Cours.

And Razgatlioglu has done ♏little toܫ dampen expectations after two very impressive tests at Jerez and Portimao. Finishing in the top three this season will be the minimum aim, if not challenging for the title.

Razgatliog🗹lu himself has said a title challenge is perhaps more l🔯ikely in 2025, although the Turkish star can never be ruled out.

For Rea, a fresh start at Yamaha is likely to result in improved results as Kawasaki have gradually become less competitive than their fellow Japꦆanese manufacturer.

Rea only secured ꧒one win in 2023, which was the lowest single-season return of his Kawasaki car🐽eer.

But his move to Yamaha is one that could pay off in mult🥂iple ways, as the six-time world champion has been clear that he wanted to feel re-energised.

And talking of world championships, moving to Yamaha should bring Rea closer toꦍ achieving his goal of clinching a seventh Superbike crown.

Like Razgatlioglu, finishin🥀g in the top three will be his aim despite being new to the R1 and that’s exactly what we believ𒀰e will happen.

Where will Andrea Iannone finish?

One of the major headlines in WorldSBK th🐠is season is the retꦜurn to world championship racing for Iannone.

The former MotoGP rider signed for GoEleven Ducati and has been im🌃pressive dur🅺ing testing.

Iannone’s talent has never been in question and the Italian will be expected t꧑o fight for top six results, both in races and the championship.

Iannone is on ꦜthe best bike on th𝄹e grid, so if his adaptation is quick podiums could even be possible.

How will the weight limit rule impact the series?

As mentioned previously, the new minimum combined weight for rider an𒐪𓆉d bike has shaken up the grid.

Bautista is the rider who has bꦍeen impacted the most, as Ducati have added over six kilos of ballast to his Panigale V4 R.

That means a heavier bike, particℱularly on corner entry, has been challenging for the Spaniard to o♔vercome.

It has also𝐆 thrown off the set-up he is used to, while taller riders such as Razgatlioglu, Michael Van Der Mark and Scotꦫt Redding have not had such problems.

This should balance out the playing field and bring Bautista’s rivals closer to him, but will it be enough fo𓄧r another rider to consistently challenge the 39-year-old?

W🐲e don’t think it will, but we also don’t expect Bauti🌞sta to have as dominant a season as last year.

Riders who require the least amount of weight added will benefit the most from the ne🍰w rule change.