All change in WSB: Rider and crew chief swaps are set to dictate development direction in 2024

Next year sees a monumental shake-up to the World Superbike grid. After nine years with Kawasaki, Jonathan Rea heads to Yamaha to fill the seat vacated by BMW‑bound Toprak Razgatlioglu. Scott Redding jumps from one BMW team to another, while Axel Bassani trades in a customer Ducati for a factory Kawasaki.

Iker Lecuona could move to MotoGP and be replaced at Honda by Michael Ruben Rinaldi, who could alternatively move to Puccetti which will swap Kawasaki for Ducati machinery. These are major times of change and adaptation.

Putting one’s eggs in a single basket can work spectacularly, as proven by Marc Marquez and Honda plus Rea and Kawasaki. The same could be said, to a lesser extent, with Razgatlioglu and Yamaha. History shows that teams and manufacturers get behind their leading rider, who in turn gets more from those around them.

However, should that rider get hurt or depart the squad, it can leave those who remain in a mess. With so many changes, people are thinking outside the box.