MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

The primary seats are now all spoken for in WorldSBK. Yesterday’s announcement that Michael van der Mark would partner Toprak Razgatlioglu at the official BMW Motorrad squad is likely to be followed very soon by confirmation from Kawasaki has tabbed Axel Bassani as Jonathan Rea’s replacement.

The only factory seats to be decided at the HRC squad. Their line-up is all but certain to remain as Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona, with both having signed Honda contracts already. The only delay on announcing their pairing for 2024 is that until Marc Marquez confirms his future, Honda wants to have the option to move Lecuona to the LCR squad in MotoGP. Lecuona would then replace Johann Zarco, who would be promoted into the Repsol Honda team.

As a result all five factories in WorldSBK have effectively penned their squads for next year. The confirmation that Scott Redding would move to the independent BMW of the Bonovo team was significant for a number of reasons. Redding was under contract but at the centre of plenty of speculation for next year. Kawasaki was an obvious target for him to replace the departing Rea, but ultimately with Kawasaki lasered in on Bassani, this option disappeared quickly.

Nothing ever stays the same in racing. There are too many variables at play in a dynamic sport at the best of times. In a production based series this is even more the case. A new model of machinery from a rival manufacturer can suddenly be a game changer. Overnight the benchmark can be obsolete.

This is what happened with Kawasaki when Ducati unveiled the V4R ahead of the 2019 season. Kawasaki and Jonathan Rea went on to win another two titles, but the tide had clearly turned red. Over the last two years this has become even clearer. For Rea, a six times World Champion, this has become untenable.

The Northern Irishman is addicted to winning. And like any addict he’ll do whatever it takes to get what he needs. Switching from Kawasaki to Yamaha is a clear indication that the only thing that matters is winning. In Rea’s mind there is more chance to win on a blue machine, and he was willing to move heaven and earth to make it happen.

Management buy out

With one year left on his contract he has done what he had to do to extricate himself from his commitments in 2024. Paying out a reputed €800,000 is a perfect illustration of how strongly he believes that the ship has sailed from Kawasaki. After six titles, more than 100 victories and over 200 podiums it seems remarkable that it’s come to this.

Motorcycle racing is a career of sliding door moments. Everyone has a 'what would have happened if...' moment in their career. For Andrea Iannone, there’s been probably more of those moments than for most racers.

The biggest of those moments was Argentina 2016. When he clattered his Ducati teammate, Andrea Dovizioso, out of the way it left his future with Ducati untenable. Given that Dovi went on to spearhead the Ducati revival in the premier class it’s very easy to forget that Iannone had been the chosen son for that role. Moving up through the ranks from Pramac to the factory seat his ascension to the top table in Bologna was smooth and a podium on his debut with the red bike in 2015 was proof his potential.

His career never quite hit the highs that were expected of him and moving to Suzuki and then Aprilia he slid down the grid. His doping ban at the end of 2019 hammered the final nail into his MotoGP coffin. His unravelling was all his own doing, and the ban, for the use of an anabolic steroid, was plainly warranted.

Back to Bologna

The news that Pirelli is to take over as official tire supplier in Moto2 and Moto3 from 2024 came as something as a something of a surprise. Dunlop has been the sole supplier in Moto2 and Moto3 since the start of those classes, and were the de facto sole supplier in the 125 and 250 classes pretty much from the turn of the century.

It is an expansion of Pirelli's racing activities. The Italian tire maker has been the official tire supplier to the World Superbike championship since 2004, and is also the official tire for the F1 car racing series. Pirelli has no plans to leave the World Superbike championship, but is keen to expand into the grand prix paddock.

So Pirelli's move into Moto2 and Moto3 a lot of questions as to how they will be approaching it. For the Paddock Pass Podcast, Steve English spoke to Pirelli Racing Manager Giorgio to get more insight into the hows and whys of their decision to enter the grand prix paddock.

Broadening their reach

Barbier pointed out that this is not so much a new venture, as an expansion on their project with Ohvale and Dorna to supply the MiniGP series, which was itself the first step on the path to much more. "We're actually following the path that we started two years ago with MiniGP. For our intention is to follow Dorna into the project of Road to MotoGP, giving young riders all over the world the opportunity to start their career riding bikes with Pirelli tires," Pirelli's Racing Manager said.