WSBK 2024: Rea replaces Toprak?!

You’re on some serious dope this early in the week…

 

1000cc parallel twin, steel tube frame lol

 

Bassani, Rinaldi, Manzi, Oncu, Sofuoglu… They are not all equal, but anyone of them would make me feel more comfortable than someone with no world championship or top domestic superbike experience if I was paying for it.

 

What you're kind of saying is MotoGP test riders are WSBK front runners....

 

If we're playing "cool things I'd like to see but won't happen"... JH31 to Kaw for 1-2 seasons until Kayla is ready.

 

Think Bassani is in the lead for Kawi. BMW to keep all their riders and field 5 bikes.

 

Not kind of saying it. Definitively saying it lol

 

So, all of the riders mentioned, who would be available, are what I would consider journyman at best, kinda like Mesa. But every once in a while, when a journyman rider is put on good team on a good bike, they really show what they have. Consider Aleix Espargaro, certainly a journeyman rider in my opiion, Has raced the GPs for better than 10 years with only a couple of podiums and no wins across all the classes, 125, 250, moto2 and MotoGP. But, the Aprilia has gotten good and the team has matured and he now has 3 wins in the last season and a half. Over that time period, who has more wins than him? Pecco, Martin, the Beast, Bezz, Rins? That is pretty good company to be in at the moment, journeyman no more. Mesa is a journeyman racer.

 

That would be a great choice, 98 WSBK starts and 0 wins with 6 podiums. Great credentials to be the next up for a factory ride.

 

Yea the finishes matter.. but if you've been watching the races you'd understand that Bassani is the real deal. He's a consistent top 10 finisher and pretty much always the top independent rider. He just needs a little more support before he truly has his breakthrough. He absolutely deserves a factory ride, I would even give him a shot in GP if I were a team boss.

 

At least wait until these last 2 MotoA rounds to see what he does on a full blown superbike before we start throwing Mesa's name around for WSBK...

 

Can't argue with the depth of that analysis. You've made a convincing case.

 

I guess 98 starts aint enough. LOL

 

Okay, just got off the phone with my friend. I've known for a couple of years that he was friendly with Toprak but I didn't realize that they actually have become pretty good friends. So the scoop is even better than what I was hoping to get from the Yamaha side. (GG's best friend's version is that BMW offered 2.5 times what Yamaha is paying so Yamaha lost out.)

Toprak told my friend that he knows that he's done everything he can on the Yamaha. It's never going to be as fast as the Ducati. The BMW has a stronger engine, and the backing from a major constructor with deep pockets. That can get him closer to the Ducati's speed and electronics refinement. The rest, he can take care of. All motorcycles have two wheels and he can ride anything.

Worst case scenario, he is third instead of second. Makes no difference to him.

My friend thinks that it wasn't at all about MotoGP. Not that Toprak specifically said it wasn't, but they did speak before the test and Toprak told him at that time that he wasn't going to make the move no matter what. He is genuinely happy in the WSBK paddock, and he can go back to Turkey after every round. He doesn't like being away from home. The schedule pace and travel in MotoGP are a major issue for him.

 

Makes sense. Glad to hear GG is getting paid. With Toprak leading the team, I hope development goes great for them. I’d love to see the Beamer able to battle up front on most weekends.

 

Sorry, GG is not in that story. I figured the guy's name wouldn't speak to most people here. So I called him GG's best friend.
It's Toprak who's getting paid.

 

Ahh. My bad. Misread. Well glad Toprak is getting paid and hopefully GG is too.

 

Wonder if BMW is making any changes to the ‘24 M1000RR that could help in WSBK? They have had four good riders on the bike this year racing and testing (and other series) and surely know where the limitations are and what would help improve the bike. It wouldn’t make sense to make the investment in Toprak they have and then not advance the bike.

 

GG posted a pic on his FB page from the GP race last weekend. He was with someone from RNF Aprilla who seemed to have covered his trip out.. something bigger might be in the works for him.

 

Didnt want GP.... gtfoh, he was and has been politicking to get there for two years now. Maybe that is a revised attitude. Lets not forget he tested the m1 in June 22 and was supposed to be there this year but Yamaha lost a satellite team and Morbidelli stood in the way.

The money issues had been hinted at, this is a quote from Kenan: "I rejected Yamaha's offer," said Sofuoglu when speaking to Speedweek.com. "They didn’t offer us what I imagined."