In the upcoming season, Andrea Iannone will compete in the World Superbike Championship. This marks his return to the track after a four-year suspension due to a controversial doping case.

In a press release, the Italian rider, who will represent Team GoEleven on a Ducati, expressed his gratitude to the team and the manufacturer from Borgo Panigale. He emphasized that he has regained his enthusiasm for motorcycling:

– I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, I’m finally back on track, where I spent my life. I thank Gigi Dall’Igna, Paolo Ciabatti, Claudio Domenicali, Marco Zambenedetti and the whole Go Eleven team for their trust, with their support I have rediscovered the enthusiasm I had as a child. Special thanks also to the WorldSBK family for the opportunity. I’m fully excited.

O conteúdo ‘I have rediscovered the enthusiasm I has as a child’ – Andrea Iannone aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Andrea Iannone is set to make his return to competition next year, following the completion of a four-year suspension due to a doping case. The rider will compete in the World Superbike Championship on a Ducati for Team GoEleven. The contract is valid for one season, featuring an option to renew for 2025.

The announcement came this Wednesday. The 34-year-old Italian was never a world champion in the 125cc or Moto2 classes but entered MotoGP in 2013. He raced for the factory teams of Ducati, Suzuki, and Aprilia, but at the end of 2019, his career was put on hold due to a controversial positive doping test, which he has always claimed was due to consuming contaminated meat.

Now, Iannone will have the opportunity to resume his journey in motorcycling. After four years of absence, the challenge won’t be easy, but he has remained active by training on various types of motorcycles. In WSBK, The Maniac will be riding the Ducati Panigale V4 R, which is one of the most competitive bikes currently in the series.

O conteúdo Official: Andrea Iannone in WSBK in 2024 aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The topic had long been a subject of discussion, and now the World Superbike Championship (WSBK) has decided to implement a rule regarding the combined weight of the bike and rider.

The SBK Commission announced on Wednesday that, starting in 2024, there will be a defined minimum weight for the combination of the bike and rider. This way, any advantage that lighter riders may have could be mitigated.

The current championship leader, Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati), is one of the smaller riders in the field and has often been cited as an example of the need for this rule, particularly by heavier rivals like Scott Redding.

O conteúdo WSBK introduces a combined bike/rider weight aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The last round of World Superbike Championship brought a unique battle between the two biggest title contender’s of 2023, in Portimao: Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu. Such battle will remain for a lot of time in the memory of many and Serafino Foti confessed this one was… a test, to his heart.

The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team Boss spoke of the battle of «his» rider and the turkish, and confessed this one put on some stress on him: ‘It was an amazing race, incredible! To be honest, my heart was at 1000bpm every corner! For the people in the stands, it was one of the best races of the year’.

He also took the opportunity to praise Razgatlioglu: ‘Toprak, this year, has been so strong. We have a lot of respect for him and to the Pata Yamaha team. Sometimes we lost in some areas on the track, sometimes they lost in other areas. The combination between rider, team and bike is so important’.

Foti then came to say in what areas each rider had more than the other: ‘The positive point of Alvaro was the final corner especially. We checked the data and compared to other riders; he was unbelievably fast. The strong point of Toprak is braking. Some parts of the track, Toprak is favourite and others Alvaro is. The combination is the same because they finished so close!’.

Recall the big battle here:

O conteúdo Bautista vs Razgatlioglu in Portimao «tested» Serafino’s Foti heart: ‘My heart was at 1000bpm every corner!’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

The World Superbike Championship (WorldSBK) has seen its fair share of team and rider changes, but one of the most anticipated moves has been confirmed: Toprak Razgatlioglu’s switch to the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team for 2024. Alongside this significant move, another key question has been answered: Will Phil Marron, Razgatlioglu’s current Crew Chief, follow him to BMW?

The answer is a resounding yes. Phil Marron, who has been a pivotal figure in Razgatlioglu’s career, announced on social media that he would be accompanying the #54 rider from Yamaha to the factory BMW squad next year.

Marron and Razgatlioglu’s professional relationship dates back to 2019 when they collaborated at Kawasaki Puccetti Racing. Marron, with prior experience working with riders like Eugene Laverty, quickly formed a strong bond with Razgatlioglu. Their partnership continued to flourish when they transitioned to the Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK team in 2020, clinching their first victory with Yamaha at Phillip Island.

The duo’s time at Yamaha has been marked by significant achievements, most notably in 2021 when Razgatlioglu managed to outpace Jonathan Rea from the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK, ending Rea’s championship streak. Despite securing 60 podium finishes in 69 races during 2022 and 2023, Razgatlioglu had to relinquish his title last year. Currently, he remains in contention for the 2023 championship against Alvaro Bautista from Aruba.it Racing – Ducati, but Bautista holds a 60-point lead as they approach the season’s final round.

Razgatlioglu’s decision to join BMW was publicized in May, but Marron’s future remained uncertain until now. Pata Yamaha Team Principal, Paul Denning, had previously mentioned that Marron’s contract with Yamaha would conclude this year, leaving him free to decide his next steps. The recent exchange on social media, where Marron confirmed, “Yes I’m following Toprak,” has put all speculations to rest.

O conteúdo Phil Marron joins Toprak at the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team for 2024 aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

In great shape and about to secure his second title in Superbike World Championship, Alvaro Bautista is standing out as the strongest rider of the called ‘Titanic Trio’ but during his life at the motorcycling competition he also had other fierce rivalries with very know names of the sport.

After the big battle with Toprak Razgatlioglu in Portimao during the past weekend of the WSBK, the current world champion was asked were the turkish stacks up in terms of his career rivals. In his response, the Ducati rider said: ‘I have had many, many riders. Marco Simoncelli, Valentino Rossi… maybe they weren’t all direct for the title but also with Dani Pedrosa and Marc Márquez’.

With his mind setting him to speak about his MotoGP time more than ever, he then highlighted the situation is different… just like the bikes are: ‘These bikes are different to MotoGP. It’s not easy to fight with him as he’s very aggressive and he can move the bike easily and make manoeuvres very on the limit whilst having a lot of control. Toprak is one of the toughest rivals I have fought with’.

O conteúdo Alvaro Bautista puts Toprak Razgatlioglu higher on his rivals list: ‘He is one of the toughest I have fought with, and there is Rossi, Márquez,…’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Toprak Razgatlioglu, after a series of intense races, has expressed his belief that the BMW has a speed advantage over the Yamaha in straight lines. This perspective has led him to think that he might stand a better chance against the Bautista-Ducati combination in 2024 if he’s on a BMW.

The frustration was evident for Razgatlioglu after losing to Alvaro Bautista at Portimao. In both the Superpole Race and Race 2, he was overtaken in the final corner, first being pushed inside and then outside. His anger towards these overtakes led him to vent his frustration on his Yamaha R1, blaming it for the lack of acceleration and power to counter the Ducati.

Razgatlioglu has committed to BMW’s WSBK project for the 2024-2025 period. Reflecting on the M 1000 RR after the Portugal round, he stated, “Everyone knows that the Ducati is the best bike, and I ride a Yamaha. It seems the BMW is faster in a straight line, so maybe I have a better chance. If I adapt quickly, I believe I’ll have a better shot at winning here and on other tracks.”

Razgatlioglu further emphasized, “Everyone knows that the Ducati is the best bike, and I ride a Yamaha.” The 2021 Superbike champion is convinced that he can better counter the Bautista-Ducati combination with the BMW, especially in straight lines. However, straight-line speed alone won’t be enough, as Bautista’s cornering skills, aided by his unique riding style, are also formidable. For Toprak, the challenge will be to adapt his braking style to the M 1000 RR, similar to what he’s achieved with the Yamaha R1 over the years. Garrett Gerloff has already cautioned that this won’t be an easy task.

BMW is determined to provide Razgatlioglu with the best possible conditions. The company has invested heavily in him and their Superbike project. Their goal is to clinch the championship title, a feat they haven’t achieved since joining the competition. The closest they came was with Marco Melandri in 2012.

Razgatlioglu has received assurances from BMW, which has already initiated internal changes and plans more for the future. It remains to be seen if these efforts will be enough to overcome Bautista and Ducati in 2024.

O conteúdo “The BMW is Faster than the Yamaha” – Toprak Razgatlioglu aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

Last weekend in Portugal, on sunday, Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu starred one of the greatest battles of the World Superbike Championship so far and it was so close that even made the spaniard to think that he might crash if the turkish rider did too. A crazy duel that ended up with the Ducati rider to win right at the end.

The #1 spoke of the fierce battle he had with his Yamaha rival: ‘Basically, Toprak had nothing to lose and he tried everything. Sometimes when I was behind, I tried for a couple of laps to not stay so close to him to cool down the front tyre. When you are too close, especially in the flowing section, the temperature comes up and you lose a bit of performance, so I wanted some space. I tried to close the doors a lot but he always put the bike inside! It’s normal, I expected this from him. It was great because we saw a Toprak without anything more than that’.

It was such a close race and with both so close to each other than many times, he added: ‘He did his best in every moment and many times, I thought: «Shit, if he crashes, I’ll go down with him». He entered on the limit and almost every time, I had to pick the bike up otherwise we’d touch. I enjoyed it; I didn’t just stay in second until the end or try and get points for the title. I wanted to fight with him and beat him. It was like a normal race, not a race that can decide a lot of things’.

Bautista also tried to predict the #54’s moves to take the lead and ultimately win: ‘In Spain, we say: «The devil knows more for being old than for being the devil». I expected this move from Toprak, he knew I’d try on the last corner on the inside and already, in the morning, I was on the outside but he was using all the kerbs and I changed the line! In Race 2, I kept the outside because I thought maybe he’ll close the corner. Instead, I saw him not open more the gas more to stay inside, so then I said: «He’ll close the corner». So, I went full throttle with the bike spinning a lot and I can carry more speed exiting on the outside’.

O conteúdo Alvaro Bautista had a stunning duel with Toprak Razgatlioglu that even came to scare him: ‘He had nothing to lose; If he crashed I would too’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

This weekend’s Superbike Race 2 on Portimao had one of the most exciting battles so far in the championship with Alvaro Bautista taking the best out of Toprak Razgatlioglu right at the end. Both riders fought every lap for the lead, in a stunning duel that made the Ducati rider super happy.

Now just two points away from securing the title, Bautista spoke of how he wasn’t expecting to be so successful in Portimao, while not forgetting to address the battle he had with his Yamaha rival Razgatlioglu: ‘A really exciting weekend. I certainly didn’t expect to score a hat-trick and what makes me particularly proud is that I won fighting every corner with Toprak, who I congratulate because he was a really tough but always fair opponent. I have to admit that I enjoyed it very much: he never allowed me to match my pace, attacking me on every lap. I stayed focused, trying not to make mistakes’.

As he didn’t managed to finish race 2 with a seven point advantage over the turkish, the title decision was then set to be decided in Jerez, from 27 to 29 of october:

–The championship? I’ll tell you the truth: it’s only fair that the title is awarded at Jerez and I hope many fans come for the round.

O conteúdo ‘It makes me proud fighting with Toprak Razgatlioglu in every corner, he is tough but a fair opponent, I enjoyed the battle’ – Alvaro Bautista aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

In the aftermath of the recent race, Toprak Razgatlioglu voiced his frustrations and observations about the performance disparities between his Yamaha and the Ducatis. Despite his evident disappointment after finishing Race 2, Razgatlioglu should take solace in the fact that he still has opportunities to clinch the championship title in Jerez.

The Yamaha rider had a face-off with Ducati’s Álvaro Bautista throughout the Sunday race. He remarked, “I was faster in the corners, but also on the exit because his acceleration was incredible. When I had him in front during the early laps, I noticed his bike accelerates even when skidding after a turn, whereas mine doesn’t if it skids even slightly.”

Comparing the power between the two bikes, Razgatlioglu stated, “I believe it depends on the power, but also on the skidding. Álvaro doesn’t throttle before me. He goes wide in full power, skids, but his bike remains fast. During the Superpole, it was about the track line because he had more grip than me.”

Razgatlioglu was filled with adrenaline during the race, pushing himself to the limit, especially in the last four laps. He said, “I felt I was at 200%, especially in the last four laps. I was there with Álvaro and kept pushing hard because I told myself my place was first, not second. I focused on winning the race and tried to overtake him again.”

Discussing his strategy, he shared, “My plan was to immediately attack him if Álvaro didn’t go wide in the last two laps. But he went wide in turn 5, and I overtook him. However, I went slightly wide in turn 7, and he overtook me again in the last turn.”

It’s evident that Ducati’s performance is unparalleled. Razgatlioglu candidly stated, “Everyone knows Ducati has the best bike. I ride a Yamaha, and we’re battling against the best bike… It’s better I don’t speak. It seems BMW is faster on the straights, so we should have more chances to win here and at other circuits if I could adapt to the bike immediately.”

O conteúdo Toprak Razgatlioglu on Yamaha vs. Ducati: “Better I Don’t Speak” aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.