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

Rider moves, new names and a weight limit rule are j🌼ust 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 repeat as ch💖ampion although the new weight limit rule has𝔍 without question thrown a spanner into the mix.

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

The weight limit has certainly presented its challenges to Bauti💟sta and Ducati, but the Spaniard has still been impressive whe🤪n it comes to race pace.

Bautista has been nothing short of sensational since his return to Ducati and until a rider consistently proves they can ge꧋t the better of him, pic♐king 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 Bule🀅ga is that he will not only finish as the rookie of the year, but inside the top four in the championship.

M💞ichael Rinalꦕdi struggled alongside Bautista and only managed one win over the last two seasons.

But Bulega has shown devastating pace in pre-season testing, so much so that we expect him to𝕴 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 performances we’ve n🦩ever seen before.

BMW have not💧 been as competitive as they would have hoped 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 to dampen expectations after two ve☂ry impressive tests at Jerez and Portim𒅌ao. Finishing in the top three this season will be the minimum aim, if not challenging for the title.

Razgatlioglu himself has said a title c⛦hallenge is perhaps more likely in 2025, although th🅰e 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 Japanese manufact🎐urer.

Rea only secured one win in 2023, which was the lowest single-season return of𒉰 his Kawasaki career.

But his move to Yamaha is one that could pay off in multiple ways, as the six-time world champion has been cle♚ar ไthat he wanted to feel re-energised.

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

Like Raz🔯gatlioglu, finishing in the top three will be his aim despite being new🐲 to the R1 and that’s exactly what we believe will happen.

Where will Andrea Iannone finish?

One of the major headlines in WorldSBK this season is the retu🌳rn to world championship racing for Iannone.

The former M👍otoGP rider signed for GoEleven Ducati and has been impressive during testing.

Iannone’s talent has never been in question and the Italian will be expected to fight for t🦋op six results, both in races and the championship.

Iannoneꦏ is on the best bike on the grid, so if his adaptation is quick podiums could even be possi🌄ble.

How will the weight limit rule impact the series?

As mentioned prevಞiously, th༒e new minimum combined weight for rider and bike has shaken up the grid.

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

That means a he꧂avier bike, particularly on corner entry, has꧙ been challenging for the Spaniard to overcome.

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

This should balance out the playing field and bring Bautista’s rivals cl🏅oser to him, but will it be en♍ough for another rider to consistently challenge the 39-year-old?

We don’t think it will, but we also don’t expect Bautista to have as dominant a s✅eason as last year.

Riders who req𓆏uire the ꧋least amount of weight added will benefit the most from the new rule change.