SBK, Superbike, 2021 rider market situation: with only a few races many riders at risk!

At the end of the year all the SBK rider contracts will expire, except for Razgatlioglu and Redding; unusual situation for teams with a World Championship of just a few races

Submitted by Riccardo Guglielmetti on Thu, 07/05/2020 - 14:58

Superbike

mercato 2021

Toprak Razgatlioglu

Scott Redding

Chaz Davies

johnny rea

Alvaro Bautista

BMW

honda

Yamaha

kawasaki

ducati

SBK: Superbike, 2021 rider market situation: with only a few races many riders at risk!

In MotoGP all the bets are now virtually off, with Honda securing Marquez for the next four years, Yamaha with Vinales and Quartararo, Suzuki with Mir and Rins. In short, the top names are already settled and at the moment there are few prickly situations to be sorted. One of these, for example, concerns Ducati, which has to deal with the renewal of Dovizioso and the second spot, or Yamaha Petronas, which is waiting for a response from Valentino Rossi on his future.

The fact is that in MotoGP the factory teams decided to move well in advance, avoiding unpleasant surprises. In Superbike, however, everything has come to a total standstill. And the fact of the matter is that only two riders already have a certain future, we are talking about Toprak Razgatlioglu and Scott Redding, who signed a two-year deal last year with their respective manufacturers, namely Yamaha and Ducati.

With things to way they are at the moment, it is not an easy situation for the teams, also because no one knows when there will be a return to the track and the feeling is that the World SBK Championship will be made up of no more than six races. To put it simply, the riders will have little chance to show their worth, basically half-a-season ...

On the negotiation front, Jonathan Rea is undoubtedly the most valuable asset, even though Kawasaki will do everything to keep him there, with a new bike on the cards to convince him. As for his partner, Alex Lowes, he will try to extend the agreement also to next season, since KRT has no intention of making any changes.

It’s an issue that in some way also regards Michael van der Mark, who has an in-house battle to deal with a tricky team-mate like Toprak Razgatlioglu, who already has the certainty of a Yamaha seat in 2021.

A bit more complicated, to be honest, is the situation of Chaz Davies. Everything will depend on how competitive the Welshman will be with the V4R. There is no doubt that the relationship between the #7 and the Italian manufacturer is not exactly idyllic, but it will be necessary to see his potential on the latest red bike. Then there is a problem: if Ducati does not confirm Chaz, it will not be easy to go looking for a replacement….

In fact, over the last year and a half we have seen that to ride a bike like the V4R, you need a style more akin to a MotoGP bike, so as a result maybe you need to look for someone outside the SBK paddock.

While things seem to be quite settled in view of 2021, without ignoring teams such as BMW and Honda, who already have an option with Sykes and Bautista for next year, we still have to see the position of some of the independent squads.

This is the case of Barni Racing, which will have to evaluate Leon Camier's state of form. Were he to have raced, Barnabò would have had to give up his rider for two events. We are convinced that this aspect might convince the Bergamo manager to look around.

Over at Pedercini, the idea instead is a two-year program with Cortese and the same goes for Puccetti with Forés. Both riders need time to adapt to the new bike and having to fight it out for one place after not even one season is likely to be counterproductive. It would not make much sense even to change in GRT, after they opted for the talented youngsters Caricasulo and Gerloff.

In short, the feeling is that for 2021 no one is safe, but in all probability, there will be no big changes.

WORLD 2020 - TEAMS AND RIDERS

KAWASAKI KRT: Rea - Lowes

PUCCETTI RACING: Forés

PEDERCINI RACING: Cortese

ORELAC VERDNATURA: Scheib

DUCATI ARUBA: Davies - Redding

BARNI: Camier

GO ELEVEN: Rinaldi

MOTOCORSA: Mercado

BRIXX PERFORMANCE: Barrier

BMW: Laverty - Sykes