HEAD TO HEAD: who came out on top at the five factory teams in 2023?
The season’s done and dusted, everything’s in the history books and now it’s time to see who beat their teammates at the factory squads this season
The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is completed. Titles have been decided, the final stats are set in stone and now it’s time for one final look at the five factory teams to see who came out on top against their teammates. A lot of battles were decided before the final round of the season, but some were still up for grabs. Take a look below to see what the final scores were and some interesting numbers from this season.
CHAMPION ON TOP: Bautista comfortably ahead of Rinaldi
Double Champion Alvaro Bautista had the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati battle sown up ahead of teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi before Jerez. The final score in races was 32-4 in the Spaniard’s favour, with Rinaldi finishing ahead whenever the #1 had crashes or tech issues that hampered him. In Tissot Superpole, the reigning Champion won 11-1. In terms of points per round, Bautista averaged 52.33 with Rinaldi on 20.92. Their average finishing positions when taking the flag reflect their Championship position too, with Bautista averaging 1.86 while Rinaldi, fifth in the standings, averaged 6.76.
RAZGATLIOGLU TAKES YAMAHA HONOURS: 32-4 for the #54
At Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK, it’s a similar story with Toprak Razgatlioglu beating Andrea Locatelli. The Turk was ahead in 34 races this season, with the 34-2 scoreline the most one-sided one on the grid, while it was 11-1 in the #54’s favour in Superpole. With Razgatlioglu taking 33 podiums out of a possible 36 – and only taking the flag outside the top three once – he actually averaged more points per round this year (46.00) than his title winning season (43.38). His average Superpole position was the best on the grid with 2.91, while his average race position was just 0.11 lower than Bautista’s with 1.97
REA LEAVES KRT ON TOP: Northern Irishman beats Lowes in 2023
At the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK squad, 11 rounds are being compared instead of 12 due to Alex Lowes missing Aragon through injury. Six-time Champion Jonathan Rea beat Lowes 27-6 in races this year and 10-1 in Superpole. Despite a tough start to the season, the Ulsterman was able to average more than 30 points per round as he finished third in the standings while Lowes averaged 12.42. The KRT battle featured the smallest Superpole gap on the grid this year when Lowes beat Rea at Jerez. Just 0.002s separated the Kawasaki duo, although the average for the season was 0.242s in Rea’s favour.
CLOSELY MATCHED: Redding just beats van der Mark
The ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team can only be compared at eight rounds rather than 12 after Michael van der Mark’s injury disrupted his campaign. It was teammate Scott Redding who finished on top, 13-11 in races and 5-3 in Superpole in the closest battle within factory teams. The pair are the only two to have average finishing positions outside the top ten this year, with 10.43 and 11.31 between the Brit and the Dutchman respectively, although they were able to beat Honda to fourth in the Manufacturers’ Championship. On average, the pair were the second closest teammates in Superpole with a 0.193s gap in the #45’s direction.
NOTHING TO SEPARATE: Lecuona wins the head-to-head, Vierge victorious in the points battle
Throughout 2022 and 2023, the Team HRC battle between Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge was the closest at the factory teams, and it’s no surprise to see how tight the pair were in 2023. The #7 beat Vierge 20-16 in races and 9-3 in Superpole, although it was the #97 who finished ahead in the Championship standings with 149 points; only six more than his teammate. Their average Superpole gap was 0.151s with Lecuona faster, but the average was the closest on the grid at the factory teams.
Superpole head-to-head
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati: Alvaro Bautista 11-1 Michael Ruben Rinaldi
Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK: Toprak Razgatlioglu 11-1 Andrea Locatelli
Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK: Jonathan Rea 10-1 Alex Lowes
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: Michael van der Mark 3-5 Scott Redding
Team HRC: Iker Lecuona 9-3 Xavi Vierge
Race head-to-head
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati: Alvaro Bautista 34-2 Michael Ruben Rinaldi
Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK: Toprak Razgatlioglu 32-4 Andrea Locatelli
Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK: Jonathan Rea 27-6 Alex Lowes
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: Michael van der Mark 11-13 Scott Redding
Team HRC: Iker Lecuona 20-16 Xavi Vierge
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