challenger in 2023 and , without being too brutal about it , the BMW simply hadn ’ t performed well enough in factory or satellite teams to be considered a credible championship challenging platform . But , here ’ s the thing , Toprak is one of the most gifted riders in the field and has been able to squeeze the absolute maximum out of the R1M and it would not be unreasonable to suggest that he thought there was nothing more he could do with the Yamaha to give him the chance to challenge for the championship . Conversely , the BMW could be seen as a platform that has more potential , and he was backing himself to find what others had not been able to . Taking crew chief Phil Marron and other key team members with him to BMW meant Toprak would have people on board from the outset who knew what he needed to get the BMW into the game . Toprak ’ s teammate at BMW is Michal Van der Mark , a rider Toprak had a great rapport with at Yamaha before VdM went to BMW in 2021 , where he achieved some measure of success on the bike but whose 2023 season was wrecked by injury . Scott Redding lost out a little in the shuffling of deckchairs as he was moved to the Bonovo Action satellite team , joining Garret
Gerloff and replacing Loris Baz . Toprak ’ s seat at PATA Yamaha was filled by Jonathan Rea , a seismic change after nine years with Kawasaki which included six championships . Rea has , seemingly , lost none of his will to win and would have a good sense as to the capabilities of the Yamaha having been in plenty of fights with Toprak and Locatelli in previous seasons . 2021 World Supersport champion Loka stayed with PATA Yamaha and you can see why with Yamaha continuing to invest in him . He ’ s made an excellent transition from Supersports to Superbike and can be expected to challenge for a few podiums . Could he challenge for the championship ? It ’ s not beyond the realms of possibility .
OTHER MUSICAL CHAIRS At Arubai . it Factory Ducati , Rinaldi lost his seat as Bautista ’ s teammate but thankfully was not lost to the series as he picked up the seat vacated by Bassani at MotoCorsa Ducati . Rinaldi ’ s replacement at Aruba . it Factory Ducati ? Nicolò Bulega . 2023 Supersport champion on the Aruba . it Ducati V2 got a swift promotion to the V4 Superbike and had a weight of expectations on his shoulders . Bulega had been a lacklustre presence in Moto3 and Moto2 and his switch to World Supersport in 2022 was seen by some
BMW checking tyre pressures
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