The 36th season of the Superbike World Championship is well underway. After an intense battle in the Czech Republic, riders get a few weeks off to prepare for the four remaining rounds this season. Alvaro Bautista tops the leaderboard right now, but a few names come up when looking at the bigger picture. With that, let’s check out the 2023 Superbike World Championship favorites and sleepers.

Odds to Win the 2023 Superbike World Championship

Here are the Championship standings before we enter the summer break

Plenty of changes in the Top 10, but @19Bautista keeps lead! ✨#CZEWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/kvNzDSVzh6

— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) July 30, 2023

Favorites to Win the 2023 Superbike World Championship

Alvaro Bautista

Of course, the current season leader, Alvaro Bautista, sits on top of the favorites list. He headlines the campaign with 427 points in 24 races. The veteran motorcycle rider already has 21 points in the bag, including 18 wins and three poles. Moreover, he now holds 16 fastest lap records and has a shot at adding more to the inventory with a few more races on the calendar.

The 38-year-old is ready to keep the momentum going following a positive performance at the Acerbis Czech Round a few weeks back. He won Race 2 and finished P3 in the Superpole race. We’ve seen the Spaniard on the podium in every race weekend this season, which tells us a lot about his current form.

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu

Turkish motorcycle racer Toprak Razgatlioglu sits behind Bautista in the 2023 World SBK standings. The 28-year-old amassed 353 points in 24 races this season. Surprisingly, he holds more podium finishes and poles than the season leader, with 22 and four, respectively. However, Razgatlioglu is way behind his Spanish competitor at only five wins. We’ve seen him finish P2 ten times more than Bautista while documenting five third-place finishes and four fastest laps.

Racing for factory-team Yamaha YZF-R1, the Alanya-born racer is no stranger to winning the competition. He topped the 2021 Superbike World Championship and ended Jonathan Rea’s six-year dominating streak. He is also the first Turkish World Champion in WorldSBK history, which makes him a solid addition to the favorites list.

Jonathan Rea

Sitting in third place in the 2023 WorldSBK standings is British rider Jonathan Rea. Although he needs to go full throttle to close that 102-point deficit between him and second-place rider Toprak Razgatlioglu, there’s no doubt that Rea has the arsenal needed to close gaps. He already holds 11 podium finishes in 24 races, including a victory at the last Acerbis Czech Round Race 1.

On top of that, Rea recorded four second-place finishes, five third-place finishes, and a pole. The 36-year-old motorcycle rider is no stranger to winning the WorldSBK and is a six-time champion, with his most recent victory happening in 2020.

Sleeper to Win the 2023 Superbike World Championship

Jonathan Rea

Sitting in third place in the 2023 WorldSBK standings is British rider Jonathan Rea. Although he needs to go full throttle to close that 102-point deficit between him and second-place rider Toprak Razgatlioglu, there’s no doubt that Rea has the arsenal needed to close gaps. He already holds 11 podium finishes in 24 races, including a victory at the last Acerbis Czech Round Race 1.

On top of that, Rea recorded four second-place finishes, five third-place finishes, and a pole. The 36-year-old motorcycle rider is no stranger to winning the WorldSBK and is a six-time champion, with his most recent victory happening in 2020.

Axel Bassani

Italian racer Axel Bassani worked his way to the top five of the board in 24 races. In the process, he managed six podium finishes and a best finish of P2 at the Motul Indonesian Round’s Superpole race. Although the Ducati Panigale V4 rider needs to find his way to the podium in the last few races for a better finish, we’ve seen him deliver positive results during the campaign.

The 24-year-old finished seventh last season with 244 points. He can dethrone Jonathan Rea from third place if he does well in the upcoming weekends. We’ve seen wild things happen toward the end of a season, and if there’s someone who can make a statement, Bassani is a prime candidate.

Andrea Locatelli

Closing off the list is another rider from Italy, Andrea Locatelli. He rides for Pata Yamaha Prometeon and scored 227 points in 24 appearances for the team this year. Locatelli has six podium finishes so far, including four second-place and six third-place finishes. His historic and record-breaking campaign in WorldSSP tells us he has the right arsenal for the job. His debut season in WorldSBK saw him climb the podium and fought at the front to end the calendar fourth overall in the Championship and grabbing Rookie of the Year honors.

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