Opinion – WSBK: Why Switching Series is Key to Tito Rabat’s Career

After five years of competing in MotoGP, Tito Rabat is joining the WorldSBK grid with the Barni Racing Team for 2021.

While the switch from grand prix to superbike machinery is often disparagingly (and unjustly) considered a step down, it may just be what Rabat needs to reignite his career.

A dominant stint in Moto2 that took him to a total of 13 race victories, and the 2014 title secured him a MotoGP gig from 2016 onwards. Sadly, the Spaniard was never able to convert his dominance in the intermediate class into consistent MotoGP front-running pace.

In five premier class seasons, he achieved a moderate total of six top 10 finishes with a personal best of seventh. Making matters worse, he suffered serious leg injuries in a rain-soaked 2018 British GP practice session after falling at Stowe Corner and being hit by an out-of-control bike.

Overall, it is fair to say that Rabat’s MotoGP career was rather ill-fated. The switch to superbikes now is the right move at the right time and a symbiotic project for both sides – Rabat gains an opportunity to start anew on competitive machinery while a high-profile MotoGP name joining WorldSBK is exceptional PR for the championship.

The last rider to join the paddock after a mediocre spell in MotoGP was a certain Àlvaro Bautista – the venture worked out remarkably well until a series of unforced errors brought the high-flying Spaniard proverbially and literally back to the ground.

There is no reason to believe Rabat shouldn’t be able to replicate his countryman’s early form and race at the front every weekend. Barni have grown into a strong force, and with their Panigale V4 R being, according to team principal Marco Barnabo, “99 per cent” factory machine, all ingredients are there to put up a competitive challenge.

Rabat’s demeanour is an indication of how well the project is coming together in its early days. The 31-year-old sounds confident and collected, assertive all the material he needs to achieve his goals will be provided:

“I’m happy and motivated and looking forward to what will happen. I think it’s a new opportunity to stay at the front, feel the adrenaline, feel that you can do big things.

“I want to show all my potential in this championship. I know I’ll have at my disposal a great bike and a good team.”

And that is precisely why Rabat will profit from the move to WorldSBK. In MotoGP, he often found himself tilting at windmills on frankly inferior machinery that he never gelled with.

The Spaniard is all about hard work; his success in 2014 was largely down to him relentlessly putting in lap after lap in Almeria aboard a 600cc bike that was very close to Moto2 machinery.

His riding style requires a lot of practice to adapt and he made it work in the intermediate class. That strategy, however, was thrown out of the window in MotoGP with limited testing possibilities and bikes that can hardly be imitated.

New Series, Old Strengths

WorldSBK gives Rabat a chance again to carve his own groove. Though testing is restricted here as well, road bikes come fairly close to specs used in the series and he certainly already has an inexorable training schedule lined up.

Rabat has tasted champagne before and, while you can take a rider off the podium, you can’t take the podium feeling out of the rider. The Panigale V4 R could be the bike to finally take him back to the rostrum and at this point latest, the series switch becomes a no-brainer.

MotoGP may be the pinnacle of motorcycle racing, but when it comes down to the choice between being a backmarker in one global series or a frontrunner in another, the decision seems simple.

It’s no surprise that the only demand Rabat had to the Barni Team was a competitive bike. No extras, no glamour – just material to compete at the top because that is the type of racer he is.

At the end of the day, he joined WorldSBK to prove that he is still a rider with a lot to give.

After five years of underperforming in MotoGP, it is easy to forget his formidable Moto2 form. Rabat is not quite drinking in the last chance saloon, but he is in need of a chance to impress to put himself back on the map.

There is no question about Rabat’s capabilities. Finishing top or bottom in MotoGP is a question of seconds, and one doesn’t become Moto2 champion by chance. If he, the Ducati and the Barni team click, WorldSBK can be an opportunity for Rabat to shine and make headlines in motorcycle racing again.