The season will be contested just by 18 riders, but the level will be much higher than in the past few seasons thanks to the comeback of factory BMW and Honda teams, the return of Leon Haslam, Markus Reiterberger and Ryuichi Kiyonari and, in particular, the debut of brand new Ducati Panigale V4R and three absolutely competitive rookies: former MotoGP rider Álvaro Bautista (who’ll ride alongside Chaz Davies in Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), 2018 Supersport World Champion Sandro Cortese (joining GRT Yamaha alongside Marco Melandri) and Alessandro Delbianco (lined up by Althea Mie Racing Honda).
With such a high-level field, four times World Champion Jonathan Rea will need to fight harder than ever to retain the crown. Bring on Phillip Island season opener!