They say ‘change is good’ but when it comes to motorsport it’s pretty 50/50 when it comes to the success rate of those who sought to discover whether the grass was in fact greener on the other side.

In fact, it is unusual to see so many team changes for riders in the British Superbike Championship over one winter but with both Tommy Bridewell and Glenn Irwin romping away to a 1-2 in the 2023 BSB standings, it has set a good example for those fancying new surroundings.

For the purposes of this feature, we’ve actually eliminated the biggest team changer of all - Bridewell, who moves to Honda - because we cannot say too much more about the defending champion’s switch before testing kicks off.

But he certainly isn’t the only big name making a move for 2024, so who else is on the go and how do we think they’ll fare…

Lee Jackson

FS-3 Racing Kawasaki to Hawk MasterMac Honda

After a long stint with FS-3 Racing Kawasaki in both Superbike and Superstock, Lee Jackson embarks on bold pastures new for 2024 after hooking up with the well-sorted Hawk Racing Honda team.

One of the series’ quietly impressive peddlers, Jackson may only have two wins to his name in BSB but fourth overall in both 2022 and 2023 identifies him as a genuine force at domestic level.

A rider who has been around in the domestic ranks - his first BSB race was in 2014(!) - for longer than his 28-years of age would have you believe, you get the impression Jackson still has more to come in BSB, which is handy when you have so much time on your side still.

While he has lost his seat with the factory-nominated FS-3 Racing team, Jackson will have the quality new Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP package beneath him in 2024 and an experienced and well-sorted Hawk Racing team around him too.

Arguably the big dark horse of the year…

Jason O’Halloran

McAMS Yamaha to Completely Motorbikes FS-3 Kawasaki

The exit of the Raceways (McAMS) team from BSB sees one of BSB’s stalwarts embark on a fresh chapter in 2024 with FS-3 Racing, under the Completely Motorbikes Kawasaki banner.

A rider many have been willing onto a BSB title after quality race-winning turns on the Yamaha R1 over each of the past four seasons, O’Halloran - one of the longest-serving riders on the grid having made his BSB debut in 2009 - is a savvy signing for FS-3 Racing.

What remains to be seen is whether his ageing Kawasaki ZX-10RR machinery will be up to the job having slipped back in the development race in recent years.

Rest assured though, given O’Halloran and Kawasaki’s pace separately at Thruxton last year, the combination of the two should make him all-but-unbeatable around the Hampshire circuit in 2024… you read it here first!

Rory Skinner

Moto2 (FS-3 Racing Kawasaki) to Cheshire Mouldings TAS Racing BMW

While he hasn’t strictly swapped BSB teams directly year-on-year, it’s almost as though Rory Skinner hasn’t been away, in our opinion.

While Moto2 (for now) hasn’t worked out for the young Scotsman, the return to BSB will see him attempt to pick up where he left off having quickly established himself as a race-win contender in the two short seasons he spent in the domestic series.

Though the school of hard knocks in Moto2 didn’t yield much success on the world stage, it is worth noting a similar fate befell Tarran Mackenzie before he returned to BSB and promptly cleaned up.

While the TAS Racing BMW team isn’t the force it once was in BSB - not least because factory-backing from the German firm has been syphoned to FHO Racing - Skinner’s predecessor Danny Buchan proved what can be done on the capable M 1000 RR package.

Definitely one of the year’s more intriguing developments to watch.

Danny Buchan

SYNETIQ TAS Racing BMW to DAO Racing Kawasaki

We’ll gloss over a frankly torrid (and painful) 2023 BSB season for Danny Buchan, who spent more time watching the racing from the sidelines rather than get in the mix following a string of crashes and injury woes.

As such, multiple Title Showdown qualifier Buchan hits the big ‘reset’ button for 2024 as he embarks on a new challenge with DAO Racing.

An interesting pairing in that DAO Racing has made the surprise decision to cool its participation on the roads in favour of chasing short circuit success, Buchan’s signing is a sure sign of intent from the Manx-based team.

It could prove a shrewd decision, DAO Racing having crept up the BSB hierarchy in recent years despite its road racing focus, while Buchan has previously enjoyed race-winning success on the Kawasaki package.

Danny Kent

Lovell Kent Racing Honda to McAMS Mar-Train Yamaha

Having been forced to curtail his ambitious self-financed Lovell Kent Racing effort before the end of 2023, Danny Kent will return his focus to racing in 2024 with Mar-Train Yamaha.

Two parties with something to prove on the BSB stage, Kent proved in 2023 that he could be on the verge of something special with two podiums on the privateer Honda and a general performance that out-paced the factory contingent.

Mar-Train, meanwhile, enter into its second season of BSB after a promising debut campaign with Jack Kennedy delivering a litany of top ten finishes. Already hugely successful on the roads and in British Supersport, it’s surely only a matter of time before Mar-Train is bothering the podium contenders in BSB too.

With big backing from McAMS, engineering assistance from title-winners Raceways and a shift up Yamaha’s hierarchy, the Kent-Mar-Train combination has a lot of promise.

Tom Neave

Honda Racing to STAUFF Fluid Power Superbike Kawasaki

A graduate of Honda’s junior development programme, Tom Neave has endured a tough initiation to BSB since stepping up after his National Superstock win in.

Two seasons on the factory CBR1000RR-R didn’t produce the results expected but Neave will get a stay of execution in the class as part of the dedicated GR Motorsport team. 

Racing alongside Storm Stacey, but under the STAUFF Fluid Power Superbike banner, Neave will need to adapt to new Kawasaki machinery but the youngster - still only 28-years old - now has the experience to make more of an impact in less pressure-filled surroundings.