Toprak Razgatlioglu's impending departure to MotoGP leaves the World Superbike Championship in general - and BMW in particular - in dire need of uncovering new stars.
Razgatlioglu's arrival transformed BMW's Superbike fortunes. In the decade prior to his BMW debut it had won exactly one WSBK race - but in the year and a half following that debut, BMW has won 28 times, 27 of those wins coming from the Turk.
It will not find a plug-and-play replacement for Razgatlioglu, the best Superbike rider of the past half-decade, but BMW would do well to take a bold approach to its post-Razgatlioglu era.
None of the current proven-quantity WSBK free agents fit the bill for a "bold approach". It does, however, seem quite likely that an impressive rider or two will tumble out of MotoGP at the conclusion of the year.
But instead of depending on how MotoGP's silly season shakes out, there's also a prime option in the grand prix paddock that doesn't really depend on that.
The 25-year-old Aron Canet is maybe nobody's idea of the perfect corporate factory rider, but of his 168 starts in the grand prix paddock, the majority have been at frontrunner level.
Though he's always seemed to be just half a step off being a superstar, and does so again this year, he is right in the thick of the Moto2 title battle and climbing up the ranks in the intermediate class's various statistical leaderboards.
His position as a prime candidate for a good WSBK deal was one of the rumours doing the rounds during the Dutch TT weekend at Assen.
When asked about it by The Race at the conclusion of the Moto2 race, Canet said: "Where did you hear it? Maybe. Maybe.
"Finally the objective for every rider is to go to MotoGP, but I did big results in Moto2 and I never received a MotoGP contract. Maybe it's time to change to Superbikes - or to be in Moto2 two-three years more fighting for titles.
"I have now two opinions. To go to Superbikes to be there 10-12 years, being world champion, fighting for titles every year. Or being in Moto2 three-four years more, being the riders with the most titles in history.
"So now I don't know. But it's true that I have some proposals from Superbikes."
Canet clearly does not lack belief in his own potential. Ultimately he would not need to be an instant title contender in Superbikes to be a true asset.
The series' rider market remains in a state of flux. Nicolo Bulega and Andrea Locatelli were taken off the board with contract extensions at Ducati and Yamaha respectively, and there is total continuity at the sister projects of Bimota and Kawasaki, but it appears to be a bit of a free-for-all otherwise.
Ducati's decision not to pick up Alvaro Bautista's 2026 option is reportedly part of a pivot to youth, Jonathan Rea might not continue at Yamaha (or anywhere), and Honda doesn't appear to have committed to anyone yet.
But of those it's BMW that might be the best fit for Canet and it's Canet who might be the best fit for BMW.
Certainly, he would be a good addition to the series - and an easier signing to pull off than other, younger Moto2 title contenders whose MotoGP aspirations are still front-and-centre.
"For the moment, I don't know," Canet insisted of a WSBK switch. "I'm enjoying Moto2. I'm damn fast in Moto2. Now I think I have the second-most podiums [tied with Tito Rabat] in Moto2 history.
"So... it's difficult, it's difficult. Now I'm second in the standings, and it's difficult to say goodbye to that paddock also. But let's see."
