FOUR RACES ONE WINNER…
Just as we go to press, the second round of WSB 2017 has passed in Thailand. So, what have we learned thus far? It may seem a simple answer given that one man has won all four races, but that isn’t the case, oh no…
The opening two races in Australia were utterly superb, supremely thrilling and the perfect way to open 2017’s race action – MotoGP will be hoping to high heaven they can match WSB’s action at their own opening race in Qatar, which you’ll have seen by now.
In fact, including the Supersport race all three were won by a combined total of less than 0.07s – that’s three separate races added together, which is insane! Yes, Kawasaki’s Jonny Rea won both Superbike races, and also went on to win both in Thailand, too. But despite a wee faux pas by closest rival Chaz Davies in the second Thailand outing, Rea is not heading back to Europe with a ridiculous points lead, rather just a healthy one. But one that Chaz can claw back, especially at Aragon where he’s won five out of the last six races, and at Imola where he did the double in 2016. Rea will likely win at Assen held between Spain and Italy, but Chaz could come out of this run of races around a win’s worth of points behind him and should that be the case, it’s game on given his late season form. He just needs to keep Jonny close until they get into the second part of the year, where he is absolutely ‘the man’. Fingers crossed then, Chaz!
Another thing made perfectly clear is that Leon Camier is once again doing a superb job on the MV Agusta. He’s beating racers of the same calibre, but they’re on far more effective machinery and we can only imagine how he’d get on were he sat next to Chaz, Jonny or on any leading manufacturer’s machine. We’re willing to bet many teams are regretting not poaching him in the off-season, a podium could be on the cards for Leon this year. No, really!
Elsewhere, Ten Kate’s woes continues. They received the new bike just a few weeks before the racing began, and riders Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl are already more than 80 points off the top of the table. The newly Red Bull sponsored team looks great, the bike looks fantastic and they’ve two of the best riders in the world to try and bring them success – but it’s time Honda got their shit together. Not Ten Kate, Honda. Honda left WSB at the end of 2002 in a huff becauseWSB moved to a single tyre supplier, Pirelli, and they lost their factory Michelin advantage. Well, MotoGP went a similar route and they didn’t have a paddy there, so it’s time they put their toys back in the pram and took WSB seriously again.
Ten Kate have done an amazing job since 2004, and while Honda Europe give them some support, they otherwise do all the development themselves. Yet in 2017 they’ve the team, the sponsor and the riders to truly deserve some factory support in a bid for success. And, let’s not forget, a brand new production Fireblade to promote. All the big guns bar Suzuki (who’ll be back in 2018) are taking WSB seriously – the factories are getting involved. Not doing so could just be embarrassing for all involved so, please, give the lads a helping hand, would you? Ta!