SUN’S OUT, FUN’S OUT…
So then, what glorious topic can we speak of this month regarding the WSB circus? Well, as it happens, nothing much is going on because we're only a few weeks into the stupidest summer break for a racing series you could possibly imagine – 10 weeks.
Now, I've already waxed lyrical about this contemptuously stupid thing on our website (www.fastbikesmag.com if you still don't know!), so I won't bang on about it much here, but damn is it disappointing!
Ever since Dorna's takeover of the series the summer break has been an issue, an ever expanding one, as it seems to get longer. Some of the riders don't seem to mind too much given how short their winter break is with the first race at the end of February though, which is a fair point.
But a series doesn't thrive or shrivel on how happy its racers are, but the fans. Having WSB off the radar for the best part of three months seems an absolutely ridiculous decision to be made by bosses that claim they want it to grow, doesn't it? By the time the next round eventually comes along it'll be “What, oh, WSB? I thought that had finished…” or thoughts to that effect.
Aside from the Suzuka Eight-Hour race, there's not a lot else going on globally for Superbikes, so we're left with gossip and the odd fact or two, like Leon Haslam being signed up alongside Jonny Rea for 2019. Seeing as it was an appallingly badly-kept ‘secret', it wasn't much of a surprise to hear the official news. But, that seat next to Rea is coveted, and I was surprised that Leon wasn't asked to join the Pedercini outfit he's raced for in the past but with factory support, thereby leaving the official slot for a new up and coming racer, or MotoGP outcast. I guarantee there will be some from the GP paddock kicking themselves they didn't push for the ride harder, given seats over there are now all but dried up, and room for bums in WSB is also reducing quickly.
As I write, the Ducati boys of Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri are yet to sign. Davies is expected to, but there's more of a question mark for Marco, with his name being linked with a satellite Ducati ride and this second Yamaha team that's been mooted, the same one Tom Sykes has been tipped for. And then we have some Brits looking for rides too, like Scott Redding, Bradley Smith, Danny Kent and so on.
Yet, and this puzzles me slightly, slipping more Brits into WSB appears to make people in Britain angry. Why? Yeah, there are already a lot of Brits there, but what's wrong with that? Brits have always been good at Superbike racing, which BSB has a lot to do with no doubt. There's sod all chance of having a slew of factory backed Brits in MotoGP, so why not WSB? And everyone bangs on about how great BSB is, rightly so, but most of the Brits in WSB came through those ranks, so even if more Brits come into the series, you're basically watching ‘World British Superbikes'! Nobody cries too much about half the GP grid being Spanish, so I'm not sure what the issue is exactly?
Yes, in an ideal world there would be a balanced mix of nationalities in all racing series, but then when has that ever happened in the past few decades? There's always one country better represented, that's how it's always been, so rather than moan about lots of our countrymen being in WSB, let's just celebrate what's essentially BSB+!