‘Riders are on a wing and a prayer’ JAMES WHITHAM
Eurosport pundit and former British Superbike champion
‘You can’t run BSB behind closed doors’
MCN spoke with Whitham about the effect the pandemic could have on BSB. Whitham is a former British Superbike champion, WSS, WSB and 500GP rider. And there’s not a lot he doesn’t know about the world of racing and what makes it tick…
‘Could be devastating’
“It only takes one sponsor to leave the series and that team might not be able to afford to carry on racing. Things change and it doesn’t take much of a blip to lose a team or two from the championship. Something like this could be devastating. If you look at Honda and the big manufacturers, they have plenty of permanent staff in every day. In some ways that is more unsustainable because what are they going to be doing if there is no racing? What are the mechanics going to do? I know some that have recently quit their jobs to become full-time mechanics this year – they can’t go back because there isn’t a job to go back to.
It’s tough on riders
“The BSB paddock looks like it’s an all-singing, all-dancing, big money event. In some ways, it is, but I can tell you now, plenty of riders are on a bit of a wing and a prayer, they’re just about scratching a living out the sport. It doesn’t take much of a blip for them to have to look for a job. It’s not like they can sit and wait for a year for it to clear up. Looking at the manufacturer contracts I had when I was racing, you rarely had one that said you’d be paid no matter what. If you broke your leg at round one and missed six meetings, you’d be paid half for three and then it would be pro-rota. I can’t see this being much different. Of course they want to look after you but if you’re unable to do a job, or there isn’t one for you to do, how can you blame somebody for not wanting to pay you?
BSB calendar…
“MotoGP and WSB are in a better position if things clear up by the summer. They could run a full season into January because they can squeeze meetings in here and there. BSB doesn’t have this luxury, you can’t go to Knockhill or Cadwell in November. MotoGP also receives a lot of money from TV and broadcasting, whereas BSB is reliant on the fans paying to watch. You can’t run BSB behind closed doors, it wouldn’t make any money!”