Tyco's new blood
With neither of their riders making the showdown last season, BMW’s official MCE BSB effort has to up their game this year. With Michael Laverty departing for McAMS Yamaha, former factory Ducati WSB man, Davide Giugliano joins the team alongside Christian Iddon who stays put for the season ahead. Guigliano’s arrival is a coup for BSB, with the 27-year-old Italian set to bring excitement by the bucket-load and reigning champ Shakey Byrne has tipped him as one to watch. He told MCN: “Jonathan Rea told me Giugliano was one of the fastest guys in WSB, and I think his word is worth listening to,” But while it’s easy to see his pace, his no-holds-barred style has earned him a reputation as a crasher. That being said, despite having to get to grips with a BSB bike without many of the advanced rider aids featured in WSB, Giugliano hasn’t crashed once in pre-season testing. “With no electronics, I can ride the bike whereas with all the WSB electronics it’s more like the bike was riding me,” he explained to MCN. “With my riding style on the BMW and no electronics I like riding it more than in WSB. No electronics suits my style, so I can ride comfortably and be fast but on the Ducati in WSB while I could be fast it wasn’t necessarily comfortable.” While fighting for the title might be a longshot for Giugliano, he’ll undoubtedly be quick at the tracks he knows – Donington, Silverstone, Brands and Assen - but he’ll have to get his head round the other British tracks pretty sharpish if he’s to be a regular front runner. Iddon, on the other hand, is in a strong position, having already spent a year with the team on the S1000RR he should be able to up the game this year. He both started and ended 2016 strong, so he’ll need to carry that momentum into the upcoming season. “It’s important that we don’t stay still and can improve on last year, so we tested quite a few new parts out in Spain but we still need time for more evaluation,” Iddon said.
‘BSB’s lack of electronics suits my style, so I can ride comfortably and be fast’