And one more ! After Scott Redding who went for a tourist ride during the Superbike round in Assen, it was another Grand Prix rider who was pleasantly surprised by the Superbike. This is the German Sandro Cortese who was also in the Netherlands, but to work as a TV commentator. A reconversion in sight? You would have thought so, but it's more behind a handlebar than behind a mic that the former Moto3 World Champion sees his future in this paddock.
Sandra Cortese arrived in Grand Prix in 2005, he made a splash in the 125cc era with two victories and eleven podiums, then he won his World Champion title from the start of Moto3. It was in 2012, as a KTM official with five successes and fifteen podiums. Afterwards ? Not much anymore. A logical move to Moto2 followed but the now 27-year-old did not take off from the second part of the peloton.
His best result in the general classification was ninth place in 2014. This year, he has only managed to enter the top 20 once in four races, with eighth position in Argentina. He is seventeenth with 8 points, when equal on motorcycle (Suter) Dominique Aegerter is eighth with 27 points, and his teammate Marcel schrotter eleventh with 23.
An assessment which begins to persuade that the career of Cortese is behind him. At least in Grand Prix. But he is not yet of retirement age. And in Assen, rubbing shoulders with the Superbike which is currently playing a new round of its championship at Imola, he said to himself that he could well have his place there. In fact on speedweek, he made a call, as soon as a team was interested:
« The World Superbike Championship is definitely an alternative for me. It's different from the Grands Prix. In a certain sense, it's more open. All the fans were walking around the paddock at Assen, everything seems more like a family spirit and I like that. We are not confined like in MotoGP, the passion for racing is felt more and we are closer to the public ". A general atmosphere which also surprised Scott Redding.
On the competition side, it’s also enticing: “ lap times are fast and the top teams are of a high level. In the boxes, the layout and hospitality are very professional. In the next two years, Dorna will further develop the category by moving things forward ».
This is the wink made and the appeal launched. Many have made the path from Grand Prix to Superbike with mixed success. Biaggi, Carlos Checa and Sylvain Guintoli were crowned but Alex Barros, Hiroshi Aoyama, Randy de Puniet, John Hopkins, Nicky Hayden or even Stefan Bradl and Eugène Laverty did not find material to relaunch their careers. Furthermore, Jordi Torres, Randy Krummenacher and Alex De Angelis are the riders on the starting grid from Moto2.
