The declaration has already been made for a few months, but it still does not go through. It must be said that both its origin and its foundation move a WSBK paddock which has therefore been relegated by the boss of its promoter Dorna as a second division category... In comparison with MotoGP. At Phillip Island, where the World Superbike season opens a week before the Grand Prix season, we decided to make common cause to better send the Spaniard back to his goals... Except for a Scott Redding!
By being evaluated with a lower rating, the WSBK must he harbor a complex with regard to MotoGP ? Carmelo Ezpeleta, boss of the promoter of the two worlds, by his approach, would be tempted to arouse him. For him, there is the Grand Prix Champions line and the second Superbike division. A description taken literally which angered the members of the last group cited.
The latter is currently gathered in Australia for its first meeting of the season, and they are united against this idea. Marc Bongers, SBK project director BMW, commented: “ in my opinion, I don't think that the Superbike is the B Series of motorcycling, also because I don't think it's correct to make a classification. I think it is an alternative to MotoGP and these two realities should not be compared, because they are two separate things. I think that the World Championship of products derived from the series is representative of the production motorcycles and especially the fans. »
At Yamaha , we have Andrea Dosoli who adds: “ I don't think it's necessary to make a comparison, since on the one hand there are the prototypes and on the other hand the production motorcycles. Those are two different things. I believe that the Superbike maximizes the value of the road bike, so much so that the development of the Superbike came from it. This is the case for SBK, as for Supersport and Sport300 »
At Ducati which is also a brand committed on both fronts, Seraphim Foti confirms: “ Superbike is a Championship of the utmost importance, identifying road bikes, from which development then flows. This point is, I believe, a decisive aspect in the value of the Championship… In addition to the passionate component, that is, the fact that people can freely enter the paddock, live in close contact with the dynamics of the weekend, such as approaching the motorcycles and the riders. In MotoGP it's a little different. »
So much for the team managers. And for the pilots. Two of them have experienced MotoGP for many seasons. This is'Alvaro Bautista, who arrived in Superbike last year, and Scott Redding who is discovering the world championship this year after being crowned in BSB in 2019. “ Before arriving in this paddock, I had the same idea as Ezpeleta » admits the Spaniard. “ Actually, that's what I thought. Then I realized that these are two different championships. It is not possible to compare them, because they are different. MotoGP is based on prototypes, Superbike is based on road bikes. In addition to motorcycles, there are also pilots. Some riders who rode in MotoGP and then arrived here had difficulties and the opposite is also true. So these are two different things. »
Scott Redding, for his part, is lenient with Ezpeleta : " I can't blame him. MotoGP is the best, while Superbikes are the best after MotoGP. The bikes and the quality of the riders are different, but sometimes WSBK is as fast as MotoGP and it would be interesting to see these bikes with carbon brakes. Perhaps in the future we will see collaborations between the two classes. »
In any case, the illustration of a second division is not relevant. If not why Honda would he have launched the program of CBRR-R supported by HRC and with the aim of shining in WSBK?
