In addition to kicking off the road race season a few weeks early, having the World Superbike teams racing in Qatar this past weekend accomplished something else…it gave us race fans an early glimpse as to the difference between the current production based Superbikes and the current MotoGP dedicated race bikes. The March WSBK race weekend ended on Sunday and then on Tuesday some of the MotoGP teams showed up for some pre-season testing.

A true apples to apples comparison will never be possible and, because of freakish weather last weekend, is even less meaningful. However, its rare for both series to visit the same track so we’ll have to work with what we have. The times that have been released so far do back up the fact that there is a big difference between a production based series on spec tires and a “clean sheet” series with trick, unobtanium tires. During qualifying for last weekends WSBK race, held on a semi-wet track, the fastest time in Superpole was laid down by Ducati mounted Regis Laconi with a 2:01.5. The fastest time laid down by any of the riders during pre-Superpole qualifying was a 2:01.2 by Troy Corser in the first qualifying session. These times were presumably set using a qualifying tire or, if those are not in use, by the softest available race tire. The fastest race time, set by Yamaha mounted Sebastien Gimbert, was a 2:01.8.

Now fast forward 48 hours and the MotoGP teams hit the now dry Losail Circuit for some laps. At the end of the first day, Nicky Hayden and his Honda RC211V have turned a best lap of 1:58.3. After another 24 hours, Ducati’s Loris Capirossi has chopped off nearly another second with a 1:57.6. It isn’t known for sure (or at least not by arm-chair journalists like me) whether these guys were running qualifying tires or not but I’d say its highly likely. Even more likely in the case of Capirossi’s time since a) Bridgestone is known to have excellent qualifiers, b) Capirossi’s fast times from Sepang were using the Qs and c) everyone has to test for qualifying runs and race distance. All this after just two days at the track so times from tomorrow will likely be even lower.

So, a little quick math here (ummm…two point oh…errrrr…carry the one…convert to seconds…ah ha!) shows that the MotoGP bikes are lapping over three and a half seconds faster than the WSBK bikes. That’s pretty significant. Even more significant is that the slowest of the full factory bikes at the MotoGP test is 9th fastest Troy Bayliss with a 1:58.6, only a second slower than Capirossi. Rewind back to that first (and dry) WSBK qualifying session. Ninth was Nori Haga who turned a 2:02.6 aboard his Yamaha R1, almost a one and a half seconds slower than Corser’s 2:01.2. Clearly the further down the field you go, the bigger the gap.

So what does this mental masturbation and meaningless numerology really mean? Well, for one, it shows that the extra 40hp available on the purpose built MotoGP bikes has some real measurable benefit. Second, it shows that having major tire manufacturers fighting for lap times makes a better tire than having a single spec tire. Third, it shows that having a pre-season test on a dry track is better than having a race weekend with mixed conditions. Finally, it shows that the depth off the field in MotoGP, at least through the top ten, is closer than in WSBK.

Other than reaffirming what we already knew, there hasn’t been any real shock. Still, I think its freakin’ cool that you can watch some fantastic riders on unbelievably powerful bikes race around a world class track and then just a couple of days later see every factory MotoGP rider *smash* the previous weekend’s race times like they were made by novice racers. It makes me giggle like a school kid. Damn those MotoGP bikes are *cool*.

[image from the Nicky Hayden web site.]

The 2005 road race season started this past weekend with the WSBK opener in Losail, Qatar. Maybe its has been the long winter drought or maybe its the rules changes but it turned out to be a great race and has really whetted my appetite for more.

The big winner this past weekend was the Alstare Suzuki team, as their riders Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama split the two victories. After Alstare Suzuki struggled for years with their underpowered GSXR-750 against the full might of Ducati, this past weekend had to be a long overdue compensation for all their hard work. What’s more, their rider’s battle with Ducati mounted Regis Laconi showed that the team’s GSXR-1000 has the power to hold off the Duc even giving it the benefit off the draft. That has to have Francis Batta and the entire Alstare Corona Suzuki team dancing in the streets. They have dominated pre-season testing and now swept the first race of the season.

This will also have filled the sails of Troy Corser. This first race win was the final reward for his four miserable seasons with the Foggy Petronas team. He has been saying for years that he had the talent and desire to win races but not the bike. He is certainly backing that statement up already aboard the Suzuki. It fact it was downright eerie to see how he immediately returned to his pre-Petronas style of jumping out early in the race, showing his trademark smooth riding and then turning quick consistent laps until taking the checkers for a win. He seemed on track for a repeat in race two but was slowed by a worn front tire.

Kagayama somehow managed to surprise even more than Corser. He took his maiden World Superbike win in only the second race of the season and looked untouchable for the second two thirds off race two. He was also a stark contrast to Corser. Where the Australian has always been deceptively smooth on the bike, always looking much slower than the stop watch actually reveals, Japanese rider Kagayama seemed to be on the ragged edge from the first corner till the finish line. He was visibly pushing the front tire into the faster corners and every corner exit was a near-highside with the bike violently bucking and weaving as the rear tire repeated broke loose. The British motorcycling press have long heralded Yukio’s wild riding and our first glimpse certainly backs that up. I think it will be impossible for Kagayama to maintain this for the entire season without a crash, like the one that put him out of the British Superbike Series title hunt, but has plenty of time to learn how to keep the speed and loose the recklessness. Haga had the same out of control look for most of his first Yamaha tour of duty which resulted in some spectacular accidents. Whether he crashes or not, its obvious from day one that Yukio will be one to watch this season.

What about the others? Well. Laconi showed he can dig deep and race for the win. I think he started last season overly confident and his missing the 2004 WSBK title seems to have given him focus. He was the only person anywhere near the pace of the two Suzukis. Toseland, on the second factory Ducati, fought hard but wasn’t quite on the same pace as the front three. The hoard of Yamahas also appeared fast but seemed to be just a little down on the leaders. Haga was surprising slow over the weekend while his teammate Pitt was surprisingly fast. Abe, one of the few riders with prior race experience on the circuit, made a better than expected showing while his teammate Gimbert turned a solid qualifying run into a dismal race results, again a surprise. Crowd favorite Chili continued his inconsistent record by having a mechanical failure in race one and then a fantastic fifth in race two. The 41 year old continues to stick it to the young guys. Honda’s only other notable finish for the weekend was Vermeulen’s forth in the same race. For those, like myself, who forecast that Vermeulen would fight for the title this year it wasn’t a particularly auspicious start. Hopefully the two Ten Kate riders are still recovering from last week’s flu. The biggest disappointment for Honda had to be Ben Bostrom. After crashing his only bike in practice he had to ride a near-stock bike in the races to a finish outside the points in race one and a DNF in race two. The Renegade team will have a lot of work to do before the next race weekend. Kawasaki also showed they still have a big step to make as their riders struggled to get into the top ten. Sounds like they need some of the same magic growth potion that they put into their MotoGP effort last season for their two WSBK teams this season. Finally, the Foggy Petronas boys of McCoy and Martin showed that they will be doing rain dances all season. On even a semi-dry track, they are so badly outclassed they were luck to qualify. Its going to be a long season in that pit.

The teams now have a month to learn from Losail and prepare for their next race at Phillip Island in April.

[image from the Team Suzuki Racing web site.]

My buddy Jeff today was complaining that no one had put out a combined road race calendar for 2005 (with race dates for AMA, WSBK and MotoGP). Since I keep all those dates anyway, as well as the dates for the MRA, our local road race series, that seemed like a good topic for today’s blog entry. Without further ado, the current road race calendar for 2005:

February:

26 - WSBK @ Losail Int’l Raceway; Doha, Qatar

March:

12 - AMA @ Daytona Int’l Speedway; Daytona, FL, USA

April:

3 - WSBK @ Phillip Island; Phillip Island, Australia
10 - MotoGP @ Circuito Permanente de Jerez; Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
17 - MotoGP @ Estoril Circuit; Estoril, Portugal
22 - AMA @ Barber Motorsports Park; Birmingham, AL, USA
24 - WSBK @ Comunitat Valenciana; Cheste, Spain

May:

1 - MotoGP @ Shanghai Circuit; Shanghai, China
1 - AMA @ California Speedway; Fontana, CA, USA
1 - MRA @ Pueblo Motorsports Park; Pueblo, CO, USA
8 - WSBK @ Autodromo Nazionale Monza Circuit; Monza, Italy
15 - MotoGP @ Le Mans Circuit des 24 Heures; Le Mans, France
15 - AMA @ Infineon Raceway; Sonoma, CA, USA
15 - MRA @ Pikes Peak Int’l Raceway; Fountain, CO, USA
22 - AMA @ Pikes Peak Int’l Raceway; Fountain, CO, USA
29 - WSBK @ Silverstone Circuit; Silverstone, Northants, Great Britain

June:

5 - MotoGP @ Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello; Mugello, Italy
5 - AMA @ Road America; Elkhart Lake, WI, USA
5 - MRA @ Second Creek Raceway; Denver, CO, USA
12 - MotoGP @ Circuit de Catalunya; Barcelona, Spain
19 - MRA @ Continental Divide Raceway; Mead, CO, USA
25 - MotoGP @ TT Circuit Assen; Assen, Netherlands
26 - WSBK @ Autodromo di Santamonica; Misano, San Marino

July:

10 - MotoGP @ Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca; Monterey, CA, USA
10 - AMA @ Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca; Monterey, CA, USA
17 - WSBK @ Automotodrom Brno; Brno, Czech Republic
17 - MRA @ La Junta Motorsports Park; La Junta, CO, USA
24 - MotoGP @ Donington Park; Donington, Derby, Great Britain
24 - AMA @ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course; Lexington, OH, USA
31 - MotoGP @ Sachsenring; Sachsenring, Germany

August:

7 - WSBK @ Brands Hatch; Fawkham, Kent, Great Britain
14 - MRA @ Pueblo Motorsports Park; Pueblo, CO, USA
28 - MotoGP @ Automotodrom Brno; Brno, Czech Republic
28 - AMA @ Virginia Int’l Raceway; Alton, VA, USA

September:

4 - WSBK @ TT Circuit Assen; Assen, Netherlands
4 - AMA @ Road Atlanta; Braselton, GA, USA
4 - MRA @ Pikes Peak Int’l Raceway; Fountain, CO, USA
5 - MRA @ Pikes Peak Int’l Raceway; Fountain, CO, USA
11 - WSBK @ Lausitzring; Lausitz, Germany
18 - MotoGP @ Twin Ring Motegi; Motegi, Japan
25 - MotoGP @ Sepang Int’l Circuit; Sepang, Malaysia
25 - MRA @ Pueblo Motorsports Park; Pueblo, CO, USA

October:

1 - MotoGP @ Losail Int’l Raceway; Doha, Qatar
2 - WSBK @ Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferreri Imola; Imola, Italy
2 - MRA @ Second Creek Raceway; Denver, CO, USA
9 - WSBK @ Never Magny Cours Circuit; Magny Cours, France
16 - MotoGP @ Phillip Island; Phillip Island, Australia
23 - MotoGP @ Istanbul Circuit; Istanbul, Turkey

November:

6 - MotoGP @ Comunitat Valenciana; Cheste, Spain

Nothing beats watching a race in person. I’ll definitely be at the AMA Pikes Peak race in May and the combined MotoGP/AMA weekend at Laguna Seca in July. I’ll also make about half of the MRA races. I’ll also watch all the MotoGP, WSBK and AMA races that are televised and will probably give my views on each here on the blog. Our support can you all the support it can get, whether that is by buying tickets to see races live or tuning to watch the race on TV, so make sure to mark these dates on your calendar and watch some racing this year!

[image from the Motorcycle-USA web site.]

This time last year, the motorcycle racing community was bemoaning the 2004 World Superbike series as the “Ducati Cup” thanks to the majority of the MSMA (Motorcycle Sport Manufacturers Association) having left the series over disagreements about the rules. The factory Ducati team, the dominant team in the series over the past decade, stuck around and were expected to sweep the title. Whether the MSMA members really left because of the rule or to offset the drain on their racing budget caused by the ultra-expensive four-stroke MotoGP series can be argued but the affect their leaving had on the WSBK series cannot.

Thankfully, Ten Kate Honda’s Chris Vermeulen kept everyone wondering what would have been had the Japanese factories stayed in the game. In fact, privateer Ducati riders like Nori Haga and Pierfrancesco Chili helped turn the season into one of the most exciting in recent history, despite the lack of manufacturer diversity on the grid, so although the factory Ducati riders finished on-two it wasn’t the sweep most predicted. What didn’t make any waves was the latest iteration of Team Foggy Petronas FP-1 and riders Chris Walker and Troy Corser. With such a seemingly weak grid, last year appeared to be the best chance for the underdog team to challenge for a championship but lack of engine performance once again held back the two great riders.

Fast forward to this year. The MSMA has reversed their ban of World Superbike and the factories, at least via heavily supported semi-privateer teams, are back in droves. Suzuki has a two rider team, Kawasaki has a two rider team, Yamaha has a two rider team and, most surprisingly, Honda has three teams totaling four riders. Honda rarely hands out back-door support so their strong presence for 2005 shows just how much they’ve changed their attitude and how much they want Hondas on the WSBK grid. There are even rumors off Aprilia, Bimoto and MV Agusta joining the fray. Having the manufacturers back in WSBK has marked a tremendous turn-around for the series. It kept its head above water last season due to close racing and a variety of possible race winners and looks to build on that this year with a new explosion of interest.

The WSBK grid probably contains the strongest collection of exciting personalities of any race series. MotoGP has unique characters in Rossi and Biaggi but the rest of the grid seems mostly bland. WSBK, on the other hand, has riders like Noriyuki “Nitro Nori” Haga, Pierfrancesco Chili, Ben Bostrom, Chris ‘Stalker” Walker, Giovanni Bussei and Norik Abe all of which seem to attract press like birds to a feeder. Any series on earth would be proud just to have the Australian contingent from WSBK, because they are such PR dreams: Garry “King of Slide” McCoy, Chris Vermeulen, Karl Muggeridge, Troy Corser, Steve Martin and Andrew Pitt. McCoy, for example, has gotten more press in the last two years despite a general lack of results than many of the podium regulars in MotoGP. Keeping him in the WSBK series for the press coverage alone has given a boost to the series.

And speaking of Australians, what about Troy Corser?!? Despite riding on the doggy FP-1, he’s always kept himself in the eyes of the race fans by periodically putting in near-miraculous qualifying or race performances. Despite being, along with Chili, one of the elders on the grid, he has continued to show that his talent and desire to win haven’t waned with age. Those memorable rides paid off because the second his four year contract with Foggy expired Suzuki was waiting in line to snatch him up. This puts him on what may be the most powerful bike in the paddock and he is already repaying Suzuki’s faith in him by topping the timing charts at both of the preseason tests. Clearly Corser wants to rise like a phoenix from the apparent ashes of his career. Chalk up another reason for motorcycle journalists and race fans to watch the series.

So time may not heal all wounds but it certainly appears to have stopped the bleeding for WSBK and put it back on the path to being a healthy and interesting world series. I can hardly wait for this coming weekend to watch the opening race!

[image from the Troy Corser web site.]

So the only real motorcycles news this week has been the various MotoGP and World Superbike teams announcing their official line-ups, news that has been known unofficially for months now. Ho-hum, its a slow news week.

There have been a couple of items in those announcements that I think deserve a quick “word up”.

First, the Xerox Ducati World Superbike team of James Toseland and Regis Laconi where announced today with a big webcast splash. Same team, same riders, yawn. But Ducati does deserve the credit for having cultivated a multi-year sponsorship agreement with a company that is neither involved in the motorcycle market nor part of the tobacco/alcohol money monster. With worldwide political pressure steadily restricting tobacco and alcohol advertising, those companies which have historically propped up the bulk of motorized competition, are scaling back their support. For Ducati to bring in Xerox as the title sponsor of their World Superbike effort (Xerox was already involved with Gary McCoy’s privateer team in 2004) is something worthy of a news splash. Better yet, Ducati is showing continued success at bringing in outside money since they have had Fila and Sony as their title sponsors in the past. Lets hope the other World Superbike teams can have such success. That outside money is the holy grail of both race teams and race series and an infusion of dough is something all series could use to help them grow.

Its not just in WSBK either. Gone are the days when big cigarette companies virtually funded Grand Prix racing. Ducati still has Marlboro money and the Yamaha teams still have their Fortuna/Gauloises backing but its rumored that Yamaha may run self-sponsored machines in 2006, partly at Rossi’s insistence since he *hates* tobacco sponsorship. Oddly enough, Rossi has no such problems with alcohol money, since his favorite sponsor is Italian beer company Nastro-Azzuro. Anyway, there is bright news in the MotoGP world as well, as Makoto Tamada will be sponsored by Minolta this coming season. Just as with WSBK, having a company not traditionally associated with motorcycles willing to fork out cash to a team means the sport’s growing in status. If other companies can successfully court big companies, they may yet weather the bad financial times that have been forecast when tobacco sponsorship dries up completely.

Bravo to Honda and Ducati for leading the way…

[image from Ducati web site.]

With the announcements over the past couple of weeks from Honda, Yamaha and Ducati, it certainly looks like the World Superbike series is making an astounding comeback from last year’s stories of doom and gloom.

First, Honda announces that both Ben Bostrom and Frankie Chili have found rides with factory supported teams for next year. Yamaha has officially announced Norikuki Haga (as rumored for the past month or so) will be on their factory superbike team and also announced that ex-GP star Norick Abe will be racing in WSBK on a factory supported team. Then, to make things better, NCR Ducati announced today that ex-250 GP star Fonsi Nieto will riding one of their superbikes.

Not only are the Japanese factories making a splash by returning to World Superbike competition but MV Agusta is rumored to be running a factory supported team in 2005. Its not too far a stretch to think that Aprilia may return as well, if not this year than next, now that they have pulled out of MotoGP.

I didn’t include Abe or Nieto in my 2005 WSBK Line-up posting and I think both of them will be a good addition to the series. Abe struggled with the four strokes in MotoGP but to run mid-pack in that star-studded field still shows amazing talent. If the Yamaha is a strong bike, I think Abe will run with Haga which means near the front and that will add big excitement. I don’t think that Nieto will prove so promising based on the depth of the WSBK field, the performance of the NCR Ducati and Fonsi’s inconsistent performance in the past two seasons 250GP. What Nieto does bring is MotoGP levels of sponsorship which will be great for the series.

[image from the Motorcycle USA web site]

After I moved to Colorado I started watching the local MRA races and noticed a young kid racing a 125GP bike. I thought it was cool that a guy was giving his son a chance to race and thought that was a pretty neat way to get in some father-son bonding as the father was clearly proud to have his son with him at the track. Over the next few years I was happy to see the kid was doing well. In 2002, he went into what I believe is the best possible training ground for young riders: The WERA National Endurance Series. He raised some eyebrows there by helping his team win a few races, probably a better performance than expected from a kid that wasn’t in high school yet.

Well, the kid’s father, Jurgen Wimbauer, moved them to Germany and the kid picked up where he left off by racing in a couple of the European national race series. The next time I heard about the guy, he was doing some wild card races in the World Supersport series on a factory Yamaha R6, with a best finish of 16th at Misano.

Well, now the news is out that 16 year old Nicky Wimbauer has signed with a factory supported Suzuki squad to race a GSXR in the European Superstock Championship, which is one of the support classes for World Superbike. I guess that little kid from Colorado has shown he has what it takes to race on the world stage, something that will make more people than just his father Jurgen proud. Bravo to the Moto 1 team for hiring him and best wishes to Nicky Wimbauer for a great season in 2005.

[image from Team Trasimeno web site]

Fire one up, dude!

At the beginning of last year, things probably seemed pretty good for Michelin. They still had a virtual lock on MotoGP and were part of a full factory effort by Ducati to win the AMA Superbike series after a ten year shutout. I’m sure they were still hurting from World Superbike’s decision to become a Pirelli only series but at least that affected all the tire manufacturers equally. By March, they had taken pole at Daytona, Rossi had put the hammer down in South Africa and the lap times being turned by World Superbike riders were almost two seconds off those set by Michelin riders the previous year. 2004 was going to be a sweet year.

Now fast forward 10 months. With last month’s press release that the factory Ducati MotoGP team would run Bridgestones , this week’s announcement that the Austin Ducati AMA team would run Dunlops and the requirement that the Fila SBK squad use Pirellis, the long-standing image of Ducati’s rolling on Michelin tires has been obliterated.

In fact, with Aprilia seemingly out of MotoGP and Ducatis defection Michelin has lost four Grand Prix riders while only gaining Tamada whose Honda will apparently use the French tires. Another black eye for Michelin was the clear superiority of the Bridgestone qualifying tires in MotoGP as Tamada, Roberts, Hopkins and Nakano all had impressive qualifying times during the previous season. It was even rumored that the Bridgestone rain tires were better but its much harder to quantify that since rider skill, race strategy and bike setup are so much more difficult to separate out during a wet race. (Bridgestone’s highest achievement though was their win at Motegi where a Japanese rider Makoto Tamada on a Japanese Honda motorcycle won the race using the Japanese Bridgestone tires.)

In the AMA, the Michelin tires were a clearly less developed tire compared to the Dunlops which have ruled American road race tracks for almost a decade. It is likely that some of the factory supported teams, like Valvoline Suzuki, will continue to run Michelins in 2005 but none of the factory teams will be providing the much needed technical feedback so the tire R&D can catch up to Dunlop.

Even though the Pirellis were slower at every World Superbike round, the politics of that series mean that they are unlikely to return to the former rules allowing factory teams to run their own tires. Hopefully, with so many riders helping with development, the Pirellis will become a better tire so all those lap records set on Michelin tires will eventually fall as well. On the other hand, if the Pirellis don’t improve their grip then the vicious highsides caused by lots of power and hard tires will result in so many rider injuries that another brand may be brought in to replace them in the name of safety…

Is Michelin going up in smoke? Doubtful but it does appear they’ll have to work that much harder to regain some of the ground they’ve lost for 2005.

[image from www.superbikeplanet.com]

WSBK made for some great racing last season but I think everyone was disappointed that so much of the grid was filled with customer Ducatis, rather than a mix of factory teams. It appears that things are turning around in ‘05 with a lot of non-Ducati factory-supported teams. Diversity on the grid is sure to generate excitement…

That said, I think the Pirelli spec tire rule will still be controversial. While there is no doubt it provided closer racing in 2004, it also provided slower lap times and spectacular (rider injurying) high sides as the power of the bikes overwhelmed the traction of the rear tires. MotoGP went through this (witness the injuries to Rainey, Schwantz, Doohan, et al) and WSBK doesn’t need to as well.

• First, the kings of World Superbike, the factory Ducati squad:

So, for 2005 we have:



1a) James Toseland - James had what is perhaps the most unconvincing championship season in years. At a time when the Fila Ducati squad had about three times the budget (and access to the only factory bikes) of anyone else on the grid, Toseland failed to dominate. This is only excusable because of the complete mess his pre-season favorite team-mate made of it. I think another year, and one with a lot more competition, in WSBK will help him continue to step it up as a rider. If he can dominate in 2005, then he’ll be able to hold the title with pride since he’ll have beaten a exponentially more talented field to do it. But I don’t think he’ll do it and will end up third or fourth.

1b) Regis Laconi - Jeez, what happened to him? Last season he came unglued like a cheap paperback book. Regis has spent the off-season riding a mondo-powerful GP bike, so hopefully that will help him make the factory 999 a better bike. I think it will also give him a lot more focus because he will know what the Ducati ride can offer in the future if he can bring home the bacon now. I think he’ll win the title in 2005, like he should have in 2004. If he can’t he’ll be out of a Ducati ride and maybe out of any ride. If he does win, expect him to pack his gear for a Ducati GP ride in 2006.

• Second, Ten Kate Honda, who nearly pulled out a championship last year without any major factory support:

1a) Chris Vermeulen - Whoo hoo, what a star this kid turned out to be. With the power of Ten Kate’s engine builders behind him, he put a bitch-slapping on Ducati that hasn’t been done since Colin Edward’s thrilling 2001 WSBK championship. In fact, it may actually be a mistake for Honda to officially help Ten Kate since their underdog status in 2004 made them an instant fan favorite. I think Chris, especially if HRC starts helping the team, will be the biggest challenge to Fila Ducati for the championship.

1b) Karl Muggeridge - Carl has loads of talent, as his Supersport championship shows, and he’ll be on a rocket of a bike. Still, I don’t think he’ll be able to pull it off in his first season, if only because his teammate already has a year of WSBK under his belt. Additionally, Muggy spent a lot of time crashing in Supersport before putting it together for a season and I think he may have the same over-enthusiastic throttle hand his first year on the big bike. Either way, expect the two Ten Kate bikes to be spectacular…

• Third, the Foggy Petronas team with all new riders:

1a) Garry McCoy - If McCoy couldn’t get it done on a customer Duc, he ain’t gonna get it done on the Petronas. In fact, I was hugely disappointed in McCoy in 2004, since at early rounds it looked like he was going to regain the form he’d lost after getting punted off the WCM 500 GP bike for two straight seasons. Sadly, that didn’t happen and he spent most of his WSBK season fighting with people he should rightfully have spanked. Now he’s on the finicky Petronas and riding for Foggy, neither of which I think will improve his results.

1b) Steve Martin - Its a worse disappointment that Martin is on the Petronas that McCoy, as Steve showed impressive tenacity all during the 2004 season. Sure, he had the advantage of being Pirelli’s WSBK development rider for the past two seasons but with things more on an equal footing he also showed he could dice for the podium. I think he’ll slip backwards in 2005 because of the bike. 2004 may have been his career high water mark…

• Alstare Suzuki steps back into World Superbike with:

1a) Troy Corser - This is the best new development for the series. Alstare is back and this time with a rider that has more hunger that anyone. After languishing for years as the lead development rider for Petronas, Corser knows he only has one season to restore his reputation before he’s sent packing for the old folk’s home. He’s perhaps the most talented rider on the grid and probably the most determined too. Unfortunately, I think Suzuki will struggle getting the GSXR into WSBK trim and learning the Pirelli tires and that will ultimately spoil Corser’s season. Still, I’d love to see Corser, along with the Ten Kate boys, booting the Fila guys off the podium for a season.

1b) Yukio Kagayama - Yagayama had a up and down season in the British series. He was often winning and always spectacular but also managed to get hurt when his wild riding went a little too far. Sadly, I think he’ll suffer the same fate in 2005, though I suspect his on-the-edge riding style will get plenty of camera time but his Pirelli inspired highsides will probably be what make the Sunday footage highlights.

1c) Gregorio Lavilla - This hasn’t been announced but I’d guess that Lavilla will get a go aboard the GSXR. He was Suzuki’s development rider in 2004, including a couple of wild card rides in MotoGP, but that roles has been taken by Nobuatsu Aoki in 2005. He’s the last person to ride a factory supported Suzuki in WSBK, gets on well with the Alstare guys and is sitting around without a ride. Besides, he’s Spanish and any rider from Spain with a pulse can apparently bring in buckets of sponsorship cash. If he can find the fire he had in 2003, he could be a contender but I doubt it will happen quickly enough for him to be in the hunt.

• Zongshen may be back with their re-badged Suzukis and riders:

1a) Norwick Nowland - Talk about a let down! Prior to the Valencia race last season, a lot of PR material was spewed out about how the 2003 World Endurance team was coming to WSBK and would be a force to be reckoned with. Well, I reckon they wasted a bunch of yen, cause the Chinese team was nowhere to be seen in 2004. In 2003, they claimed they’d have their own bike in 2005 but I’ll be surprised if the come back at all. Then again, they claim to be working on a MotoGP bike, so they better learn to swim in the WSBK waters before going where the monsters be in MotoGP.

1b) Piergiorgio Bontempi - Well, he barely made the top 15 last season. At least these guys make the Petronas team look good. The Zongshen team couldn’t convert World Endurance experience into World Superbike wins last season and if they’re back in 2005, they’re gonna get hammered even worse as the level of talent and equipment has jumped considerably.

• Kawasaki is back in the mix with PSG-1 and riders:

1a) Chris Walker - This would have been exciting news, if it had happened after Walker was sacked from the Honda Shell GP squad in 2001. The Stalker on a 1000cc version of his beloved Kawi in World Superbike?!?!? But after his 2002 season fighting the underpowered ZX-7RR and now two years struggling on the Petronas, its too little too late. Instead of signing with Foggy, perhaps he should have gone the Hodgson route and returned to the British Superbike series to regain his confidence and hone his skills. I think he’ll improve Kawasaki’s showing but won’t be able to challenge the Duc, Honda and perhaps Suzuki and Yamaha for the championship.

1b) Mauro Sanchini - I think Sanchini has been racing Kawasakis in WSBK for so long that the factory couldn’t dare let him go now that they are coming back…I think he’s done remarkably well for someone who’s background was racing scooters but I don’t think he’ll beat his teammate, much less win races. Then again, maybe I’m just bitter than PSG didn’t hire Chili.

• Yamaha are also back in the World Superbike arena with riders:

1a) Noriyuki Haga - Like having Walker on a WSBK Kawasaki, this is total “Back to the Future” stuff. Wasn’t Haga supposed to be aboard a factory Yamaha in WSBK last season? Anyway, never ever underestimate Haga. His success aboard the Renegade Ducati, not to mention the PR effort brought on by his association with graffitti artist Koji, has to have Yamaha officials salivating. However, I think they probably busted their racing budget on their MotoGP “dream team” of Rossi and Edwards and won’t have the money to build a WSBK effort that can equal Ducati. That means Haga will, like last year, be fighting with second tier equipment. I think he’ll get a top 5 in ‘05.

1b) Andrew Pitt - Pitt has landed in WSBK after his MotoGP outings on the Moriwaki and that experience is bound to help the 2001 Supersport champ out in ‘05. Still, I think he’ll be the “B” rider on the team and that’s going to hold him back. Then again, Yamaha will fight the same daemons as Suzuki in getting their R1 into WSBK fighting trim and figuring out the Pirelli tires…Expect him to fight a season long battle with Muggeridge and Walker.

Rumors are still flying and they involve a few big names:

1a) Frankie Chili - What has the guy got to do? For the past two season’s he has amazed everyone by winning races and being in the championship hunt while aboard a second tier customer Ducati. Hell, in 2004 he even did it on a 2003 998. He is a media darling, he has a bigger fan base in England that Toseland and probably a bigger fan base in Italy than some of the MotoGP riders (excepting Rossi and Biaggi, of course). In what parallel universe must I exist in which this guy can’t have a ride for 2005?

1b) Ben Bostrom - Rumors of a second Honda team, including BBoz, continue to bubble up here and there. Personally, I don’t see it happening because Honda is always so stingy with their bikes. Ducati? They’ll sell to anyone with a check book. Suzuki? Just say Corona is involved and you’ve got a bike. Even Yamaha seems willing to provide bikes to privateer teams. But Honda? No friggin’ way. However, if the earth moves and hell gets frosty enough for Benny to get a Honda, I still think he’ll struggle. Maybe a year of Supermoto would build his confidence or another year of being fleeced by Mladin would get him focused but gifting him with another WSBK season isn’t gonna light his fire.

1c) Giovanni Bussei - Alright, so technically Bussei doesn’t have a 2005 ride but after the show of sportsmanship he showed by giving title-contender and Honda rider Vermeulen a lift after his crash at Imola, he certainly deserves one. In fact, if Ducati severs its long standing support of Bussei because of the Imola incident, they should get the collective finger from the other riders. That said, Bussei hasn’t shown much spark as a 749R or a 998RS rider so won’t factor in the championship either way…

1d) Sebastien Gimbert (Yam R1) - Gimbert made a big splash at this past season’s Magny Cours race and is expected to perhaps run as a privateer full time in 2005. Then again, he is the 2004 World Endurance champ and was riding on his home track so maybe it wasn’t such a big splash after all. I’m sure he’ll again be a force if he races the French tracks in 2005 but will probably be duking it out with Sanchini and the other wild cards at other race tracks.

[image from motorcycle-usa website]