Bautista: WSBK Thought of as Second Division in Spain

https://www.motorcyclesports.net/ar...ionship-motogp-is-going-crazy-alvaro-bautista

Bautista offers his thoughts on the WSBK championship as a former MotoGP rider. He is quite complimentary and says he enjoys his time in the paddock, though he thinks the average Spaniard (rider and fan) may have an ingrained bias against the series.

He did make one peculiar remark:

In fact, in the past, MotoGP riders have come here and done nothing.

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While this statement is true, names like Biaggi, Checa, Guintoli, and Melandri (who has as many wins as Bautista) come to mind. Hopefully, this curious remark is not the result of Alvaro imagining he is the first former GP rider to really succeed in WSBK, but you never know. A rider's ego is an amazing thing.

PRS717 said:

Point taken. Yes, it was Rea and everyone else for years but in 2019 Bautista gave him a run for his money. How Bautista blew that championship still baffles me. Now, with the emergence of Toprak it's exciting. Redding was competitive on the Ducati as well. He's showing flashes on the BMW too. Rest of the season will be fun to watch.

On another note, thank God we have some racing this weekend. I should catch up on the MotoAmerica series. I've been slacking.

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MotoAmerica has been solid this year. SBK races are a bit lackluster, as Gagne has regained his form, but the other classes have been great. Next gen supersport is fun to watch, even if Herrin is miles ahead, and the Twins Cup has really matured. Twins Cup is the most compelling reason to watch, imo. In 5 years, that class will be worldwide, I think, and we get to watch it grow up in the States. Support classes are not bad either. It's wild have fast the Baggers are.

Anyway, back on topic, not sure if Alvaro has a recency bias or just a general bias. He praises the equity in WSBK, which has really only existed since 2018-ish when the homologation specials and homologated parts allowed privateers and factories to have the same kit. But that already existed in MotoGP when Alvaro was there. Regarding the performance of the factories, WSBK has somehow become LESS competitive in the switch to balance of performance, as BMW and Honda have fallen way off the pace.

When you think about the big picture of motorcycle racing, it's difficult to determine where the sport is going. They've painted themselves into a corner in every series. Bikes are too fast, and too expensive, and there isn't enough money to rehab the series or their underlying concepts. It's going to be interesting.