the importance of wsbk

I used to love it back in the 90's, nowadays it's boring as .... and has zero personalities, Rea should have jumped to GP years ago.

Giancarlo Falappa.

propagandhi said:

So am I correct in interpreting wsbk was never about talent or racing?
Just a clown show for the sub talented ? Should we care about it? Were we wrong for ever caring?
Ffs hodgeson was a champ there. And bar Bayliss there was no non-gp rider with any world class level talent.

I could talk about rea forever, so I won't.
He proved with his wild cards he is the best rider outside of continental europe bar none

Click to expand...

WSBk was the touring car of the to wheeled world. Remember in its inception through McClaughlin, it was American, so it certainly wasn't designed for the UK market. Remember Rainey, Cooley, Lawson, Spencer all came to short circuit racing from dirt through AMA superbike before GP was wholly revolutionised in the wake of the King. Spencer on the CB900 - and over here the Eddie Lawson GPz was hugely popular.

The unprecedented growth of WSB in the UK could be attributed to the Foggy Factor and a conspicuous Sky TV deal bringing it to the masses. In the late '90s Brands was the biggest sporting event in the country by attendance. Throw in some real characters such as Nori, Colin, Frankie, and a host of legendary entertaining wildcard rides -(steady Gaz) - and you have the perfect formula to challenge the by then processional GP series.

I like your Ferrari analogy. It's true Ducati rote the rule book and I always thought that the Flammini's pandered to this. The ridiculous ....... 750 cap on the fours butchered the series and caused the defection of the Japanese factories. I always thought that Hodgy's champoinship on the 999 was somewhat hollow and pyrrhic given the allegations of a diluted and weakened series given the exodus of Bayliss, Edwards and Haga, and the weighting to the Ducati, that reduced its significance - less so Toseland's second. The lifting of the 1000cc restriction revived it's fortunes somewhat, and with the eventual arrival of great riders such as Biaggi and Spies it quickly regained its reputation and renown.

The Brits have made it their own, but regrettably it remains marginalised where even the likes of Rea, Sykes, Haslam, Camier, and Davies fail to capture the fervour of the Foggy years in the absence of promotion and the popularity of GP.

propagandhi said:

Thanks for that I agree and am aware of what you say. I'm just too lazy and not eloquent enough to write like you .
Y did no one call me an ....... yet?

The lingering question : is sbk necessary if (!) There are good national series? Bsb quite arguably trumps wsbk viewer interest in its market.
Shame that diamonds like rea go unnoticed.

Are two world championships sustainable if so similar? I'd love for sbk to be the off season compliment to gp

Click to expand...

I was thinking the same.. Would be Great if WSBK would started at the end of November.

Also, thanks Arrab for the history...

propagandhi said:

Thanks for that I agree and am aware of what you say. I'm just too lazy and not eloquent enough to write like you .
Y did no one call me an ....... yet?

The lingering question : is sbk necessary if (!) There are good national series? Bsb quite arguably trumps wsbk viewer interest in its market.
Shame that diamonds like rea go unnoticed.

Are two world championships sustainable if so similar? I'd love for sbk to be the off season compliment to gp

Click to expand...

.......! Happy?

Agreed, Arrab is by far the most eloquent writer on this board..

Cheers '22, disagree though...nowhere near - that'll be Mike or 'Sun by a mile.

Anyway, back on topic

I love WSBK and wish it was promoted more. There are only so many seats in GP capable of winning. Having another world championship with fast bikes where talent can shine is a good thing. Who wants to see Rea wasted in Moto GP, on a privateer bike that was only ever meant to run 5th?

Mr. Shupe said:

I love WSBK and wish it was promoted more. There are only so many seats in GP capable of winning. Having another world championship with fast bikes where talent can shine is a good thing. Who wants to see Rea wasted in Moto GP, on a privateer bike that was only ever meant to run 5th?

Click to expand...

He'd have ended up on a factory bike eventually, he's better than any other UK'er who's given GP a shot in the last 20 years. Looked good filling in for Stoner and made the Fireblade actually look half decent in WSBK for half a decade.

WSBK always seemed more popular in the 90s in New Zealand due to Aaron Slight, not sure these days.