Laguna Seca (California, USA), Thursday 10 July 2014 – Earlier today a selection of WSBK riders kick started the US round of the 2014 eni FIM Superbike World Championship with a trip to the renowned Monterey Aquarium.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team), Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team), Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike), Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike Team – EVO), Aaron Yates (Team Hero EBR) and Christian Iddon (Team Bimota Alstare – EVO) were joined by wildcard riders Larry Pegram (Foremost Insurance EBR) and Chris Ulrich (GEICO Motorcycle Road Racing Honda) to spend a couple of hours at the local attraction. They were treated to a guided tour of the aquarium and one of the largest open sea exhibits in the world. The exhibit holds 1 million gallons of water and houses a variety of creatures including sharks, tuna and turtles to name but a few.
On their return to the Laguna Seca circuit the riders involved in today’s media event were able to join their rivals for the customary two hour track familiarisation session, which given the fact that the circuit is new for many of the entrants will prove valuable come tomorrow’s three Free Practice sessions which are scheduled to commence at 10:30 am local time.
Before the visit to the aquarium Marco Melandri, Loris Baz and Leon Camier, substitute rider for the injured Claudio Corti in the MV Agusta Reparto Corseteam, were also involved in a unique event held at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – “Hot Wheels & High Heels” that saw a number of local female business women, politicians and journalists descend on the paddock for a closer look at the activities and organisational aspects of a World Superbike event.
