This weekend saw the WSB series visit Misano, Italy, and championship leader Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) delivered a double win for the green team with teammate Tom Sykes finishing second in both races. Saturday’s Race 1 found Honda’s Michael van der Mark coming home third, while Davide Giugliano (Ducati) filled out the podium after Race 2. You can follow these links for full results from Race 1 and Race 2. For additional details and points, visit the official WSB site.
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yep…WSBK racing is a real nail biter lol
Best bike and the best team, where the best riders gravitate.
There’s really no question here. It’s the bike. Johnny Rea was still Johnny Rea when he rode for Honda a couple of years ago, and he couldn’t get a sniff of the title. Sylvain Guintoli went from winning the title on the devastating Aprilia to riding in relative obscurity now.
Only two bikes have won a MotoGP race in half a decade.
No question, it’s the bike. The rider determines which Kawi or Ducati will win in WSB or which Honda or Yamaha will win in MotoGP, but it’s definitely the bike.
It’s the bike, funding and team. Only two Kawasaki’s are capable of winning in wsdk. Only two Hondas and yamahas are capable of winning in MotoGP despite the many others participating.
Scuse me? by your own admission….the Aprilia (perennial underdog) WON rider championships in 2010, 2012, 2014 and won manufacturers championships in ..2010, 2012, 2013, 2014 with a fractional budget of the more well heeled teams. Even with Gigi being stolen away by Ducati. No comparison to the rich teams.
Bike or rider…either way it’s high time for Kawasaki to direct their in-house racing engineering team to a motoGP effort.
I disagree
Their concentrating on Superbikes and Supersport has raised the Kawasaki profile massively.
At the time of their depature from MotoGP, there was a feeling that Honda pull the strings at that level, and that feeling hasn’t gone away.
Suzuki seem to have hung all their hopes on MotoGP which is a gamble. It seems to be paying off atthe moment, but the expense must be collosal, especially when you look at how their model line up is developing these days.
On the other hand, staying in WSBK is a lot cheaper and for them at least, probably sells more bikes. They haven’t been a championship winner at the GP level since 1982 in the 350 class.
Yea, MotoGp is the premier league, but you can’t buy one at the dealer. I for one miss the days before GP went four stroke and rendered Superbike to a lower tier status..
I don’t think we’ll be seeing Kawasaki in MotoGP so long as they feel they are getting a solid ROI from WSBK competition:
http://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/motogp-too-expensive-for-us-says-kawasaki/
+1 with Jeremy. In the grand scheme of things, what sells more bikes for Kawasaki. A bike riders can’t have, but just look at behind a velver rope, or a bike riders can go to a local dealer, sit on and purchase if they wish.
No one needs to explain to me how the win on Sunday, buy on Monday thing works but taking stock in myself, I don’t think I’ve followed it except once. Looking back, only one had any big credentials in race form (Interceptor).
I guess I’d never really thought of this really much in the past. For me, who’s winning on the track means little to me as I guess I don’t seek to emulate teams, brands or riders.
It has nothing to do with what kind or brand of motorcycle I buy either, and I am a pretty big race fan.
Kawi should stay out of MotoGp. They have smallest market share of the Japanese Mfrs, and would gain little from MotoGP. WSBK is about production bike exposure, and MotoGp is heavily weighted upon cult of personality. Rossi fans will be Rossi fans regardless of what bike he rides. In WSBK brand counts for more.
New M1 is blurring the lines between MotoGp and WSBK, and the new Honda and Suzuki could add to the overlap. Governing body wants WSBK to be lower tier, and we should see further restrictions shortly. US road racing could benefit because fewer allowable changes in WSBK COULD facilitate common rules in US road racing. US, BSB, and WSBK with common rules would increase the level of bike support from all brands. Wasn’t the cost of supporting so many rule sets a major, yet not only, reason for US road racing turning into the Suzuki cup a few years back?
And PJ was on the podium in WSS. Next to Greg Hancock the highest placing American at the world level.
Bike or rider?
Exactly.