You know…you
can sense it...it’s coming...slowly but surely…even the weather seems to be
picking up. Spring is around the corner – we have lambs in the fields near me -
and that means there are motorcycles of all varieties, capacities and
manufacturers being started up and sent out for testing at racetracks in
Europe, Asia and ‘the gateway to hyperthermia’ (quote courtesy of Barry Sheene
Esq.) Phillip Island.
In Spain the
most entertaining class of 2011, Moto2 has embarked on its second test of 2012
down at Jerez de la Frontera after a successful 3 day shakedown Valencia last
week. Scott Redding came out of that test on top with not only an unofficial
fastest lap, but a stunning race simulation too. The Gloucester boy was
understandably happy with his first outing of the year on his new Marc VDS
Racing Kalex machine and is looking to take that forward to this test and
reaffirm his potential as a title contender for 2012.
Bradley Smith
wasn’t so fortunate with his first test but, it’s early days yet for the Tech 3
rider. The bike is all new so will take a little time in finding that base
setting, but when he does, I expect him to be further up the timesheets. It’s a
big season for Bradley; he already has a MotoGP contract in place for 2013 with
his Monster Tech 3 Yamaha parent team so he really has to start delivering the
results and gain some race-winning credibility before the move up to the big
bikes.
I know that
testing is exactly what it says it is and the fact is that there are all sorts
of smoke screens, double-bluffs and PR artistic licence (not to mention the
lack of actual race engines) to fudge the figures so we have to wait until
Qatar to see the real picture as always.
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It’s been a
busy time in BSB – current team previews to be found Part 1 here and Part 2 here and part 3 still to come - after the
flurry of announcements in late January. The unfortunate injury to Ian ‘Hutchy’
Hutchinson and his subsequent replacement has been the subject of much debate. Rumours
on social media networks linked the ride with such luminaries as Moto2 outcast Ant
West and Japanese WSB rider and, hero of many, Noriyuki Haga mentioned as two
such possible replacements.
It came as no surprise, to those who read a
certain post and the subsequent conversations on twitter last Friday, that Swan
Yamaha announced on Monday 13th Feb that fan-favourite Haga was the
man chosen to replace TT legend Hutchy for the forthcoming season. All rumour
and talk before that Friday announcement pointed to the fact that it was all in
favour of West for the vacant seat in Shaun Muir’s team, I would have even put
a full £1 coin on it being so...which clearly shows how much I actually know!
However it
wasn’t to be the case for West and the likeable Aussie, who after initially and
emphatically tweeting that he ‘would NOT be riding for Supersonic BMW’, has now
performed a full about-turn and actually signed to ride in BSB for the former
World Superbike squad. I personally am really happy to see Westy finally get a
ride in BSB to help resurrect his career and can only hope my well-supported
twitter campaign of #GetWestyInBSB might have helped...but I doubt it!
On the
subject of money and sponsorship - can you imagine a footballer, for instance,
being offered a place at major club but be unable to accept it as either he
couldn’t bring sponsorship with him to cover his wages or was rejected as he
wanted to be actually paid for playing? No, me neither. This is the state of
play in our sport and I do worry for the future of it sometimes. I don’t know
the in’s and out’s of either Haga’s or West’s deals but somehow somewhere money
has, legally obviously, changed hands via a ‘welcome’ or sponsorship deals to
enable these appointments to take place.
The one thing
that really did leave me scratching my head this week was that even though we
have the arrival of new teams and a handful of exciting foreign riders trying
their hand at the most competitive domestic series on the planet, our 125cc
British Champion Kyle Ryde was scrabbling around trying to raise funds to race
for 2012 and almost ended up having to sit out the year due to lack of
sponsorship. He was not trying to raise the £1000’s to race in the Spanish
series to give him the best shot of a future Moto3 ride, not to race in the
World Championship itself or the Red Bull rookies support series, it was just
to go out and defend his national title. Seriously, if the sport can afford to
warmly welcome non-British entrants in to the big class and secure sponsorship
for teams, surely it can facilitate some kind of sponsorship for our own young
Champions to help secure the future of racing?!
Another
development in BSB was the release of Simon Andrews from the PR Racing Kawasaki
squad this week. Now I’ve heard differing reports on this story as to the whys
and wherefores of how it came about – one source suggesting PR’s hand was
forced and another stating it was Andrews’ contract with Honda for the Roads
and Endurance Racing series that saw him leave the Liverpool-based squad, but
as Andrews’ rightly went public asking why is it was deemed wrong to try and
earn a living from racing. Andrews is currently still injured, with his leg
currently behind schedule for healing, but his condition and his Honda contract
are all things the team knew before announcing the squad, so it’s all got a
little too political behind the scenes. I hope Simon heals fully and does well
on the Endurance circuit and the roads this year; he has my full support.
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The first
series to kick of the race season is, as usual, World Superbikes down at the
stunning Phillip Island circuit in Australia. The main protagonists for the
2012 have just completed a 3 day test at the Island with last year’s runaway
champion Carlos Checa ominously topping the overall time-sheets on his
‘non-factory’ private Althea Ducati 1098R...with a 6 kilogram penalty weight on
the bike too!
It was great
to see Tom Sykes at the sharp end of the times on the Kawasaki Race Team
ZX-10R, the Grinner could be a good outside bet for a top three place come the
end of the season as he hopes to build on his first ever Superbike class win
last season.
Saddest news
of the test were the injuries to British Superbike runner-up and former MotoGP
star John Hopkins and Northern Irish Aprilia new boy
Eugene Laverty.
‘Hopper’ has
damaged the remainder of the finger that he badly broke in qualifying for the
Brno MotoGP round back in August, and had subsequently partially amputated
recently, and is expected to be out for up to 6 weeks therefore missing the
start of the season and not to mention valuable points in the championship
chase. TAS Suzuki’s Aussie BSB rider Josh Brookes has been drafted in as
replacement for Hopper for the first round in just 7 days time.
Eugene was a
victim of the super-fast Turn 1 at PI, joining a distinguished list of riders
to fall foul of the infamous right-hander. Laverty smacked both his left hand
and head hard when he fell, breaking a bone in his hand and suffering slight
concussion. He has since returned to Northern Ireland to seek further medical
advice, although it is expected he’ll be on the grid for the first race.
It’s going to
be a great season for WSB if Checa can be reigned in – Laverty, a fit Hopkins,
Biaggi, Rea, new boy to the series and former Honda MotoGP rider Hiroshi
Aoyama, rookie Chaz Davies, Sykes, Haslam, Melandri and Camier are all
potential race winners making it yet another race series that is almost
impossible to call!
Like you, I
really cannot wait for the season to get under way on all fronts - with WSB
kicking it all off just one week from now. There is far too much talk and not
enough action to report on, but that is all about to change and, I for one,
welcome it with open arms, an open mind and a fully-charged laptop.
As always,
thanks for reading.
