WSB (World Superbike)

Very late this thread, but have to mark the 5 in - a - row Championships for the incredible Jonathan Rea! In a season where they tried their damnedest to take it away from him with the new regs, he stuck it to them all once again! We are all so proud of him - not only for his achievements - but for the man himself, his character and the way he conducts himself, which represents who the vast, vast majority of us truly are!!

Special mention for Alviro Bautista!! Pushed Jonathan all the way, and after the first 10 - or - so races, seemed to have JR's number - fantastic debut season for him!! This victory for JR is all the more remarkable for that fact, and the way he then turned it all around to take out the championship with 6 races remaining.....remarkable!!

If this is the only comment here, still worth it !!

I know this thread has been dormant for some time, but had to acknowledge the changing of the guard after 6 years of dominance from our Boy Jonathan Rea.

Congrats to Toprak Razgatlioglu for being too good this year for JR. So much so, thet JR had 3 or 4 spills this season which would have been unthinkable before, such was the pressure!

Toprak for sure a worthy champion!! Leaving aside Jonathan's dominance, the racing in WSB has been fabulous, with close fairing to fairing in a number of races - particular this year! It used to be the same in MotoGP but to my mind, it is now a procession save for the spills.

New Season starts tomorrow!! It will be different to see JR start without the #1 to defend. As I said at the end of last season, congrats to Toprak for a much deserved title. Only on loan though, and now normal service resumes (hopefully). JR seems confident that the technical changes to the bike will bring back the much heralded stability and handling of the last 6 - 7 years. We will see!!

Your a week early hornball it's next weekend anyway hopeful will be more competitive similar to what Moto GP has thrown up already this season

(03-04-2022 21:18 )Geriisgreat Wrote:  Your a week early hornball it's next weekend anyway hopeful will be more competitive similar to what Moto GP has thrown up already this season

Just testing you Geri' stupid me!! Anyhow, yeah the MotoGP season has got off to a rolicking start. Still not the closest multi bike fairing - to - fairing as their used to be i think (rose tinted glasses??) but certainly unpredictable. Portomao should provide the best race of the year. I hope MotoGP continues to 'spread it's wings' in this fashion.

Back to WSB, and it looks like from early testing, that it may be even more competitive this year too. Good vibes about the packages developed from a number of the teams. Still pulling for JR though!!

It's all good has felt a little odd how late it's starting this year like you definitely backing Johnny rea to get back his title whilst hopeful maybe more than 3 will be involved in the title hunt

Good start from JR to the season taking out the first race yesterday!! Maybe too many changes to the bike for the second run, and not quite on it?? Such a fine line between getting a set up that works as yesterday - and making adjustments to find that little bit more, and finding that you have gone in the wrong direction. Fine margins to the performance of these machines!.

Fantastic first race in the Czech Rep today with toe - to - toe between Rea Razgatlioglu Redding and Bautista. While Bautista ultimately had a relatively comfortable win, Rea and the other two had a titanic battle for the podium places, with tit - for - tat passing (some of it scarcely believable) JR had the same hand lever issues that have plagued him this season raise their head again and finished in fourth. Razgat and Redding continued to produce racing that left you open mouthed , with the former holding second to the line.

Even Keith Heuwen - while continuing to claim Moto GP as the premier class - has conceded that in terms of out and out racing, that it is now some way behind WSB for entertainment. Awesome stuff!!

^^ And again today!! What a battle again between these three incredible riders, but this time 1st and 2nd swapped around with JR on to the podium in 3rd! It is just amazing what these guys keep producing time after time, and the bike skills to pull off such overtakes corner after corner and stay upright is mind boggling!

I started to get into Superbike racing in 2023 at least in part because it is more competitive than F1 and more exciting to watch.
That interest continues into 2024.