Superbike: The Championship to come
First presentation of the next season
Having quickly archived the just concluded championship, the teams immediately concentrated on the 2015 championship, which will be characterized as always by many new features.
As the new World Champion, Sylvain Guintoli will try to defend the title he won in Aprilia in every way possible, riding his new Honda from the Pata World Superbike Team, paired with the other World Champion (Supersport) Michael van der Mark.
Jonathan Rea, historic Pata Honda rider, has moved to the Kawasaki Racing team alongside the British Tom Sykes.
Without an official Aprilia team for the first time since 2009, the Red Devils team will have the responsibility of keeping the name of the Noale company high: for this reason the Italian team will rely on the experience of former Honda Leon Haslam and the desire to make rookie Jordi Torres.
The only team confirmed as a whole will be that of the Ducati Superbike Team: both Davide Giugliano and Chaz Davies are eager to test the potential of the 2015r version of the 1199 Panigale R, modified for the new technical regulations that come into force next year.
The Voltcom Crescent Suzuki team is another of the teams that have undergone major changes: former MotoGP Randy De Puniet will join Alex Lowes, and will be supported by an almost completely new team, including Pete Jennings (Team Chief Lowes).
Toni Elias and Ayrton Badovini will share the garage of the newly formed JR Racing Team, while the former 125 world champion Nico Terol and the Italian Matteo Baiocco will race aboard the 1199 Panigale R of the Althea team.
The Hero EBR team will not be missing either, in the starting blocks with Niccolò Canepa and Larry Pegram. The American expert will also be in charge of managing the team which will remain European based in northern Italy.
BMW Motorrad Italia has confirmed Sylvain Barrier as its sole rider for next season, with the hope that 2015 will bring greater fortune to the Frenchman.
However, the official announcement at MV Agusta for the sole guide is still missing, even if in Jerez de la Frontera it was Leon Camier who got on the Italian bike.
2015 will also be the opportunity to see David Salom, recent winner of the EVO class, riding a Kawasaki Factory under the banner of the Pedercini team, and to welcome back Leandro Mercado in the top category who won the title in STK1000 and who will race with a Ducati from the Barni Racing team.
Among the rookies also Christophe Ponsson (Grillini Racing).
In short, almost everything is ready for the 2015 season, which will begin very early in January with a busy series of tests, before arriving at Phillip Island.
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The SBK to come? Well, SBK as a sporting category has been over for a while now, it remains the beautiful showcase for motorbikes.
To tell the truth, with only the EVOs we return to a category derived from the series but the non-modifiable gearbox devalues the sporting aspect of the category a bit, nothing serious but it's a shame, also because the regulation remains what it is, a clashes of rules to equalize engines with different numbers of cylinders (assuming it succeeds).
The only truly SBK and truly balanced championship remains the original one, 4 cylinders 750 cc, 3 cylinders 900 cc, 2 cylinders 1000 cc (with the same weight).
Today they should bring the twin-cylinder to 1400 cc to be equivalent to the 4-cylinder 1000 cc, a cubic capacity that at the moment would seem good for a custom or touring car, not exactly ideal for a super sports car, but the real problem is not this, the real problem is the manufacturers' politics and the ignorance that rages when it comes to engines, both among the public and among journalists.
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