2013 WSBK No-Spoiler Catch-All Thread

Greg White says that Geoff May will ride a factory EBR in WSBK next year. 2d rider to be named. No word yet if the bike will be SBK or EVO spec.

Cool. Big week for EBR.

The homologation question remains.

They need to sell 500 units by June 30th next year, 1000 by the end of 2014, and 2000 a year later. Aprilia have struggled to make the homologation totals for the RSV4, how will EBR manage?

Hopefully racing on the world stage will be a good contribution to the company's marketing.

EBR introduced a $20,000 version of their EBR1190RS today. Maybe they can move enough of those? I can see Aprilia having a problem. Does Ducati sell enough of the $30,000 Paginale R models to qualify?

Ducati shift loads of Panigales, it's one of their biggest sellers, and one of the best selling sports bikes available. RSV4 - the championship winning RSV4 - barely sells at all. Paddock rumor suggests that Aprilia never actually sold sufficient RSV4s to be homologated...

Great quote from Troy Corser that I think illuminates the future of WorldSBK. He's forming a new team to race a pair of Evo BMWs next year:

"I have a five-year plan," Corser said. "With a budget of 3 million euros per season, you can have two riders and you can play the game when all the bikes will be the Evo."

The racing annals are full of sanctioning bodies turning a blind eye to manufacturers' thin sales numbers. As long as it results in strong, interesting grids, so be it.

I'm wondering specifically about the Paginale S model?* Isn't that the bike homologated for WSBK? I wouldn't be surprised by the base model meeting those numbers but its seems like big numbers for a $30K bike which must cost appreciably more in other markets. Guess I need to read the WSBK regs and see how specific they are about the model.

Edit. I mean the Paginale "R" model as state earlier.

It used to be they only needed to produce X numbers of bike, not actually sell.

Buell is 49.xx% owned by Hero. If they want to produce enough bikes, they are in the game. Hero has some rather lofty goals for a sportbike in a declining market and a tough economy.

Buell needs to do away with the goofy front brake if they ever plan to be seriously.

Ducati produces enough "R" models for homologation. Sales is a different story.

Thanks for correcting me. I was also referring to the "R" model in my second post.

Checa Retires from Racing

Crappy, injury filled season results in no good offers for 2014, so might as well bag it.

And he's 41.

Ducati TT claims another career.

Italian blog is claiming Alstare and Ducati will split.

http://www.motoblog.it/post/261137/...ter&utm_campaign=Feed:+motoblog/it+(motoblog)

Shocking.

I am wondering if even Gigi can pull Ducati's head out of their ass.

I truly hope so, but I am very skeptical. VERY.

Aww man. I love Carlos. I wish he had retired his last winning season instead of dealing with this horrible year as his last.

So to be taken seriously in a market glutted with a bunch of "me too" bikes, they should become one too. Motorcyclists, so rebel they can't consider anything out of the norm as viable. It's a wonder that today motorcycles have fuel injection, disk brakes, and other such oddities. Heck, that goofy thing rear suspension. Yeah, that'll never be taken seriously.