The post weekend interview with Toprak was very telling. A couple of times he referred to this year's championship as the "Ducati Cup" (he has a point) and if it were to pan out this way, he would not want to continue in it. WSBK is in danger, as is the case in MotoGP, of every team wanting to ride on the successful coat tails of a dominant bike, but all the arbitrary rules and penalties levied left right and centre are just hampering the grid as a whole and do nothing to close up the field. The 500rpm increase for the Panigale V4's has elevated most of the Bologna machines back into the top ten, but has done nothing to drag Kawasaki or Yamaha any closer. I am not sure what the answer is but with Suzuki out of the equation it also limits any team's choice as to the hardware they go with for a season. I am naturally pleased to see the likes of Lowes and Redding up there in the mix, but I do feel as if it's "dominance by numbers" now, and sheer presence on the grid, that is shaping the course of the race series.
I’m going with Craig jones unless anyone can beat it? No idea in this country though. Has shakey had a corner named after him?
Yes I agree, in 2020 Alex Lowes came 2nd in R1 and won R2, 4th in SR and so he lead the WC after Round 1 and then never probably again.
Ya, the second Supersport race is amazing! Well worth watching if you haven’t seen it! The commentary is poor, so you might want to reduce the volume...
I’m surprised there has been no discussion about TR’s late braking stunt in the first lap of the sprint race. His skill set is braking but it was clear, or at least it was clear to me, the BMW brakes weren’t working. The display of frustration after the pit stop in race 2 is becoming a bit of a TR trade mark. Yamaha, Honda and Kawasaki (not Bimota) have made no improvements in the off season which is very disappointing. JR actually made a valid point that none of those manufacturers have the market following to support a premium homologation bike like Ducati and the V4R. Both Bimota and BMW have a proven engine in a new chassis to develop so I expected them to be average. I’m absolutely certain, when Ducati dominate at Portimao, their fuel flow will be decreased which to my mind will only benefit one rider, Toprak because none of the other rider/bike packages are remotely competitive. Andy
