2019 World Superbike Championship

[cg7aa]

With news that Honda are partnering with Althea and Moriwaki in 2019, where does that leave Ten Kate? Camier stays but Kiyonari makes a comeback. I'm perplexed by that to be honest. I would have thought they would keep Gagne who was showing some good form towards the end of the year.

http://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/2019...i%20for%202019

[S griffin]

Kiyo is one of those ones who don’t notice a lot of the time. He either goes really good or really bad

[LPP68]

Season has started again! I just watched the first race. Quite an interesting race. For p2....

[justracing]

One word says it all, Bautista! What a sensation

[justracing]

Philip Island often throws up some unusual results but from a WSBK rookie that was some performance from the Spaniard. Encouragingly we appear to have a real battle coming up throughout the season with the new v4 Ducatis and the Yamahas looking strong against the Kawasakis , Haslam also looks to be on the pace against the mighty Rea.

[S griffin]

Saw the highlights on ITV4 last night. Great double by Bautista and Haslam ran Rea close in that second race. Should be in for a good season on the strength of that

[justracing]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Saw the highlights on ITV4 last night. Great double by Bautista and Haslam ran Rea close in that second race. Should be in for a good season on the strength of that

Triple!

[ScotsBrutesFan]

If you have access to Eurosport the races are live. Usually Eurosport 2, they also have a subscription app called Eurosport Player which carries live events.

[Dani Filth]

at the moment it's a bit of kwaka in 2018 for Ducati
impressive Bautista on top and Davies nowhere
from what i understood after 3 events there might be an adjustment of revs .. it will be needed for the rest of the field

[Dani Filth]

not much to say after 11 straight wins
makes the last 4 years domination look highly competitive

[justracing]

Cracking races from Assen despite the bizarre weather conditions on Saturday. The opening few laps of the second race was sensational.

[Mike Bell]

Watched the Imola race from yesterday, and was pleased to see a Kawasaki win! Nothing against Ducati, I own one, but domination by any make doesn’t keep me interested. Ironic that Duc get beaten at a circuit so close to the factory.

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by Mike Bell

Watched the Imola race from yesterday, and was pleased to see a Kawasaki win! Nothing against Ducati, I own one, but domination by any make doesn’t keep me interested. Ironic that Duc get beaten at a circuit so close to the factory.

Don't forget Kawasaki have been dominating WSB for the last few years with Rea

[Mike Bell]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

Don't forget Kawasaki have been dominating WSB for the last few years with Rea

Yes, but I’m old and have a very short memory!

[justracing]

Great to see Chaz Davis on the podium again. Watching that rerun of Edwards vs Bayliss from 2002 during the rain stoppage made me think that the degree of lean lean angle has increased substantially over the years.

[Graz]

Originally Posted by justracing

Great to see Chaz Davis on the podium again. Watching that rerun of Edwards vs Bayliss from 2002 during the rain stoppage made me think that the degree of lean lean angle has increased substantially over the years.

The tyres have gotten better to allow it. It was great to watch, V-Twins everywhere, just before the 1,000cc 4's came along.

[justracing]

Originally Posted by Graz

The tyres have gotten better to allow it. It was great to watch, V-Twins everywhere, just before the 1,000cc 4's came along.

Agreed, I've only been following top level 2 wheel races for around 10 years or so with real interest but watching the likes of Hodgson, Toseland, Frankie Chilli and the samurai of slide, Haga round the gp loop at Brands is a very special memory.

[S griffin]

Just seen the highlights on ITV4. The old king Rea finally ends Bautista’s reign. Did wonder why the Superpole race had so much coverage on the highlights package and of course the reason being the second race was cancelled due to the weather

[cg7aa]

I was at Donington last Sunday. Great weather and not a bad crowd either. Who wudda thought Alvaro would be behind Rea in the championship after the first 10 or so races?

These riders are incredible. My jaw dropped every time I watched them come out of the old hairpin and accelerate hard ALL the way to the entry into McLean's! How on earth do the bikes stay underneath them? It looked like the rear was about to go into an almighty slide every time. Incredible to watch.

[S griffin]

Alvaro was really causing an upset by dominating the start of the season, now the status quo is back to normal with Rea back on top. It’s not over yet though

[merak1974]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Alvaro was really causing an upset by dominating the start of the season, now the status quo is back to normal with Rea back on top. It’s not over yet though

No, it isn't over yet, but Bautista really needs to race "smarter" and stay on the bike from now on.

[justracing]

Originally Posted by cg7aa

I was at Donington last Sunday. Great weather and not a bad crowd either. Who wudda thought Alvaro would be behind Rea in the championship after the first 10 or so races?

These riders are incredible. My jaw dropped every time I watched them come out of the old hairpin and accelerate hard ALL the way to the entry into McLean's! How on earth do the bikes stay underneath them? It looked like the rear was about to go into an almighty slide every time. Incredible to watch.

I'm like you, I've watched the WSBK guys at Brands(although not in recent years) and I'm absolutely astonished how the bikes defy gravitational and centrifugal forces in remaining upright, the level of adhesion is incredible. Come to that the BSB guys put on a pretty good show as well.
Apart from Rea who is in a class of his own, the rider that has impressed me this season is Toprak, or Superglue 2 as I prefer to call him. His finishing record is very impressive. Really good to see Chaz get a win in Laguna, hopefully a return to winning form.

[Dani Filth]

Originally Posted by merak1974

No, it isn't over yet, but Bautista really needs to race "smarter" and stay on the bike from now on.

and he didnt... again.

[S griffin]

What the hell has gone wrong with Bautista? Has he suddenly found the bike doesn't suit him or something? Or has the pressure got to him? Good to see Chas win again, but once agian Johnny is a class above everyone else

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by S griffin

What the hell has gone wrong with Bautista? Has he suddenly found the bike doesn't suit him or something? Or has the pressure got to him? Good to see Chas win again, but once agian Johnny is a class above everyone else

Well Rea has won it before the next round ! and as you said ( What the hell has gone wrong with Bautista ? )
It would appear that (according to press reports) it's Ducati's expectations that affected his performance and internal squabbling within the factory team.
Meanwhile Rea just got on with riding his bike like always It was good to see Sykes on the Beemer up the sharp end.