World Superbikes 2022

[chrisb]

here we go, Aragon, looking good as are the bikes, also sounding beautiful, especially in WSS as we now have the makings of a wonderful grid, what with my beloved Triumph's that gorgeous 765cc triple - The MV's and Ducati Panigale twins vs the 4's of the Japanese and one or two quite well known names WSS is looking very healthy, 

WSB, is also shaping up after the 3rd practice with Loris Baz quickest on a BMW, which came as a pleasant surprise - Scott improving a great deal and may well end up doing rather well, but of course it is the very rapid Yamaha's and Kawasaki's complete with the Ducati's that really will mix things up, and not ignoring Honda either, with their Moto2 imported riders who will surely start to develop into a real threat - 

the news that Jack Burnicle, the best commentator in recent years won't be commentating on BSB and the occasional WSB is devastating to say the least, however I am pleased Greg Haines is continuing and proving that he learns and develops into a pretty good commentator, the jury is still out on his co-commentator James Toseland, sometimes very good and has built up a good repartee with Greg - so maybe he is also developing his skills

really looking forward to a great meeting 

[charleselan]

Well we have had the first round of WSB this past weekend at Aragon and it was painful, well for my family anyway . Scott's move to BMW was worse than many had predicted, undoubtably his worst performance since being in the WSB paddock. he obviously has not got the bike to anyway near what he needs and being beaten by a temporary team mate was not good.

All made worse as his crash prone replacement had two wins and second place. Obviously as anyone who knows about such things the fact that Bautista is about half the weight of Scott and the size of a gnat means that his straight-line speed is on another level. Also do not doubt that Ducati have thrown a lot more at the 2022 Panigalé than they did over the past two years.

Great ride by Johnny Rea however who was mega impressive all weekend.

[chrisb]

it was seriously disappointing, gutted for Scott and hope against hope that things improve very quickly,

Jonathon looked very impressive and any question marks over his commitment was quickly dispersed, Yamaha looked slower than expected and it looks like after an amazing year Yamaha may struggle in many forms this year.

What has got great potential is the WSS, a fabulous mixture of machinery that sounds like a series to watch for - Triumph's vs Ducati vs MV vs Yamaha and Kawasaki - great stuff

[chrisb]

Sorry forgot to mention it was Assen last weekend, the Cathedral lived up to its name - and oh dear more controversy - with Jonathon and Toprak coming together and crashing out whose fault was it? well, they are blaming each other so this may spice things up, Bautista is riding well at the moment and so long he keeps it on the road he will be difficult to beat 

a much better weekend for Scott with a very hard-earned 6th after running 4th for a long time - although he did describe the BMW as it feels like I am riding a bleep bleep alligator' although it appears there was a hole in the tyre 

the problem was one of scheduling, we had MotoGP on one computer and the WSB on another and F1 race on a tablet - no wonder I get confused, you would think especially Dorna they could co-ordinate things better

[chrisb]

Donington plays out to excessive heat and great track action with Toprak earning a great hat trick but the great news is Scott’s first podium on the BMW

[chrisb]

Just to let you know that there has been no announcement from Scott as to his plans for next year other than he will continue in WSB so fingers crossed it will be a step forward

[chrisb]

was down at Donington this weekend for the WSB, not the greatest of races but Toprak is head and shoulders about everyone else, - Scott's best weekend for such a long time, with two 4th's and a retirement with mechanical issues, a very large crowd enjoyed some brief sunshine, t'was a shame I didn't enjoy the same riding home, wretched weather and non-stop roadworks on the M1, arghhhhhh, 

[chrisb]

So Toprak did it on the unfancied BMW and did it in style. 

John's namesake Scott had quite a lacklustre result yet as usual tried his hardest - now for the good news, he is back on a Ducati for 2025 and that feel very good