You may remember Motorland Aragon as the fourth Spanish-based track that was added to the MotoGP schedule after the Hungarian GP was canceled for a second time in two years. Set to play host to MotoGP on September 19th of this year, the Spanish track has also just gotten the nod to host World Superbike with its premiere facilities. However WSBK is taking a different tack from MotoGP, and instead of running two Spanish stops, Motorland Aragon will replace Valencia on the World Superbike calendar for 2011 (and on through 2013).
The move for World Superbike is a bit of a surprise given the immensely large track-side audience that the Valencian track brings during motorcycling events. It’s rumored WSBK’s departure from Valencia is due in-part to pressure by MotoGP to have exclusive access to the Circuit Ricardo Tormo (host of the Valencian GP). Dorna and MotoGP are said to have close ties with the Valencian regional government.
While this news might be a disappointment to die-hard Spanish WSBK fans, the Aragon track is supposed to be a top-notch facility, and should provide good racing…so this isn’t the worst news ever for World Superbike. Besides, according to something we read on the internet, the Valencian track is being overrun with badgers. Badgers? We don’t need no stinken badgers!
Source: MotoMatters
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