WSBK Archives - Page 11 of 115

Rumors

Alvaro Bautista Close to Factory Honda 2020 WorldSBK Deal

By David Emmett 09/11/2019 No Comments

Alvaro Bautista will be staying in the World Superbike paddock and racing a Honda in 2020, it seems.

The plans for a new HRC-run WorldSBK team to be based in Barcelona, racing a brand new Honda CBR1000RR, put an end to any speculation that Bautista might be heading back to MotoGP to take the place of Johann Zarco at KTM for next year.

Rumors and reports from Portimao are solidifying the story that Bautista will be staying in WorldSBK. A thorough piece on German-language publication Speedweek set out Honda’s World Superbike plans for 2020, including the plans for a new bike.

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WSBK

Tom Sykes Signs On for Another Year with BMW in WorldSBK

By Jensen Beeler 09/10/2019 No Comments

It doesn’t surprise us to hear that Tom Sykes and BMW Motorrad have committed themselves to another season together, racing the BMW S1000RR in the WorldSBK Championship.

While the 2019 has been a slow start for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team, Sykes and the S1000RR have seen continued progress. As such, we have seen Sykes on pole position at the British round, and also on the podium at Misano, Donington Park, and Laguna Seca.

With this forward progress, BMW Motorrad says that its aim is to be on the box in 2020, and surely that means on the top step on more than one occasion.

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Rumors

Honda’s New CBR1000RR Appears to Have Active Aerodynamics

By Jensen Beeler 09/06/2019 No Comments

There has been no shortage of rumors about the “new” Honda CBR1000RR superbike. It is a story that pre-dates even the start of this publication, ever since Honda updated its liter bike offering for the 2008 model year.

And now, we seem finally set to see a new chapter in the Fireblade story, with the 2020 model year widely tipped to see the introduction of a new superbike from Big Red.

The machine has been rumored through movements in the WorldSBK Championship, the FIM Endurance World Championship, and other domestic series, and those stories have been supported by a series of patents found worldwide.

Now today, the eagle eyes of Ben Purvis at Cycle World have spotted another patent, one with an intriguing proposition – active aerodynamics.

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Podcast

Brap Talk Podcast #20 – Almost Weekly

By Jensen Beeler 08/30/2019 No Comments

Episode 20 of the Brap Talk podcast is now out for your two-wheeled audio pleasure, and this gets us back on track after a bit of a summer hiatus.

As such, we talk about our two-wheeled adventures over the past few weeks. This means Shahin talks about his off-roading adventures in the Pacific Northwest, while Jensen talks about his racing with OMRRA, which includes a stint racing an Energica Ego electric superbike.

The guys also talk a bit about WorldSBK’s stop in Laguna Seca, as well as why the Suzuka 8-Hours is an amazing race (the 2019 edition certainly had no shortage of action).

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WSBK

Scott Redding Replaces Alvaro Bautista at the Ducati WorldSBK Team for 2020

By David Emmett 08/28/2019 No Comments

It had been known unofficially for weeks, but today, the Aruba.it Ducati team announced that they have signed Scott Redding to ride for them in WorldSBK for the 2020 season.

Redding has had a very strong season in BSB since losing his ride in MotoGP with Aprilia, and is currently second in the standings behind Be Wiser Ducati teammate Josh Brookes.

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WSBK

Eugene Laverty Moves to BMW for the 2020 WorldSBK Season

By Jensen Beeler 08/16/2019 No Comments

Confirming our earlier report, Eugene Laverty has made his move to the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team official today, as he replaces Markus Reiterberger’s on the team.

The news marks a return to the Shaun Muir Racing team for Laverty, who rode for the squad in 2017 and 2018, under the Milwaukee Aprilia banner.

Struggling on the Team Go Eleven Ducati this year, Laverty’s move to the BMW Motorrad squad could be well-timed, as the German bike has shown great progress over the course of the 2019 WorldSBK season.

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Rumors

Alvaro Bautista Headed to Honda, And Other WorldSBK Rumors

By Jensen Beeler 08/07/2019 No Comments

It’s currently the long WorldSBK summer break, which means that the superbike paddock has more than enough time to wheel and deal…and then of course gossip.

There are a number of rumors coming for 2020, but none of them are nearly as good as the talk about Alvaro Bautista jumping ship from Ducati, to the factory-backed Honda squad.

That news comes along with the rumor that Honda will have a new superbike for the 2020 model year, which is something we have seen speculated about for some time.

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Podcast

Paddock Pass Podcast #109 – WorldSBK at Laguna Seca

By Jensen Beeler 07/19/2019 No Comments

Episode 109 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and this one is another WorldSBK show. As such, this means that we see Steve English joined by Gordon Ritchie on the mics, as they are now our World Superbike reporting duo for the 2019 season.

Recording straight from the United States, the guys talk about the on-track action at Laguna Seca, where we saw an unbelievable turn of events in the championship standings, mostly in the form of Alvaro Bautista’s complete meltdown on the track.

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