World Superbike Round at Laguna Seca Confirmed

Not that there was anything but a strong expectation for World Superbike racing to return to Laguna Seca in 2014, but the World Superbike Championship has issued a press release confirming the July race.

With American road racing fans having been through a lot, both at the national and international level, the past few years, the announcement helps ease the concerns of many race fans, who may have been on the fence about making plans for Coastal California weekend.

The announcement also reveals an interesting twist, with GEICO signed up as the presenting sponsor of the American WSBK round. For those following the money, GEICO recently dialed-back its involvement in the AMA Pro Road Racing series, which to this date, still only has five race weekends on its calendar (UPDATE: AMA Pro Racing has been added to the WSBK round).

Despite seeing the Mid-Ohio move its AMA round from its conflicting date, an announcement of a deal between Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and DMG has not been forthwith. At this point, it looks doubtful that a sixth round will be added to the AMA calendar, and thus serve as the support class for World Superbikes.

With MotoGP only headed to two locations in the USA this year, Austin and Indianapolis, attendance at the Laguna Seca WSBK round is expected to much larger than last year’s ghost town. If not, professional motorcycle racing in the Western United States could be in trouble…i.e. non-existant outside of John Ulrich’s “Triple Crown” event.