First Win WSBK, 1&2

[58058D]

Well, hot diggity, BMW finally got its first win in WSBK with the S1000RR!!!!
Haslem qualified 2nd, Melandri 3rd. Race 1 Melandri came in 1st by 7/10ths, Haslem 2nd 1 second ahead of Sykes. (Obviously their crews are tightening the rod bolts correctly....)

[mikereid]

I've followed the WSBK just for this moment. It is a great day!

Congrats to the teams for all their hard work and perseverance!

[40427]

I have been a racer in the past and follow all types of racing.
WSBK was always sort of a yawn as far as i was concerned, but not so any more.

I got to say; today"s races were spectacular .
I was on the edge of my seat from lap one in both races.
5 solid contenders neither asking or giving any quarter all the way to the finish.

Sort of a shame that both BMW riders were taken out on the last lap , last corner, but that as they say, is racing.

Super congratulations to BMW and their teams for a great finish in race one today

[DakotaMike]

WSBK a yawn? I find MotoGP very boring but have always liked WSBK.

Great day for BMW at Donnington Park, UK.

Shame the Irishman on the Honda has a brain fart and took out both BMW's on the last turn of race #2. Sorry, never been a Jonny Rae fan.

[58058D]

Was out balancing my tires and changing oil, etc on the S....so I just finished watching the second race. Wow, "that's racing".....What a heartbreak for both Haslem and Melandri. Both races today were certainly entertaining. Wish I could be in Tooele for the next round.

[Trucker]

I had hoped for Haslam to get that first win, but really happy for BMW. I thought it would have come a little sooner!

[lkchris]

And then there was Sunday ...

[98lee]

Was that two of the best races in a while or what?

Repeat on SPEED Tuesday 1-3pm Eastern (10am-noon Pacific?) Record it, you'll love it!!!!

[sedanman]

Kent, What has life done to you to make you such a cynic? I have not seen ONE constructive, positive post from you. If someone exposes a chink in their armor you are right there with a daggar. I can get along with just about anyone but you take the cake. There is a feature on this board to block a user one feels is objectionable. You Sir, are to be blocked.

[98lee]

For anyone who missed the races:

Repeat on SPEED Tuesday 1-3pm Eastern (10am-noon Pacific?)

Record it and show it to your riceburner friends. BMW has arrived!

[mika]

[40427]

for DakotaMike:

until this year I agree that Moto GP was getting a bit long in the tooth, now with two classes of bikes it may again become competitive. My opinion of the two classes is still undecided, time will tell.

WSBK to me was modified street bike racing. ( sort of like what the AMA has done to road racing here in the USA)
Yea I know they have all those special secret parts and pieces, but they are still street bikes as Kenny Roberts taught us.
The support classes are far more interesting to watch, since those kids aspire to Moto GP and then settle for WSBK if they have to.

Several of the WSBK riders had rides in GP but failed to either cut the mustard, could not garner the financing, or burned bridges so badly they are lucky to be anywhere on two wheels at this point in their lives.

The series to watch IMHO is Moto 2 and now Moto 3, those are some hungry kids with a set of huge cohones

[mika]

Bench racing is always a good time but when it comes down to it I like race. Picking one series over another is a bit like asking me to say which one of my kids I like better. We have fun together in different ways and at times for different reasons.

I agree that the undercard in MotoGP does not get the attention that it should. There is some great racing in large part because budget, rules and rider experience has a lot to do with the level playing field.

WSBK is the stop over for many riders on their way up and down. It has been the waiting room for MotoGP for the 25 years of its existence. If and when BMW decides to field a factory team in MotoGP Haslam and Melandri will be on the short list of riders, no doubt.

AMA SBK is still great in its own way but the various SBK series at the national levels, including AMA ProRacing, are not at the same level as WSBK.

[40427]

I would like to see some movement from BMW to get involved with the AMA series here.
Triumph is going great in the Super Sports classes, with Jason DeSalvo.

Josh Hays continues to dominate the upper series, but I doubt he will be in WSBK or GP at his age , unless he finds some big sponsor $$.

[mika]

I would like that too. I don't follow AMA and haven't for a number of years. Unless things have changed one of the big reasons they wouldn't is the way the AMA rules were written.

One of the issues when the S1000RR was announced was tank capacity to deal with the track length the bikes were running races on. Teams were allowed more capacity and some, IIRC kawasaki, had found ways of turning it into legal ballast that improved handling.

The US market was big enough and followed enough to justify the programs. I don't think BMW saw that case for them. The S runs in other series. Europe as a whole remains BMW's largest market, US is third by country. The US is Triumph's largest market in the world - size and unit numbers. ROI is a bit different.

We can still dream.