I think WSBK is great racing. Easily my favorite. Great racing and something about production based racing appeals to me. Even as a true diehard fan I find their schedule difficult. One race a month for three months, then take two months off. That cannot possibly be fiscally viable. Yes, they have three races per weekend, and I like that, however the lack of continuity can’t be beneficial to sponsors or help develop new fans. The journalists all like to compliment the schedule. All I think when they discuss how they like this schedule is that they are going to like it right to the point of not having a job because the series goes away. They are already reduced to effectively a Euro only series. That further challenges marketing to a world audience. Factor in superbike relevance to the industry, and without some changes I could see it gone, or significantly changed in 3-5 years. With the sale to Liberty I hope they either spin off WSBK to someone who cares, or make changes to strengthen the series. Dorna is completely uninterested and it shows in every aspect.
WSBK schedule got messed with when Dorna took over. Before that it was more in line, hence competing with, the MotoGp schedule.
This is the only question that actually matters. What is the raison detre of WSBK? Superbikes and super sport bikes are an increasingly irrelevant market especially in developed countries. So much so that mainstay bikes sold by the largest manufacturers have been discontinued. Sure, Ducati and a few other boutique companies capture the “have money, want to spend it on fast bikes” crowd but for the most part superbikes haven’t been a mainstream product post-great financial crisis. With the disconnect between what’s actually sold and built in this so-called production based series and what’s raced what’s the actual point? World Superbike machines are not so far off from MotoGP, and MotoGP is the pinnacle with more history, money, and glamor. So why would anyone watch or bother with a MotoGP-lite that has no relevance to what’s actually being sold? If you’re going to have a production based series it has to actually be based on bikes that people buy, not homologation and track only specials. The Euro centric nature of the calendar also doesn’t make sense in light of the fact that the growth markets are in Asia. Eventually they’re going to have to change the rules such that racing something like the GSX8R is viable. The market disconnect can’t continue because otherwise you may as well just watch a GP race.
