Interesting selection by Honda. I think Lecuona could be a solid choice. I don’t know enough about Vierge. While I’d like to see HRC competitive again this seems like a reach. Didn’t say whether these were multi-year deals bit only mentioned ‘22. https://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/20...to lead allnew allrookie Team HRC 2022 lineup
Not sure Honda’s is ready to go all in on WSBK. So, those two maybe a compromise of sorts. It is a big change however, and should be interesting to hear when testing starts.
Confirmed: Pata Yamaha - Raz, Locatelli Yamaha GRT - Gerloff, Nozane Aruba.it Ducati - Bautista, Rinaldi Motorrad BMW - Redding, van der Mark Bonovo BMW - Baz, Laverty KRT - Rea, Lowes Barni Ducati - Bernardi Pedercini - Cresson At Large Go 11 - Caricasulo, Mackenzie, Oettl Puccetti Motocorsa - Bassani Riders Available: Sykes, Haslam
Why wouldn't Go 11 pick up Baz? Obviously he proved his worth on a Duc in just a few rounds for them.
Yamaha has announced their ‘22 R1, no changes I could see. Have not seen any other ‘22s announced yet. Honda has submitted for patents for a very different CBR1000, though no idea if that is for 2022. Edit: BMW lists their ‘22, but I don’t know what’s different.
Technical question for the experts: most production bikes have an A frame swingarm with bracing above. Near as I can tell, all WSBK race bikes use a swingarm with the bracing below. BMW has the same general configuration for both. Why don’t the production bikes from Yamaha, Kawi, and Honda use a similar configuration?
My understanding is that they couldnt fit the giant catalytic converstor with an underbraced swing arm. BMW curretly does, Kawasaki has done in 06-07 for the ZX10, Yamaha did for the R1s with underseat exhaust.
I've wondered this as well. Following his recent results, my first thought was "welp, he aint coming back to MA." So I was not surprised when I first heard he was indeed going back to WSBK. What did surprise me was who with. I figured with Davies retiring, him signing on the dotted line with Go 11 for '22 was merely a formality at this point. So hearing he went to a seemingly lower performing privateer effort on a seemingly lower performing machine came as a big shock.
I wasn't that far off when I asked this question. The factory-spec bike and support were most likely conditional on fielding Davies. They were committed to setting him up in the best possible conditions after dumping him from the factory team. I know because I know the person who turned down the offer before it was made to Go Eleven. It was really attractive, as Ducati was paying for everything, but they already had commitments for 2021. I figured if Go Eleven was operating under the same conditions, the honeymoon could be over when Davies left. Maybe, and I'm just speculating here, Ducati wasn't willing to committing the same level of resources to support Baz. Incidentally, his manager, who also manages Quartararo (and Cluzel) is a shrewd, tough cookie.
I kept thinking that IF Honda wanted to win in WSBK they would. Last time I thought they were even interested was in 2017 when they got Red Bull backing and Nicky because they wouldn't f@ck red bull around. I had hopes that 2021 was going to be the year they stopped half assing when they got Bautista and kept Haslam. Whatever. We'll know when they get interested when they move A Marquez over or go after Topra Razamatazpoo.
I'm guessing they're thinking of how to get that factory support over to Bassani after his performance this year.
I think Honda did want to win with Bautista. I'll bet they paid like they were going to win! It didn't work out. I really do not know what their real issues are, but I hear 'chassis' mentioned a lot. Actually sounds similar to what you hear in MotoGP. That and they all crash the same losing the front. Need more time to confirm, but IF they now have a better MotoGP chassis I wonder if there is anything that translates to the WSBK CBR? edit: Didn’t Haslam say they made great progress in a recent test, but that the changes couldn’t be used until next season with a a modification to the production bike?
Straight from WSBK! SIGNED. SEALED. DELIVERED. WHO IS LOCKED IN FOR 2022? The latest signings for 2022 include Team HRC’s line-up of Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge and also the return of Loris Baz with Bonovo action BMW Racing Team alongside Eugene Laverty. As well as this, there’s also Luca Bernardi graduating to Barni Racing, Kohta Nozane remaining with GRT Yamaha and Andrea Locatelli likewise staying at Pata Yamaha. Having been announced for a while, there’s Michael Ruben Rinaldi staying at the factory Ducati team, the switch from Honda back to Ducati for Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) and from Ducati to BMW for Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who will join the official BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team for next year, replaced by Bautista. Putting MotoGP™ rumors to bed, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) hailed his “incredible opportunity” for 2022 with KRT alongside teammate Alex Lowes. At Yamaha, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) will remain in the factory team, whilst Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) is confirmed to stay within the Yamaha family. Loris Cresson (OUTDO TPR Team Pedercini Racing) is already on a two-year deal but apart from that, there are yet to be formal announcements about next year’s line-up, with plenty of riders still to be snapped up. On the contrary of being locked in for 2022, Chaz Davies announced his retirement from WorldSBK at the end of 2021. WHAT NEXT FOR SYKES? No room at Team HRC… Despite saying there was “big interest” in becoming a part of Team HRC and even with a potential move to the Bonovo BMW squad, there are rumours that Tom Sykes is looking for a ride elsewhere. There’s also plenty of other names that are yet to confirm their future, with current Team HRC rider Leon Haslam now looking for a ride, whilst Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing), Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team), Isaac Viñales (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) and Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing WorldSBK) are also yet to confirm. There’s also rumors regarding riders graduating from WorldSSP, with Philipp Oettl being the main name linked to moving up. SEATS TO FILL: which rides remain? The seats are filling up but there’s still plenty of good options on the table. Despite all the factory rides being taken, there’s plenty of good Independent machinery, such as Puccetti Kawasaki, Team GoEleven’s setup and the Motocorsa Racing. Both factory Yamahas, Kawasakis, Ducatis, BMWs and Hondas are filled up, whilst there will be plenty of talk about who the factory-supported Independent teams are going to hire for next season.
With all due respect to Alvaro and Leon, I think Honda finally put a couple young, eager riders on their bike who will no doubt push them to their limits. Vierge especially is a hard charger, and Iker is a great talent who likely would have done well with another year or two in GP. Hopefully Bassani lands back on a well funded/supported Duc next year, and hopefully Sykes and Leon land in BSB or Endurance racing - no desire to see either of them back in WSBK to be honest.
