For the third time this month, we have crossed over the Atlantic ocean to ride a brand new Italian motorcycle. It is a tough job, but someone has to do it.
This edition of “Gone Riding” sees us getting ready to ride the new Ducati Panigale V4 superbike, which gets a bevy of updates for the 2022 model year.
Ducati has us testing this new Panigale V4 at the Jerez circuit, with the MotoGP track being a popular destination to put a motorcycle through its paces.
The WorldSBK championship is to look a little different in 2022. Though the length will stay the same as in 2021 – 13 rounds – the order is to be reshuffled a little, with the intriguing prospect of a possible race at Istanbul Park in Turkey during the season.
The season kicks off later than usual, with Phillip Island likely to be moved to the end of the year, possibly as the season finale held after the Indonesian round at Mandalika Circuit.
Racing starts at the Motorland Aragon circuit, before heading north to Assen for the Dutch round of WorldSBK, which returns to its more normal date. After a four-week break, the series reconvences in Portugal for a race at Estoril.
The WorldSBK calendar heads east to Italy after that, for a race at Misano in June, before having a month off between the UK round at Donington Park. Two weeks later, the series travels to the Czech Republic to visit Most for the second time.
The summer break will be six weeks long, with the WorldSBK circus reconvening at Magny-Cours for the French round, then heading to Barcelona for the Catalonian round, and then back to Portugual, but this time to Portimão.
After Portimão, WorldSBK starts its sequence of flyaways, traveling first to Argentina, then to Indonesia. The championship will then most likely head to Australia for the final round at Phillip Island.
The thirteenth round is down as To Be Announced, but there have been very strong rumors circulating that WorldSBK is to head to Turkey and Istanbul Park.
Both Dorna and the circuit are keen to host a round, especially now that Toprak Razgatlioglu has become the first ever Turkish World Champion.
Confirmation of this could take some time, with details still to be confirmed. It is most likely that the race will be slotted in one of the larger gaps in the calendar, in June or August.
There are four calendar clashes with MotoGP, though only in remotely the same time zone.
Aragon WorldSBK is on the same weekend as MotoGP in Austin, Barcelona WorldSBK will take place several hours after the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, and Argentina WorldSBK will be half a day or so after the MotoGP race at Sepang.
WorldSBK Race 2 at Assen would normally happen at the same time as the MotoGP race at Portimão in Portugal, but there is a chance the WorldSBK race will be rescheduled for a later time.
The provisional calendar, and a statement from Gregorio Lavilla, WorldSBK Executive Director, appear below:
| DATE | COUNTRY | CIRCUIT | WorldSBK | WorldSSP | WorldSSP300 |
| April 8-10 | Spain | MotorLand Aragón | X | X | X |
| April 22-24 | The Netherlands | TT Circuit Assen | X | X | X |
| May 20-22 | Portugal | Circuito Estoril | X | X | X |
| June 10-12 | Italy | Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” | X | X | X |
| July 15-17 | United Kingdom | Donington Park | X | X | |
| July 29-31 | Czech Republic | Autodrom Most | X | X | X |
| September 9-11 | France | Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours | X | X | X |
| September 23-25 | Spain | Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya | X | X | X |
| October 7-9 | Portugal | Autódromo Internacional do Algarve | X | X | X |
| October 21-23 | Argentina | Circuito San Juan Villicum | X | X | |
| November 11-13 | Indonesia | Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit | X | X | |
| TBA | Australia | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | X | X | |
| TBA | TBA | TBA |
*All dates, events and the attendance of spectators are subject to the evolution of the global pandemic and the approval of the corresponding governments and authorities.
Mike Leitner, the man who was brought in to lead KTM’s MotoGP project from the very beginning, is to be moved aside by the Austrian factory.
KTM announced that the engineer and former HRC crew chief – he was crew chief to Dani Pedrosa for most of the Spaniard’s career – is to be moved into a consultancy role.
Although the KTM’s press release does not give an explict reason for the change, beyond a desire to “restructure the KTM Factory Racing hierarchy”, the move reflects a feeling that KTM’s progress toward its objective of winning a MotoGP title has stalled.
Episode 254 of the Paddock Pass Podcast is out, and it is a WorldSBK show, which means that this one sees Steve English and Gordon Ritchie on the mics.
This round sees the guys reporting on the WorldSBK action in Indonesia, for the final chapter into what has been a fascinating story about the 2021 season.
It’s Thursday, so that means yet another installment in Ducati’s 2022 model release series, and this time we head to the race track, for an updated 2022 Ducati Panigale V4 superbike.
Ducati has made a number of improvements for the Panigale V4, all of which are aimed at refining this potent superbike, making it easier to ride, and of course, faster on the race track.
During his keynote address at Kawasaki’s EICMA presentation, Kawasaki Motors President Hiroshi Ito announced that the Japanese brand would unveil three electric models in 2022.
An ambitious plan, the news is part of Kawasaki’s previous statement that it plans to bring 10 electric and hybrid motorcycles by 2025. Clearly, Team Green isn’t waiting around to make good on that promise.
MotoGP is to follow in the footsteps of Formula 1 and switch to sustainable fuels.
From 2024, 40% of fuel used in the MotoGP class must be obtained from sustainable sources – either synthetically produced using sustainable energy or from non-food biomass – and from 2027, all fuel used in all three grand prix classes, Moto3, Moto2, and MotoGP, will be of non-fossil origin.
When it comes to the king of brake calipers, the Brembo GP4 lineup is tops, and features regularly on MotoGP and WorldSBK machinery.
Debuting at EICMA today, Brembo wants to bring this same braking dominance to the rising mini-moto racing movement. As such, say hello to the Brembo GP4-MINI.
The idea of an adventure scooter is…kind of ridiculous. And yet deep inside, we know you secretly want one. However, the 150cc displacement on the Honda X-ADV can be a tough sell in western markets.
But, what if there was a bigger, more powerful option to getting your dual-sport scooter action on? Enter the 2022 Honda ADV350 scooter, which just debuted at the EICMA show in Milan.
One of my favorite bikes in the motorcycle industry just got better for the upcoming model year, as the Austrians have just taken the wraps off the updated 2022 KTM 1290 Super Duke GT.
Making 175hp in its Euro5-spec, the KTM 1290 Super Duke GT is a serious sport bike, but KTM has worked hard to give the bike the chops to go long distances as well.