Episode 59 of the Paddock Pass Podcast sees David Emmett and Steve English on the mics, as they catch us up on the happenings in the World Superbike Championship paddock.
There has been a bit to cover since our last WorldSBK episode, but the boys take a mile-high view of the production racing class, with Steve adding tremendous insight from his work in the WorldSBK paddock the last two seasons.
The show starts with a discussion about the have’s and the have not’s in the paddock, which obviously includes the two big manufacturers, Kawasaki and Ducati, who are dominating the series.
While talking about how the other OEMs can catch up to the red and green bikes, there is a good comparison that can be made between World Superbike and MotoGP, as both series have to deal with transition in modern racing, which David is able to expand upon with his current status in grand prix racing.
Getting into some rumors, there is discussion of who will be riding where in 2018, as well as which teams will be expanding their efforts in WorldSBK, and which manufacturers could be re-joining the series (*cough* Suzuki *cough*).
It’s another great show from the Paddock Pass crew, and you won’t want to miss it.
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The first round after the summer break is always one that fans and paddock personnel get excited about. The German round of the WorldSBK calendar though hasn’t captured the imagination, because of it’s remote setting and, for the riders, the bumpy track surface.
With Jonathan Rea easing his way towards the history books, as the first rider in history to win the championship three years in a row, there was a feeling from some quarters that it was merely time for marking cards rather than making a mark.
That being so, once the weekend got underway, it did throw up plenty of excitement in what appears to be the final race at the Lausitzring.
Ducati’s Chaz Davies romped to back to back races in Germany, with a superb performance in Race 2 at the Lausitzring.
The Welsh wizard became the King of the ‘Ring, with his third dry weather victory in a row at the circuit. It wasn’t an easy day for the riders however, with spits of rain and the threat of showers hanging in the air.
“I knew the second race was going to be tighter,” said Davies. “It was hard to come from the third row, I made some good passes out there, and had a lot of fun.”
Chaz Davies had kept his cards close to his chest, prior to Race 1 in Germany at the Lausitzring. Starting from the second row of the grid the Ducati rider stormed into second at the first corner and into the lead on Lap 2.
For that point onwards he controlled the race with a well judged ride that showed remarkable consistency.
Grinding out fast lap after fast lap, he turned the screws on Jonathan Rea, until ultimately the Kawasaki rider had to concede the race, and allowed Davies to cruise to the finish line.
For Rea, the 20 points allowed him to extend his championship lead over Tom Sykes, but it was a hard fought and well earned podium.
