WSBK – A well-stocked Superbike field for the 2015 season – The first WSBK transfers for 2015

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A well-stocked Superbike field for the 2015 season

WSBK - A well-stocked Superbike field for the 2015 season - The first WSBK transfers for 2015

With the 2014 WSBK season over, the transfer season can finally be in full swing. On the Superbike menu in 2015, let us point out the officialization of Rea’s move to Kawasaki, but also the transfer of Haslam to Aprilia and that of Elias to BMW… Yum !

The first WSBK transfers for 2015

Ten days ago, Sylvain Guintoli won his first world title at the 2014 World Superbike final organized – "by night"! – in Qatar. Too happy to formalize the signing of the new world champion, Honda Pata published a press release on Monday morning (read our and).

Under contract with Aprilia until Sunday evening, Sylvain could not confirm to Site his transfer at the end of September when the Tokyo Reds were already announcing the promotion in Superbike of their newly titled Supersport rider, Michael Van den Mark (read).

The arrival of the two world champions (SBK and SSP!) Riding the CBR1000RR Fireblade therefore frees the two members of the former Honda "Dream Team": Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam. But the two British pilots had no trouble relocating.

Third in the 2014 general classification – his best result in six seasons at Honda Ten Kate in the Superbike category! – Jonathan landed an excellent handlebar: that of the second factory Kawasaki, driven for two and a half years by Loris Baz.

Left to try his luck in MotoGP on a Yamaha, "Bazooka" gives in – gladly! – his place alongside vice-world champion Tom Sykes. "The KRT (Kawasaki Racing Team, NDLR) counts in its workforce for two of the first three drivers of the 2014 season", welcome the Greens.

Jonathan "Honda" Rea goes Green

"The opportunity to sign a driver of Johnny’s caliber and experience to associate him with our hero Tom Sykes was a dream that we cherished every season but which, this time around, has come true. !", hardly can believe Steve Guttridge, head of race planning at Kawasaki.

"After spending three years with Loris Baz to hatch a young talent", observes team manager Guim Roda,"we are following another strategy for 2015, with an experienced and already trained pilot"… entirely at Honda, since" JR "made his British SBK debut in 2005 on a CBR and had stuck with the winged brand ever since. !

"We are sure that he will help improve the performance of the team and that he will be a very good teammate for Tom Sykes", continues Señor Roda."The two respect each other and I’m sure they will push each other to go faster, seeking the limits of the Ninja ZX-10R"And aiming for the 2015 title !

Vice-world champion in his only season, Jonathan Rea has never ceased to covet the world crown despite a motorcycle deemed difficult to adjust from one circuit to another and some nasty injuries (including a broken femur a year)…

At the height of his 28 years, the North Irish rider nevertheless has one of the most extensive CVs on the field: 140 Superbike starts, ten fastest laps in the race and four pole positions, but above all 42 podiums including 15 victories. And the counter should still scroll next year !

"I think we have shown that we have a good base and that we are working hard to improve the bike."Says Pere Riba, Jonathan Rea’s chief engineer."I believe we can provide Jonathan with the tools he will need to fight for the Championship".

"We will be starting winter testing very soon and I am delighted that Kawasaki has chosen Jonathan ", also indicates the former chief mechanic of Loris Baz. It will thus not be long to know if Kawa and Rea made the good choice by joining forces….

Teammate of Jonathan Rea at Honda for the past two seasons (read after two disappointing years at BMW, Leon Haslam struggles to regain his best level: that of, when he finished runner-up in the GSX-R of the Suzuki Alstare team !

Leon Haslam on transfer from Tokyo to Noale

Seventh in the championship with only one third place as the best result (zero podium in), the 31-year-old driver can be esteemed "happy to join the Red Devils Roma team", who drove Toni Elias this year.

"I had a few difficult years due to several injuries", recalls the English n ° 91,"but I’m sure we can have a great season next year". Score to beat for" Lione ": 9th place and 171 points scored by his Spanish predecessor in 2014.

"Our goal will be to reach the first places, confirms Haslam Junior, "and I believe that we can count on my personal experience, on a great team of professionals and on the evolution of the titled bike in 2014"… The RSV4, what else ?

"Haslam will be one of the two riders in charge of defending the Constructor title won by Aprilia this year in Qatar", specifies the team of Andrea Petricca, and this in command of the" recently presented at Eicma" !

The second Aprilia could have been entrusted to Toni Elias, but it will not be: has already announced that he will drive a BMW S1000RR next year … A machine also updated for 2015 in order to make the most of the new WSBK regulations, more "stock" in mind.

"I will still be in the WSBK paddock next year", warned Toni last week on the official website of the World SBK. The n ° 24 was obviously delighted to join the" JR Racing Team "from the Dominican Republic (!) and named in memory of Jose Robinson, father of the owner Yoselin Robinson.

This new and exotic team, with its driver on the return, should not be underestimated, however, since they are teaming up with a big name in the discipline: Troy Corser himself, whose plans to set up an Australian BMW team had failed. last year…

Toni Elias persists in WSBK and signs a BMW

"It’s a new team, which is interesting", assures Elias:"the bike is very competitive and I am very happy to work with Troy Corser, a double world champion and a WSBK iconThink about it: the "Vieux Croco" took part in 377 SBK races, climbed 130 podiums, won 33 victories, signed 45 fastest laps in the race … and slammed 43 pole positions, the record in this category !

Present in World Superbike since the end of the 2013 season, the Moto2 champion has 32 starts to his credit and the best result is eight Top 5, but no podium, no pole, no lap record … "It’s a great opportunity for me to evolve as a driver in this championship and take a step forward towards the top places", hopes Toni Elias.

A second machine will be lined up in 2015 by the JR Racing Team and rumors are rife with our English-speaking colleagues: the compatriot of Troy Corser – but also of Troy Bayliss and Chris Vermeulen! – Josh Brookes would be in the starting blocks, as would the Englishman Leon Camier who – very well – at the start of the 2014 season.

Author of a solid end to the season, our favorite n ° 52 cannot yet reveal his program for next season: "sorry, but at the moment I can’t say anything", apologizes" Syl’20 "to the readers of Site…

His supporters naturally hope that he will be able to continue his career with the BMW Italia team, a team with which he has already won two world titles in Superstock 1000, the antechamber of the World Superbike. An official announcement is expected on November 22: stay tuned !

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