P134
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
S
o that's it then. Jonathan
Rea has joined the ranks
of giants, stomping imperi-
ously to a fourth successive FIM
WorldSBK title after already
breaking legend Carl Fogarty's
total of 59 wins. Rea now has 68
including the last nine in a row,
with still four more races to go
this year. With Welshman Chaz
Davies his main title challenger,
and Englishmen Tom Sykes
(his teammate), plus podium-
challenging Alex Lowes, Eugene
Laverty and Leon Camier, the
production bike series is still a
very British affair.
It has been from soon after
the start. World Superbikes were
founded by ex-AMA Superbike
rider-turned promoter Steve
Mclaughlin in 1988, extend-
ing the production-based U.S.
series. Five of the first six titles
went to U.S. riders (Merkel,
Polen, Russell), but then Fogarty
took over for the first of his four
crowns, and cohorts of his com-
patriots followed along. Overall,
U.S. riders have claimed nine
titles, but British riders are now
up to 12.
But sadly for all of them, and
for their rivals (many ex-MotoGP
job-seekers, including next
year's new Ducati signing Alvaro
Bautista) the other four-stroke
series is starting to look increas-
ingly isolated and more than
slightly pointless.
There are still some universal
truths.
WORLDSBK: NATURAL PROGRESSION
