·WORLD SUPERBIKE PREVIEW Looking back, looking forward
By Johan Vandekerckhove
Photos by Gold & Goose
or most of the riders rolling into
the paddock of Laguna Seca
during the third week of July,
the California track is a jump into the
unknown. In 1991, the last time the World
Superbike calendar included an American round, Doug Polen won both races at
Brainerd, topping an impressive lineup of
riders such as Scott Russell, Stephane
Mertens, Rob Phillis, Fabrizio Pirovano
and Fred Merkel. Some of them are still
battling for Superbike gold, others are
trying their luck in different categories,
and there are those who are watching the
grass grow in their backyards as they
have retired from racing.
Some of the youngsters who are now
filling up the top positions in the point
standings were still gathering national
experience back in the days that Polen
ruled the world. In short, Laguna Seca is
unknown ground for most of the top
runners. But then again, the Superbike
season up to now has been a succession
of surprises and unexpected twists, even
though
the
point standings
might fool you
into thinking the opposite. Rider contracts and technical regulations are likely
to change from one day to the next, and
managers and engineers were sent hurrying to find an immediate solution for
the twist in fate. But looking at it from a
distance, everything seems to fall into
place - more or less. Here is a short
account of how things have gone thus far
in 1995.
This, the eighth season of World
Superbike racing, was expected to be om~
of the most prestigious editions ever.
Ducati, Kawasaki and Honda continued
their efforts in the class, while Yamaha,
Bimota and. even Suzuki were ready to
jump in. Six con truetors battling it out
for one t'itle - even the Grands Prix
couldn't offer all of this.
And this evolution didn't go unnoticed by the two-stroke emperors, Doma
and IRTA, who retaliated by creating
their own four-stroke championship
(pardon me, trophy) in Grand Prix racing. The Thunderbike Trophy was set up
to be a battleground for former Grand
Prix stars such as Wilco Zeelenberg on
the one hand, and up-and-coming young
four-stroke specialists on the other. Only
Stephane Mertens (l4th in last year's
(Above) The
World Superblke
Champlonehlp
began with Carl
Fogarty (1)
winning both legs
et Hockenhelm In
Germany.
(Right) carl
Fogarty h8e a
healthy lead In
the World
Championship, s
lead that Isn't
expected to
dwindle much by
the time the
series ventures to
l8gunsS8cs
Raceway for the
seventh round of
the
champlonehlp.
