IN
THE
WIND
P46
CLAUDIO CORTI: "THEY PAY
GRID GIRLS, BUT NOT RIDERS!"
C
laudio Corti made a big but
short-lived impression dur-
ing his year in the MotoAmerica
Superbike Championship. The
former MotoGP rider was draft-
ed into the HSBK Aprilia team
to contest the Superstock 1000
series and thrilled fans with
some ultra tight races between
himself, TOBC Racing's Danny
Eslick and eventual 2016 series
champion, Josh Herrin, yet
when the green light went out
for MotoAmerica 2017, the Italian
was nowhere to be found.
"We lost a sponsor, and Piag-
gio USA and Aprilia decided not
to support the HSBK team any
longer, so doing some races
'just because' would have been
pointless," Corti said to gpone.
com. "It's a pity, because the
project was interesting and my
personal sponsors, who have al-
ways helped me, believed in it."
Corti has thus been on the
sidelines for the 2017 sea-
son. He's tested the Pedercini
WorldSBK Kawasaki ZX-10R,
but no calls for a paid race ride,
yet.
"I had an offer to race in
Brazil, where I would have found
Alex Barros, but I would have
raced free and I turned it down,"
Corti said. "I have a contact with
Mirco Guandalini to return to the
World Championship, where it
wouldn't cost me anything and
I wouldn't be paid. It is absurd.
They pay the umbrella girls and
for mega catering, but I don't
understand why they don't pay
the riders."
Corti's sentiments echo those
of fellow world championship
veteran, Anthony West. We
spoke to West at Laguna Seca's
WorldSBK round and you can
read his interview right here:
Anthony West Interview. CN
Former Aprilia and Ducati man Giugliano will get his shot on
Hayden's old Fireblade in a test in Germany.
Pay the riders! Corti is disgusted at the
current climate in professional racing.
GIUGLIANO TO TEST HAYDEN'S TEN KATE HONDA
F
ormer factory Ducati WorldS-
BK rider Davide Giugliano
will test the late Nicky Hayden's
factory Red Bull Honda
CBR1000RR SP2 machine
next week at the Lausitzring in
Germany.
Giugliano was replaced in the
factory Ducati squad by former
250cc World Champion and
WorldSBK race winner Marco
Melandri for the 2017 season
and moved to the Tyco BMW
squad in the British Superbike
Championship, but severed
ties with the team after miss-
ing three rounds due to a
back injury suffered at Brands
Hatch in April.
That was the official rea-
son for his departure. However,
British publication MCN noted
Giugliano had decided the cut-
throat race style in BSB and the
rather dated tracks used in the
championship were not for him
and Giugliano was seen hunting
around for rides in the WorldS-
BK paddock just days after his
split from Tyco BMW.
The test is a lifeline of sorts
for Giugliano, who is now in the
mix with the U.S.'s Jake Gagne
to be Hayden's full-time replace-
ment in 2018. CN
