"Ideally we would like two rounds in Italy and two in Britain," said Paolo Ciabatti, the series' project leader. "We're trying to get a US round in 2008 and a round in Asia. We would be happy with a championship with maybe 15 rounds."
For the US round WSBK owners FGSport are looking at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, and the new Miller Motorsports Park in Utah, a venue that offers four circuits ranging from 2.2 to 4.5 miles in length.
There are hopes that, at a meeting at the Mugello MotoGP round in Italy next weekend, the factories involved in WSBK will accept the new 1,200cc ruling for twin-cylinder bikes. That means that Ducati - synonymous with the championship since its inception in 1989 - will continue in the series with its new 1098 model, and that KTM will compete with a V-twin. MV have already signed a deal with Carl Fogarty to run a team of their 1,000cc fours, and there are rumours that
BMW might arrive.
Meanwhile, FGSport have a heavyweight new business partner in Infront Sports and Media, based in Zug, Switzerland whose chief executive is Philippe Blatter, nephew of Fifa's president, Sepp Blatter. Infront handles the global sales of the 2006 World Cup TV rights, and may be able to get better TV deals for WSBK. One targeted market is the UK, where the sport is currently seen only on
Eurosport, and lacks a terrestrial channel.
ITV is apparently the desired partner of FGSport chief executive Paolo Flammini.
Many people thought that Flammini was, frankly, mad when he converted SBK to a control tyre championship with Pirelli a few seasons ago. But the series has thrived on that lower cost format, and even
Formula 1 has become a one-make series, with
Bridgestone.
Team KR Gets Deeper into Superbikes.
Chuck Aksland, manager of
MotoGP's Team KR, was in the paddock at
Silverstone to seek new customers for his company's increasing range of components for showroom-based bikes. Team KR already supplies its distinctive swinging-arms to Ten Kate and Alto Evolution Honda in WSBK, to the Stobart Hondas in the British Superbike series, and to American Honda in the USA.
