Iddon returns family name to Bimota fold

More than twenty years after his father rode with Bimota in the World Superbike Championship, Christian Iddon brings the family name back into the WSBK fold.

Ollie Barstow

13 Jan 2014

Iddon, Russian WSS 2013
© Gold and Goose

Christian Iddon says he is thrilled at the prospect of making his World Superbike Championship debut in 2014 as part of the all-new Alstare Bimota team, more than two decades after his father Paul competed with the manufacturer during the early years of the series.

Iddon will join the experienced Ayrton Badovini in Alstare's ambitious new project, which will see it enter a pair of factory-supported BMW-engined BB3 Superbikes in the new EVO category.

A podium winner in his first season of World Supersport racing in 2013, aboard the ParkinGO MV Agusta, the move into World Superbikes still represents a substantial step for a rider that only made his circuit racing debut in 2008.

Nonetheless, while Iddon - who has a handful of British Superbike starts under his belt - is certainly aware of the task ahead in bringing the new bike up to speed, he is confident the support of Bimota and the experience of Alstare will see him challenging for EVO class wins before the end of the year.

"This is an amazing opportunity for me and I am very excited about the challenge ahead," Iddon, whose father Paul raced with the manufacturer in 1988, said. "Alstare is a famous team, with a big history and I am sure that I am going to learn a lot from them. They have loads of experience and that is going to help me, in what is going to be a very interesting season.

"I have ridden a Superbike before, four rounds in the British Superbike Championship, but I know the new Bimota BB3 is going to be very different to what I am used to. Although we are starting from scratch, as long
as we can find a good base setting we can progress quickly.

"I think many teams in this year's championship are new and probably have not done much testing, so we're going to be in the same boat as them. I don't like to talk about targets, but I always set high goals for myself and this year will be no exception. I would like to think we'd be challenging the top guys in the EVO class well before the latter part of the season and I'd be disappointed if we weren't.

"I know I've got a great team behind me and I am looking forward to working with them and maybe surprising
a few people."

Managed by Giuliano Rovelli - whose ParkinGO company is set to back the Alstare Bimota team -, Iddon ended his maiden season of WSS racing in 15th overall aboard the developing MV Agusta F3, peaking with a podium finish at Magny-Cours.