The World Superbike Championship kept up its run of exciting races at the Most track in Czechia. However, the most sensational news was in Supersport with a display of ham acting that Brian Blessed himself would be proud of.
Emergency Dive!
Domi Aegerter has been domi-nating the World Supersport championship all year. What used to be the 600cc class (and is now the 600ish to 950ish cc Moto2 rejects FIM Cup) has been fun anyway, but at Most the Supersport category really exploded.
Escaped lunatic Can Oncu, who is insane even by Turkish motorcycle racer standards, torpedoed half the field at turn one of the first WSSP race. (He somehow stayed upright, but was hit with a ride-through penalty). Loads of front runners went tumbling into the gravel trap including title leader Domi Aegerter, who was completely unhurt. However, Domi decided to act concussed and stay where he was, hoping to force a red flag and full restart that he could take part in.
This meant that several marshals and medics had to stay in the extremely dangerous gravel trap at the end of the start/finish straight while the field came back around. Clearly it’s completely unacceptable for a racer to put other people’s lives at risk (Unless you’re the drunk-driving, patchy-bearded, punchable MotoGP lowlife Prosecco Bananas, in which case you can drive drunk to your heart’s content without any sanction at all).
The authorities initially banned Aegerter from race 2 on the grounds that he was clearly concussed and unable to move out of the way. He and his team angrily protested and provided data proving that he was completely unhurt in the crash. Hilariously, the authorities accepted this evidence and banned him from race 2 for unsporting behaviour, since he had just idiotically proved that he was faking injury to get the race stopped.
His main rival Baldassarri won both races to slash Dummy’s points lead and blow the title race wide open.
Subs on loan from BSB
With BMW rider Mikey VdM still injured and Kawasaki rider Leon Haslam on Suzuka testing duties, 2 substitutes were needed. Isle of Man TT legend Peter Hickman and youngster Ryan Vickers surfaced to take these places. Strangely, both were on loan from the same British Superbike team, FHO BMW. FHO Racing is owned by glamorous Chinese-British businesswoman Faye Ho, who bought a BSB team using the wad of cash that she’d been using to prop up a wobbly leg of the 17th century antique table that she plonks her feet on when she’s watching Netflix.
Silly season rumours claim that Faye plans to buy a WSBK team using the wad of cash that she’s been using to keep her place in this month’s edition of Cosmopolitan magazine. (The article she bookmarked is entitled, “Top 5 signs that your family owns half of the multibillion dollar casino industry in Macao”.
Where to draw the (green) line?
We know that the WSBK stewards come down like a ton of bricks on anyone who even touches 1mm of green paint, especially on the last lap.
But what about ramming someone off the track so they go all the way over the green paint?
Apparently, it’s fine. Scott Redding took an outstanding podium for BMW in Race One, but was furious after Toprak shoved him all the way onto the green during an incredible last lap. But the stewards had nothing to say about it. At least Toprak is less dangerously aggressive than his countryman Can Oncu, although that’s a bit like saying that Jack Miller is more intelligent than Anthony Gobert. It’s true, but it ain’t sayin’ much!
Alvaro Bautista won the race, while Toprak won the other 2 races of the weekend.
Mid Season Break
It’s a few weeks of rest for the WSBK paddock now. Alvaro Bautista leads the championship with more than a race victory worth of points from Johnny Rea, with the on-form Toprak in a close 3rd.