Istanbul (Not Constantinople) Added to 2013 WSBK Calendar
The 2013 World Superbike Championship is under way but that hasn’t stopped organizers from juggling the schedule. Even a week following the season-opening round at Australia’s Phillip Island, the 2013 calendar had a round in its schedule on June 23 listed as “TBA.”
The Brno circuit in the Czech Republic was supposed to fill that spot but negotiations between the track and WSBK organizers fell through. Organizers have now signed Intercity Istanbul Park Circuit in Turkey to fill the TBA slot, with the round moved later down the calendar to Sept. 15.
The Istanbul round will host both the World Superbike and World Supersport classes but not Superstock 1000 and 600 classes. Both those classes will now have nine rounds instead of the the originally planned 10 rounds, a change that surely won’t please team sponsors who signed on for 10 rounds.
One rider is certain to get a warm welcome in Istanbul. Reigning World Supersport Champion Kenan Sofuoglu of the Mahi Racing Team India was born in Adapazarı, Turkey, about 111 miles from Istanbul. Sofuoglu got off to a good start winning the season opener at Phillip Island, riding the 599cc 2012 Kawasaki ZX-6R.
Updated 2013 WSBK Calendar:
- February 26 – Australia – Phillip Island
- April 14 – Spain – Aragon
- April 28 – The Netherlands – Assen
- May 12 – Italy – Monza
- May 26 – U.K. – Donington
- June 9 – Portugal – Portimao
- June 30 – Italy – Imola
- July 21 – Russia – Moscow Raceway
- August 4 – U.K. – Silverstone
- September 1 – Germany – Nurburgring
- September 15 – Turkey – Istanbul
- September 29 – U.S.A. – Laguna Seca
- October 6 – France – Magny Cours
- October 20 – Spain – Jerez
- November 17 – India – Buddh Circuit
[Source: FIM; Photo by GEPA Pictures]
Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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