World Superbikes the First Ten Years
WORLD SUPERBIKES THE FIRST TEN YEARS
CW BOOK REVIEW
Julian Ryder Haynes Publishing Sparkford, Nr Yeovil Somerset, England BA22 7JJ Oil 44 1963 440635 160 pages, $23
THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WORLD Superbike Championship is marked by publication of the definitive history of four-stroke motorcycle roadracing’s premier series, World Superbikes, The First Ten Years.
Penned by English television commentator Julian Ryder and lavishly illustrated with photographs by renowned lensman Kel Edge, this beautiful, soft-cover book covers WSB from its wobbly infancy through the action-packed 1997 season. Each season is recapped in Ryder’s entertaining and punchy style, while Edge’s images yield breathtaking action complemented by magnificent (if sometimes risque) atmosphere shots. Edge is the only photographer to have attended every WSB round since the series kicked-off at Donington Park in April, 1988. His image of Giancarlo Falappa duking it out with Ducati teammate Raymond Roche at Spain’s Jerez circuit in 1990 is worth the cover price alone.
The book is also a commentary on how and why the modern breed of repli-racers-bikes like the Honda RC30/RC45, Kawasaki ZX-7R, Suzuki GSX-R750 and Yamaha YZF750came to exist. In his authoritative account of American Steve McLaughlin’s near-Lone Ranger efforts to establish the series, Ryder states, “The Japanese factories stuck to their promise not to field works teams, and the smaller Italian manufacturers saw a chance to grab the limelight.” As such, hand-built specials like Bimota’s YB4EIR and the original Ducati desmoquattro dominated early, and were beaten only by the limited-production RC30, which was developed under the same precepts. Once the other Japanese manufacturers realized this was the only way to win, they did the same, only in much greater volume. Here, at least, the old cliche about racing improving the breed actually rings true.
No roadracing class in the past 30 years has produced such an incredible collection of magnetic personalities, thus Ryder spends as much time on the men as the machines. If a Hollywood producer were making a film on motorcycle roadracing, he wouldn’t have to look any farther than the WSB paddock for his cast: Fred Merkel, Rob Phillis, Stephane Mertens, Scott Russell, Carl Fogarty, John Kocinski and Anthony Gobert are all race-winners, and each is his own man. Ryder paints a colorful portrait of each, though American readers will have to endure a bit of Union Jack-waving, as Ryder waxes on about Brits Carl Fogarty and Terry Rymer while patronizing Americans Doug Polen and John Kocinski, whose name is misspelled “Kocinksi” in about half the references.
A comprehensive results section details the top 15 points-scorers at each and every round, making this volume a marvelous reference guide as well as a good read. It’s a worthy addition to any roadracing fan’s library.
-Alan Cathcart
