2020 World Superbike grid so far…

2020 World Superbike Championship grid:

Kawasaki Racing Team:

- Jonathan Rea

- Alex Lowes


Aruba.it Racing Ducati:

- Chaz Davies

- Scott Redding


Pata Yamaha:

- Michael van der Mark

-Toprak Razgatlioglu


Honda:

- Alvaro Bautista

- Leon Haslam


BMW Motorrad:

- Tom Sykes

- Eugene Laverty


Pedercini Kawasaki:

- Jordi Torres

- Lorenzo Savadori


GRT Yamaha:

- Federico Caricasulo

- Garrett Gerloff


Ten Kate Yamaha:

- Loris Baz

Barni Ducati:

- Leon Camier


Orelac Kawasaki:

TBA


Team Go Eleven Ducati:

- Michael Ruben Rinaldi


Puccetti Kawasaki:

- Xavi Fores

Pulling for Garrett Gerloff, have watched him since he was racing WERA minis. He was clearly the fastest bike at Barber this year. Be interesting to watch, MotoAmerica Superbike rules are supposedly close to old Superbike so would think it wouldn't be a big transition.

Aragón Test Day One Unofficial Times:

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’50.416 – 27 laps

Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’50.868 – 51 laps

Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 1’50.941 – 39 laps

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’51.176 – 37 laps

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 1’51.313 – 47 laps

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’51.567 – 37 laps

Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) 1’51.867 – 52 laps

Leon Camier (BARNI Racing Team) 1’52.902 – 37 laps

Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) 1’53.514 – 57 laps

----

Aragón Test Day Two Unofficial Times:

Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’49.929 – 60 laps

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’50.185 – 30 laps

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 1’50.653 – 50 laps

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) 1’50.657 – 36 laps

Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) 1’51.088 – 20 laps

Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) 1’51.133 – 25 laps

Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Junior Team) 1’52.477 – 39 laps

Leon Camier (BARNI Racing Team) 2’03.047 – 4 laps

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), no time recorded – 0 laps

Garrett was super impressive in that test! 1.2 seconds off the leader at a track that he's never been to before, or had very little experience. And he was 1.3 seconds faster than his teammate who almost won the WSS championship, has had a lot more laps at Aragon and also ran more laps during the test.

I'm excited to see how he'll do next year!

Also @jd41 ...I'm guessing you're gonna ask me to change the title of this thread to 2020?

lol. yeah

Tons of issues at Laguna Seca courtesy of Monterey County. SCRAMP is no longer managing, not it's a property management company with no experience running it.

Also, WSBK has been dropped from the 2020 calendar.

https://www.motorsport.com/wsbk/news...endar/4595845/

That sucks ...no Buriram either apparently. Hopefully they'll go to Indy instead since MotoAmerica is already scheduled to go there next year. It would make more sense for that big venue to open up the track for a bigger event not just MA.

Heard about the change in management for Laguna. Supposedly whoever is going to be managing it now has zero experience in motorsports. Outfuckinstanding.... I'm gonna have to go there for a track day sometime next year before that place gets shut down for good.

They've been trying to close it for years. Everything Monterey county government touches dies.

Sad

Nice. That can't go wrong, can it?


That applies to all government, everywhere. Up here they legalized marijuana and managed to lose money selling legal pot. Only a government could lose money selling drugs...


Mark

How?? lol

Over regulation, over taxation, pinheadedness, stupidity and general incompetence.


Mark

Can Oncu going from Moto 3 to WSS, while his brother takes his spot at the Red Bull Moto 3 team. Not sure if that's a good move for him, but we'll see. It's quite the step up for a 16 year old or however old he is.

WorldSBK

Also, still no schedule announced for WSBK 2020 yet as far as I know.

Seems like a significant step down to me. A lesser series, weaker competition and production based bikes. If he ever wants back into the GP paddock he will find it a very difficult door to reopen. At his age staying one more year in Moto3 to see how he fared with a season under his belt would have made more sense.


Mark

What a mess...

INSIGHT: Monterey County sham

THE FIVE SUPERVISORS

Five members of Monterey County’s board of supervisors hold the decision-making power to select A&D, LSM, or SCRAMP. Led by board chair and retired judge John M. Phillips, the panel includes vice-chair Mr. Chris Lopez, Mr. Luis Alejo, Mrs. Jane Parker, and Mrs. Mary Adams.

A&D TIES TO SUPERVISORS

Supervisor Alejo, who holds one of the five board votes available to A&D on Tuesday, is on record as receiving a campaign contribution from John V. Narigi, General Manager Monterey Plaza Hotel. The ‘Luis Alejo for Supervisor 2020’ campaign received $250 from Narigi on October 16, 2018, according to state records.

MORE A&D TIES TO SUPERVISORS

Within the proposal submitted to the county by A&D, Mr. Narigi’s work experience, achievements, and affiliations are included.

He lists “Past Chair / Board Member, Rancho Cielo Youth Campus, Salinas, CA (current)” as an active and ongoing involvement.

A story written by Mr. Phillips from 2015 detailing the formation and mission of Rancho Cielo cites the work’s author as “John Phillips, a former Monterey County prosecutor and superior court judge, is founder of Rancho Cielo, and a newly elected county supervisor.”

The ties go deeper.

Mr. Narigi made a personal donation of $1500 to Mr. Phillips’ supervisor reelection campaign in 2018. Acting in a leadership position with multiple Monterey-based Political Action Committees (PACs), Mr. Narigi was part of a $15,000 donation to Mr. Phillips’ reelection campaign through the Monterey County Business PAC; $5000 more through the Monterey Bay Action Committee Candidates; and another $5000 for Mr. Phillips through the Monterey County hospitality association.

Campaign contributions to Supervisor Lopez via Mr. Narigi’s PAC connections are also readily accessible through state records. Through Monterey Bay Action Committee, Mr. Lopez received $3000. The Monterey County Business PAC added another $10,000 to Mr. Lopez’s campaign finances.

Adding to these entanglements with Monterey County’s supervisors, Mr. Narigi is the subject of “a current investigation by the state Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) into allegations of campaign money laundering and other possible violations of election law. Among the recipients of the contributions under scrutiny were the campaigns of Monterey County supervisors John Phillips and Chris Lopez.”

In the report, the FPPC confirmed through a spokesperson that with Mr. Narigi’s case, “There are an attorney and an investigator working on it actively.”

Altogether, Mr. Narigi is under investigation for contributions to two of the five supervisors. He is documented as making direct campaign contributions as an individual, or through multiple PACs where he served as everything from treasurer to president, to three of Monterey County’s five supervisors.

With the majority of the supervisors having received money from Mr. Narigi (see contribution reports below), and Mr. Narigi standing to earn at least $229,840 per year for the next three years if A & D Narigi, LLC, receives the majority of the board’s votes, a worrying conflict exists with three of the five supervisors charged with casting a vote.

THE ANSWER?

How could a brand-new company, with a single officer listed on the proposal, with no experience managing a park, or a motor racing circuit, be named as the best candidate to serve as Laguna Seca’s general manager?

Political donations in denominations of $250, $1500, $3000, $5000, and $10,000 from Mr. Narigi would suggest Monterey County, and the State of California, have serious investigations to launch and answers to find.

According to the Political Reform Act of 1974 (2019), “No public official at any level of state or local government shall make, participate in making or in any way attempt to use his official position to influence a governmental decision in which he knows or has reason to know he has a financial interest.”

Are the financial interests between three board members and the person who stands to profit from those relationships worthy of halting and restarting the bidding process?

For those who care about Laguna Seca’s survival, the answer is yes.