BSB Season Review

The 2008 British Superbike Championship season was as exciting as ever, with crashes, controversy and some great racing.

The year did not start at Brands Hatch. Well, it partially started at Brands, but when everybody woke up for race day there was a thick blanket of snow covering the track. Snow at Brands Hatch? That's global warming for you. The round was postponed until later in the season.

Thruxton became the first race of the year. The GSE Ducati squad showed up despite claiming that they were pulling out of the BSB series due to the technical rules, which would supposedly make the new 1098R too dangerous to race. The GSE hokey-cokey would continue through the year. Shane Byrne was completely unfazed by the rules controversy, storming to victory on the GSE Ducati in race one. Race two was the scene of a monster crash. Tom Sykes, riding the Rizla Suzuki, clipped the back of Leon Haslam's HM Plant Honda, and was thrown off the bike. The errant Suzuki then continued its trail of destruction by smacking Rob Mac Yamaha rider Karl Harris in the head. Incredibly, once Harris was extricated from the air fence he was able to walk to the ambulance, albeit with some help. This would set the scene for Karl's year. He's incredibly tough, but seems to have no luck at all. HM Plant Honda youngster Cal Crutchlow managed to win the restarted race.

Read the rest of my BSB Season Review at Motorbikesport.