BSB - Carter: Seat-hopping pros and cons

Eurosport - Fri, 21 Aug 14:01:00 2009

Eurosport-Yahoo! blogger Tony Carter looks at the upside and downside to the seat-hopping in the British Superbike and Supersport championships.

MOTORSPORTS Generic Brands Hatch BSB action - 0

Hudson Kennaugh is one of those riders who, from a fan's point of view, is great for the sport.

He speaks his mind, is always running at 100 per cent - even if he's just collared you for a chat in the paddock - and is one of those whirlwinds of energy who wants nothing more than close, fairing-bashing action and a captive audience to talk with afterwards.

Hudson Kennaugh is good for the racing world: I have a lot of time for him. He's one of those riders who you always look forward to seeing in the paddock because he'll always have something to say.

And for the Cadwell Park round of the championship Kennaugh switches British Supersport Championship berths from Linxcel-Seton Yamaha to the Gearlink Kawasaki concern.

Kennaugh is taking over the ride for the Lincolnshire race whilst usual Gearlink Kawasaki man Chris Martin is laid up with his injuries following that massive crash he suffered at Brands Hatch.

It'll be interesting to see Hudson on the green bike: they have already won races this year so expect a good showing from the man who is never afraid to take on Cadwell's Mountain.

So Hudson has left one team and is stand-in riding in another which, let's face it, seems a bit of a common theme this year in the UK. Look at BSB: we've had Tommy Hill on fill-in duty with Worx Crescent Suzuki, Michael Rutter riding for Yamaha, then Suzuki, then SMT Honda then, at Brands, MSS Colchester Kawasaki.

It might all seem like a dream idea for the riders themselves: they get to ride all different types of bikes and there's no real pressure on them to perform. If they get a result then it's terrific for them because they're new to the bike, if it all goes wrong then that's because of the lack of time between bike and rider.

But the flip side of this to-ing and fro-ing is, well, the fro-ing. Getting a ride in a championship without that much pressure is all fine and dandy until the rider you replace comes back.

Rutter was on the Kawasaki at Brands hatch because Simon Andrews was out recovering from an operation on his broken Scaphoid; Tommy Hill was on the Suzuki because Sylvain Guintoli was still laid up with his broken leg.

But at Cadwell we'll see the return of Guintoli and there's a very good chance that Andrews will find himself back on the Kawasaki, too.

So Hill and Rutter will be out of a ride - the downside to seat-hopping. Let's hope the SMT Honda can appear with one of them on its back; but cash is a bit of an issue for SMT boss Robin Croft at the moment so we cannot be sure if the white bike will be there at all.

It's been a bit of a strange season for some riders so far, but it's far from over yet. Intrigue, politics and backroom deals, it's all going on and that's just with replacement riders.

Wait until Alastair Seeley wraps up the Superstock title and gets out on a Superbike with the TAS guys: that's going to throw even more unpredictability into the pot. Hudson himself has said that he thinks it's time to get on a Superbike too.

I'd love to see Seeley actually get out on the big bike sooner rather than later: I reckon he'd be awesome in the premier UK class and with Hudson on a big bike there's always going to be some forceful views on offer, both on or off the track.

Tony Carter / Eurosport

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  1. I'd say a big pro would be that if the season is as­ fragmented as the current BSB, with so many­ crashers/injured riders etc.... you have a decent­ chance of racking up points by being a­ 'super-sub' and getting a good final­ championship position. So if you're someone like­ Michael Rutter you'll be happy because at the end­ of the day what do points make? Prizes (=CASH) and­ he'll get to pocket his winnings whilst many others­ who are contracted to one team all year may have to­ channel their winnings back into the teams. I remember­ reading Foggys autobiography a few years ago (i used to­ be a fan until I read the book) and he made more money­ jumping from bike to bike in one year than he had done­ a previous season as a contracted factory rider!!! Go­ figure.

    From Gareth, on Tue 25 Aug 7:13PM
  2. If you swap bikes then it is a different bike and if­ the rider is different then the bike and rider may not­ be the same, this might mean that a rider might not­ have a bike to ride but it is rare for a bike to fail­ in finding a rider. I think the bike has an advantage­ here which Carter fails miserably to point out. If the­ bike does not have a rider it is between 75-85 kg­ lighter this surely gives it an unfair advantage. I­ think the ACU needs to insist on all bikes having a­ rider to avoid light riderless machines storming­ through to the lead and thus making a complete mockery­ of this noble sport. Come on BSB sort this out or­ I'm off to watch MotoGP!

    From paul.stevens27, on Tue 25 Aug 6:07AM
  3. Why does TC continue to write articles that pretty much­ state the obvious? Is it because he assumes that his­ target audience are morons? Or is it that he is pretty­ much a poor excuse of a journalist who feels that­ it's easier to write puerile rubbish than get off­ his derriere, actually do some investigating and report­ on facts rather than his half baked opinions? ­ Eurosport, please please please, read the replies TC­ gets (and those of those other noted half-bakers Jim­ White and Paul Parker (so biased they are unreal)) and­ replace him(them) with people who have a clue.

    From Gareth, on Tue 25 Aug 1:53AM
  4. Blah Blah Blah..........

    From 1066, on Sun 23 Aug 4:46PM
  5. what do you expect its just like the paper­ MoreCrapthanNews

    From NICK B, on Sat 22 Aug 1:27AM
  6. He never learns, he constantly talks out of his arse,­ and only says what we know in the first place, who­ allows him on the internet in the first place should be­ shot.

    From bigusleginus, on Fri 21 Aug 11:45PM
  7. You do talk rubbish carter !

    From mike, on Fri 21 Aug 11:16PM
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