Russian World Superbike round launched

The round will take place at the new 'Moscow Raceway' circuit, which is located about 70 kms away from the centre of Moscow. The circuit is still under construction, but the circuit promoters and SBK and FIM officials are confident the track and its infrastructure will be ready for the scheduled Russian World Superbike round on August 26th.

In addition to the officials, 2011 World Superbike champion, Carlos Checa, and 2011 World Supersport champion, Chaz Davies, were present for the launch. They were joined by Russian rider Vladimir Leonov, who will take part in the 2012 Supersport World Champonship on a Yamaha R6 prepared and managed by Yakhnich Motosport.

Alexander Yakhnich, CEO of YMS Promotion, the company that has signed a ten-year agreement with SBK organisers, Infront Motor Sports, to organize and host the SBK Russian Round, illustrated the event to the assembled national and international media in a morning press conference. He welcomed the arrival of the championship into this totally new market and declared that everything was being done to ensure the success of this pioneering event. Yakhnich's background is in the financial sector, but the interest in motorsport came from his wife Nadia, an enthusiast bike racer.

Paolo Flammini, CEO of Infront Motor Sports, added: "It's a very special day for us to be here in Moscow. This adventure started not so long ago when we met Alexander, and heard about his exciting project to develop the motorcycle racing culture in Russia. Now after less than one year since our first meeting, we are ready to present our 2012 event. It's a great achievement for us and it comes together with other special events. Next year in fact World Superbike will be 25 years old, and will feature a brand new corporate image, which has been introduced over the past few weeks, that will also inspire the championship for the coming future."

Paolo Ciabatti, SBK General Manager, spoke about the development of the Moscow Raceway circuit. "Yesterday we visited the circuit with Jorge Viegas, the Deputy President of the FIM. Although it was mainly under snow, the first layer of asphalt has been laid and work on the infrastructure is well advanced and continuing. We were very pleased to see the development and we are sure that our riders and teams will like the facility and enjoy its very technical layout."

The track layout is another creation of Hermann Tilke, the renowned circuit designer who has been the architect of many of the world's most modern circuits for the last ten years. The German was also in Moscow to speak with media about one of his latest creations. "The circuit has been designed both for bikes and cars. For spectators it will be a great viewing track and for the riders it will be really exciting. It's approximately 4 kms in length (3.920 kms for the WSBK round), with an 879 metre straight and an elevation change of 20 metres".

Image: Worldsbk.com