EXCITING CONTENT
The Italians , as a national culture , are probably the biggest motorsport fans in the whole world . If it has an engine – preferably an Italian engine , with crimson red bodywork wrapped around it – then Italians go mad for it . We asked a cross-section of Italians who work in WorldSBK in some way or other , two questions … Why Italians are so made for motorsports in general ? And why WorldSBK continues to be a big presence for Italian race fans ? Some people predicted the gradual end of WorldSBK in Italy when Ducati moved into MotoGP™ , but despite the growth and growth of MotoGP™ in the past 20 years , WorldSBK still enjoys a strong foothold in the bootshaped land and mass of regionalities that is Italy . In 2021 , and for many years now , the factory Ducati presence is back in WorldSBK , of course . Even Valentino Rossi is a WorldSBK fan . The fact is almost no one we asked really understood why Italians have always had a passion for motorsport of all kinds – and then Superbike racing when it came along – but all agreed that motorsport is in all Italian people ’ s blood . In essence , it is always impossible to define or describe your own culture – because you are simply immersed in it . Others can see Italy ’ s motorsport and racing obsession , but most Italians are simply ‘ of ’ it . But , one other specific idea is that the passion for racing in Italy burns most intensely in the ‘ Motor Valley ’, which stretches across the centre of Italy and encompasses most of the racing circuits , iconic manufacturers ’ bases new and old , and a mass of star racers ’ hometowns . Don ’ t get me wrong . You can find motorsport fans from Turin to Taranto , all of whom share a common heritage of motorsport in the same tongue , but the centre is the place where you can throw a conrod and hit a true motorsport and WorldSBK fan . So what do the WorldSBK Italians themselves say about why they are born with the aura of exhausts and velocity in their heads and hearts ?
“ I think Italians have this passion because we have had so many champions in the past .”
Gianfranco Carloia
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