World Superbike is in Russia!!!!
The landmark agreement between the general promoter of Superbike FIM World Championship, Infront Motor Sports, and the Russian company YMS Promotion Ltd concerning holding in Moscow the annual stage of World Superbike (SBK) was signed in Rome at the end of September. Starting from 26 August 2012 Russia will hold top-level motorsport for 10 years. So, Moscow has become Stop 14 of the World Superbike Tour 2012 and has joined the coalition of motor powers consisting of Australia, Italy, Holland, the USA, Spain, Czech Republic, England, Germany, Portugal and France.
Bringing of SBK to Russia was attempted for several years. But for some reasons this dream remained just a dream until the businessman Alexander Yakhnich put his shoulder to the wheel. His partner – the President of Infront Motor Sports Paolo Flammini told: “The new stage in Russia is a perfect present to all motorsport-lovers for the twenty-fifth birthday of the championship! We got serious support from the Government of Russian Federation in the name of the Olympic Committee President Alexander Zhukov who promised to provide all-round cooperation. Thereby, World Superbike will become the first international top-level championship which has “discovered” Russia. It is an excellent opportunity to extend the existing market and present new horizons to the partners of the championship. Russia is so big that it can afford more than one high-level track”.
The President of YMS Promotion Ltd Alexander Yakhnich: “We have got months of hard and uphill organizational work ahead of us. Russian people’s great interest for technical kinds of sport has been repeatedly confirmed by the events which went off successfully in Moscow: arrival of the teams Formula-1 and their show in the centre of the capital, motorcycle parades around Kremlin, cross-country motorcycle race in “Olympiisky”, motorcycle and snowmobile freestyle on Red Square. Russia has enormous audience of car and motorcycle racing TV translations…Interest in big sport isn’t displayed only by the audience. The Championship attracts big investors and sponsors. On average, holding of one stage of the World Championship in Europe costs about 5 million euro. At present moment it is impossible to voice even rough estimate of the Russian stage, as its holding costs depend on a number of factors: broadcasting rights, internal and external procurement, additional expenditure, video recording process management and the final product release in a live television broadcast… Even at the European stages organizers work differently on each track of the World Championship. Status of a track is very important here. If it is a famous track with history, settled in the SBK calendar and if it is a principal stage of the World Championship, the investments in most cases will be lower, just 2-3 million euro. The stage in Russia will be much more expensive, as it is a new market and a marked distance from Europe telling on the procurement. The country holds World Superbike for the first time and we have got the last free stage. We will try to keep within 10 million euro, but time will show what it will come to in reality. In any case, we are planning not only to maintain the high standard of organization but even offer a higher level and make the Russian stage an unforgettable event in the history of Russian and World sport”.
The team “Yakhnich Motorsport” in the frames of the Championship will be represented by Vladimir Leonov – the most promising and fastest Russian racer who did very well in one of the most prestigious European competitions – The Italian Championship CIV 2011 and who was able to create a furor at the final stage of World Superbike in Portimao (Portugal). On one of the most difficult tracks, on a new unfamiliar motorcycle of World Supersport class Vladimir finished the race in Top-10 having left behind a lot of more experienced sportsmen. “The program of the Moscow show is going to include Supersport and Superbike races, The third stage of the second season of “The Cup of Two States” – Coppa dei due Paesi. A spectacular air show and so on” – informs the press service of Yakhnich Motorsport.
Appearance of the Moscow stage in the world calendar inspired the leaders of the Championship so much that celebration of Superbike’s 25th birthday was taken from London to Moscow. Carlos Checa (2011 SBK World Champion, Ducati Althea); FIM board of directors, heads of the companies Bridgepoint and Infront Motorsports, leaders of Pirelli, Alfa Romeo, Tissot, Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, BMV, Ducati, Aprilia, Piaggio, Alitalia, etc are coming to Moscow on 25 November 2011. Generally speaking, the pick of world motor-racing. A big press-conference for the Russian mass media will be given before the Party.
Contacts: Dmitry Dyachenk, head of YMS press-service, www.yakhnichmotorsport.ru Tel. +7(916) 606 26 59, +7 (926) 939 29 33, e-mail: dyachenko.d@gmail.com