British Superbikes is booming and its success is clearly evident through extensive TV coverage, but what about the stuff that happens away from the cameras: the juicy nuggets and behind-the-scenes action that’s usually reserved for team members? Moto Rapido Racing invited us to join/annoy them for a whole race weekend, so we chose Silverstone (because the garages are massive) to capture the high and lows of racing.
And it was the perfect weekend to do so. Moto Rapido’s pilot and ex-MotoGP rider, John Hopkins, saved his first podium of the year for us to witness first-hand, plus a few unfortunate crashes. In this first video of three, team manager Iain Hopcroft walks us around Hopper’s Panigale R and showcases the #21’s onslaught of sexy metal. And carbon. Unlike most (if not all) of the Japanese bikes in BSB – which begin life as a road bike – the Ducatis are built in Bologna at the factory, and it shows.
After a soiree with Moto Rapido boss, Steve ‘Wilf’ Moore, who kindly let us loose on his 1299 Superleggera, he wanted us to return the favour by shooting a few vids during a race weekend. We duly obliged.
If you haven’t got any tissues nearby, we suggest you fetch some, sharpish…
