Haslam to WSBK KRT

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Leon Haslam has signed for Kawasaki WSBK in 2019, replacing Tom Sykes.

WorldSBK

No great surprise, the surprise is that Tom has held onto that ride for so long
 
Tom developed that bike into a winning package, and won them a championship and a whole bunch of races. The problem is JR is head and shoulders above him, and 99 percent of the field as a rider. Poor Sykes can't take being second fiddle to JR, Leon will be more than happy with that position, and be able to win when JR has an off day.
 
Not to bag on Sykes as I like him as a rider, but when Spies showed up as his teammate in 09 he basically destroyed his credibility as a #1 rider. Actually I'd like to see #11 come back to WSBK on a V4.
 
Somewhat surprised to see them sign Haslam instead of signing a young rider who they can develop for the future. Haslam is a great rider though and deserves to be in WSBK, but I don't think KRT needs him.
 
Good for Haslam but I agree with others that I would have looked for younger upcoming talent for the team, like Toprak. I think he’s had a pretty damn good rookie season.

I don’t agree that Sykes is .... but agree that he can’t fight for the front. He always shows blistering pace for pole, can get good starts but if he doesn’t get out front and lead the whole race he usually gets beat up and fades back. Clearly the Kawasaki is a good package as proven by Rea’s results but why can’t Tom ride it as well if he developed it? Where is he gonna go that’s got a package for a title shot? Will be interesting to see where he goes.
 
It was strange watching Tom drop back to to 6,7,8th position the last 2 seasons on a regular basis. The series needs Suzuki to jump in. I'm wondering when Jake will get sent back to moto america. Dude is fast but wasnt ready to jump from moto america to WSBK. I was totally shocked when they didnt throw a world supersport racer on that bike to start the 2018 season.
 
Good for Haslam but I agree with others that I would have looked for younger upcoming talent for the team, like Toprak. I think he's had a pretty damn good rookie season.

I don't agree that Sykes is .... but agree that he can't fight for the front. but why can't Tom ride it as well if he developed it?
JR has the ability to know how his bike needs to feel to be strong at the end of the race. He is a triple threat, a very high degree of skill, highly advanced chassis set up knowledge/feel, and a crew chief that can give him what he needs. The end result is he's stinking up the show!!!!JR does not have to be on that Kawasaki to win.
 

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