SBK, De Rosa: Iodaracing his last chance in Superbike?

Motorsport is dangerous, but also business. It will be for the latter reason then that a rider who is the current Stock1000 champion has no right to a Superbike. This is the case for Raffaele De Rosa, whose future is still an unknown.

During the BMW prize-giving in Munich, there was a big question mark on the Italian rider's face with regard to his 2017 plans. His dream was to ride a third bike with Althea together with his former team-mates Jordi Torres and Markus Reiterberger. The lack of economic support from the mother company has meant that his chances of riding the BMW have gone up in smoke. The only consolation remains his wild-card appearance at the final race of Losail.

There was another possibility, that of Pedercini. A hypothetical situation that could have become concrete, but the news of Alex De Angelis' arrival has now put paid to the Stock1000 champion's chances. Now the Superbike is further away than ever, but there is perhaps one final possibility, in the form of Iodaracing.

Hopes are now slim, but it appears that this is the final train that could take him to the production-derived series. De Rosa could find himself in a team alongside his greatest rival in this year's Stock1000 championship, Tati Mercado, who handed him the title on a silver platter at Jerez.

In Raffaele's mind there is one clear objective, to be in Superbike. Alternatively, he himself has said: “Rather than take a step backwards, I'd prefer to stop for a year, something that other riders have had to do at times, like Melandri”. We hope that this does not happen of course.