Will records be broken in Most this weekend?

Motorsport enthusiasts will head to Most this weekend (19-21/07) for the fourth time, the biggest motorcycle event of the season: the World Superbike Championship. Attendance and track records will be shaken to their foundations. President Petr Pavel officially took over the patronage of the racing weekend.

The World Superbike Championship is heading straight from Donington Park in England to Most. The fastest motorcycles built on the basis of production machines are among the most attractive motorcycle races, watched on TV by an average of 70 million viewers. Last year, over 50 thousand visitors arrived directly in Most , and this year the organizers believe that they will break the record. " In addition to the races themselves, the richest accompanying program in the entire four-year history of WorldSBK at the Most autodrome is prepared for visitors," says Josef Zajíček, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Autodrom Most. " In addition to fan activities typical of WorldSBK, such as paddock shows, victory lanes, autograph sessions and other activities based on close interaction with fans, it's everything from running on the track, fighter jet flyovers to the activation zone of the Olympic Festival and more," explains Josef Zajíček.

Audience schedule with accompanying program

Records are also expected on the track . The premier class of WorldSBK is led by Toprak Razgatlioglu on BMW. In Great Britain, he won all three races, each by a significant margin, and set several new lap records. With nine victories under his belt this season (seven of them consecutive), Razgatlioglu has increased his lead in the riders' championship to 41 points over the second Italian Bulega on Ducati. "We are satisfied because we took three wins in Misano and we repeated it at Donington. Now I hope we will win in Most as well, because I like the track there," said Toprak. In Most, 'El Turco' is also expected to attack the track record , which the Turkish rider has held since 2022, when he set the fastest lap time on a Yamaha in 1:31.936 min . Other riders have always done well in Most, so it is possible that the position of the phenomenal Turk will not be as clear-cut as in England.

In the WorldSSP class, Czech fans will be keeping their fingers crossed for Ondra Vostatek , whose performance in England was affected by a high-speed crash. "I feel a little disappointed after Donington, we wanted to move up and score points, which we only needed to lose a second at the finish. With the time I set, I would have been fourth last year. This means that the middle of the starting field has improved a lot this year. We definitely know what to improve, and it's good that these are things that we can improve right away. In Most, I want to give 110% performance and break this year's bad luck with some nice points placement, possibly in the TOP10," described Vostatek, describing what he is heading to Most with. The 600 class will be completed by another Czech, Filip Feigl, who received a wild card.

Video: From a fan's perspective

The WorldSSP300 class will also be exciting . Last year's race was decided by just 0.169 seconds, while the 2021 race was even closer: 0.130 seconds separated the top four and 0.032 seconds separated the top three. There will again be two Czech representatives in the class. Daniel Tureček will ride as a wild card, and the second Czech in the starting field will be the regular rider of the Accolade Smrz Racing BGR team, Filip Novotný, who at sixteen is the youngest rider on the grid .

Petr Svoboda , who had a shot at the WorldSSP300 title, is currently recovering from an injury he suffered in Misano and will not be competing in Most. However, he will not miss Most as a spectator and will also take part in fan events, such as a meeting with Czech riders at the Matylda camp on Saturday evening.

Video: WorldSBK Czech Round 2023 recap

In addition to the races and events with WorldSBK riders, fans will have the opportunity to meet other personalities in Most. One of them will be Pepa Sršeň Šiler - instructor, test rider and ambassador of the Czech WorldSBK round. On Saturday, Jan Smigmátor will sing the Czech anthem on the grid and fans will also be able to meet Filip Salač, a rider in the Moto2 class of the MotoGP championship. The patronage of the racing weekend was taken over by President Petr Pavel, who last year did not miss the Most superbikes, including a champagne shower under the podium. This year he will not be able to make it to Most, but he will meet the riders after the weekend in Prague.

More info at  www.superbike-most.cz .

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship race weekend was supported by:

Czech Tourism Authority – CzechTourism #VisitCzechia, National Sports Agency and Ústí nad Labem Region.