The FIM World Superbike Championship is preparing to hold its first event ever in Russia. The WSBK initiated the countdown to the August 26th event this week at a ceremony in Moscow.
The World Superbike Championship will be heading to the Moscow Raceway for the next 10 years. This August will be the first time a world-scale motorsports event has ever taken place in Russia.
Paolo Flammini, CEO of Infront Motor Sports, said: "It's a very special day for us to be here in Moscow. This adventure started not so long ago when we met Alexander, and heard about his exciting project to develop the motorcycle racing culture in Russia. Now after less than one year since our first meeting, we are ready to present our 2012 event. It's a great achievement for us and it comes together with other special events. Next year in fact World Superbike will be 25 years old, and will feature a brand new corporate image, which has been introduced over the past few weeks, that will also inspire the championship for the coming future."
Paolo Ciabatti, SBK General Manager, added: "Yesterday we visited the circuit with Jorge Viegas, the Deputy President of the FIM. Although it was mainly under snow, the first layer of asphalt has been laid and work on the infrastructure is well advanced and continuing. We were very pleased to see the development and we are sure that our riders and teams will like the facility and enjoy its very technical layout."
The Russian round will be one of 14 during the 2012 World Superbike season. (You can see the full calendar here.)
Hermann Tilke, who designed the Moscow Raceway, said: "The circuit has been designed both for bikes and cars. For spectators it will be a great viewing track and for the riders it will be really exciting. It's approximately 4 kms in length (3.920 kms for the WSBK round), with a 879 metre straight and an elevation change of 20 metres."
