#BenSpies

Launched in 1988, World Superbike racing is 39 years MotoGP’s junior. Some notable champions have been produced in the series’ 27-year existence, but noticeably different between WSBK and MotoGP is the lack of one-man dominance. WSBK has multi-time champions (that’s what this Top 10 is all about), but nothing quite like MotoGP. For example, the 12 championship seasons, from 1994 through 2005 saw Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi consume 10 of them (five apiece). That’s a decade of domination by two riders! Having a greater variety of champions makes for an arguably superior series, so kudos to WSBK.

Sick of all the attention the racing gods were getting in the run-up to this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, the weather gods put on a show of their own. They sent Typhoon Lekima barreling toward the island on Thursday, summoned a 7.1 earthquake on Friday night, and topped it all off with Typhoon Francisco on Saturday, making a shambles of the weekend practice schedule. Undeterred by the weather, defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo ran a perfect race on Sunday, winning against all odds, and setting up a meaningful season finale in Valenciana. Take THAT, weather gods!

Let’s be clear. Repsol Honda rookie Marc Marquez is the new king of MotoGP. His decisive win at Indianapolis in Sunday over teammate Dani Pedrosa marked his third consecutive win for the 2013 season. It marked his third consecutive win in Indianapolis, having topped the last two Moto2 tilts here. And, lest we forget, it marked three wins in a row in the U.S., following Austin and Laguna Seca. Sunday’s win made it a veritable hat trick of hat tricks for the precocious Spanish youngster.

Repsol Honda mighty mite Dani Pedrosa was quoted last week as saying he thought the 2013 MotoGP championship would be decided in the next three rounds. His teammate, rookie Marc Marquez, sits squarely in the driver’s seat, leading Pedrosa by 16 points and factory Yamaha stud Jorge Lorenzo by an imposing 26. Should young Marquez avoid DNFs over the next three weeks and record a win or two, the 2013 title appears to be his for the taking.