#Racers

Taking this job with Motorcycle.com has opened up an unbelievable set of opportunities for me. I’ve had the chance to ride some amazing motorcycles in some of the most awe-inspiring places. If you’d asked me when I moved from the Midwest ten years ago if I thought I would’ve had the experiences I’ve had so far, even though I’ve always been hopeful, I couldn’t have imagined just how incredible it has been. Not a day goes by, even the long ones in front of a computer, that I’m not truly grateful for this.

An idea struck me after reading Tom’s Top 10 lists about 500cc/MotoGP and World Superbike champions. There are so many great riders who come through both series, and yet, at the end of the year, only one of them can be crowned champion. The rest? They get the unfortunate distinction of bridesmaids (hence the lead photo above from the movie with the same name). It’s often said in professional sports that nobody remembers second place, but in this Top 10 I’m doing just that – paying tribute to the top riders who were never able to bring home a world title.

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.

“Deadline” is a term coined around the Civil War era, used to denote the line that prisoners of war shall not cross lest they be shot. Cross the line, be dead – pretty straight forward.

Did not start (DNS) is a term you may see from time to time on race result sheets. It denotes a competitor who for whatever reason was not able to make the start grid of a race. Racing is filled with unique terms and phrases.