World Superbike: JR Racing vaporizes

In the racing world, balance is crucial not only on top of the bike but also on the sheets of teams' budgets. Many a time, rosters have been changed without much notice, and usually common sense—such as, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is—suffices to gauge the financial viability of each endeavor. The difficulties encountered by the new WSBK entry JR Racing team, however, have caught quite a few people off guard.

The Dominican-Republic based squad was presented last November in Magny Cours with former world champion Troy Corser and well-known manager Gemma Voces Pons as the key organizational figures, and Yoselyn Robinson and Manfredi Lombardi as the financial backers behind the enterprise. Shortly after, Toni Elias and Ayrton Badovini were announced as the contracted riders, each of them on a BMW S1000RR to be developed by Alpha Racing, a Germany-based racing department and workshop with close ties with BMW.

After the winter break, however, the team was a notable absence from the pre-season tests. In Jerez, at least one mechanic reportedly employed by JR Racing was seen on track negotiating (successfully) for other job opportunities, arguably a bad omen. Meanwhile, insiders at BMW kept highlighting the fact that no money had been wired to pay for the bikes, which have been ready since the end of 2014. With an official press release, the team first stated that technical issues prevented it from competing at the season opener but it would be ready for the second round (scheduled for March 22 in Thailand). The pressure, however, kept mounting, and the levee eventually broke.

“We were supposed to test as early as last December,” said rider Ayrton Badovini. “That's when I first had a few doubts, but the managers kept reassuring us and the mechanics, saying that the money was in the process of being wired. We're still waiting, and nothing was ever paid for. The presence of Troy Corser, a long-time BMW ambassador, made me think that the manufacturer was somewhat involved, but in retrospect I was wrong.”

Corser was seen in Phillip Island for the WSBK season opener, and reluctantly said the team would be ready for the Aragon round (scheduled for April 12). However, today Voces Pons released a less hopeful official statement.

“Up until now, (Team Coordinator) Costantino Tontarelli and I have not talked for a number of reasons,” Voces Pons wrote. “The team is currently not in a good situation. No one has received a single cent from the team owners—Yoselyn Robinson and Manfredi Lombardi...we feel very disappointed and angry...not only because it seems that our time has been wasted but also because we are 18 people without jobs and it is not likely we will find something at this late stage now. We are fighting to receive our salaries and BMW, Alpha Racing, Öhlins and many more are also waiting to receive what is owed to them. We will defend the mechanics and riders best interests in this matter and I will personally take legal action if the money is not paid to us all. Having said that, we are more than ready to start if the owners decide to pay what’s owed.”

While no statement has yet been released by the ownership, the situation remains somewhat murky, especially considering that the promoter gave a prominent stage for the team's entry announcement in France last November and put its name on the permanent entry list released on January 28. The fate of Badovini and Elias, two established riders in the WSBK paddock, is also uncertain. The Italian is on good terms with BMW (he won the Superstock title for the German manufacturer in 2010) and contacted the BMW Motorrad Italia team, who suffered a few hiccups with its contracted rider Sylvain Barrier so far in 2015, while the Spaniard's only option appears to be with Pedercini on a second Kawasaki, though financial backing is required.