When Marco Simoncelli was spotted trying on Ruben Xaus’ CBR 1000RR for size during the WSBK weekend at Monza, rumors started immediately that the hairy Italian MotoGP rider could be riding as a wildcard in a SBK round for Castrol Honda.
Unfortunately for us fans who were hoping to see Simoncelli try to kick some ass again in Superbikes, these rumors have been officially quashed by Team San Carlo Honda Gresini with a press release in Italian, which we’ve translated for you, as the English version is still not online.
“Simoncelli will not take part in any race of the 2011 World Superbike Championship.
The team is preparing a Honda CBR 1000-RR for him if he wishes to do some training on certain circuits that will be defined (according to FIM rules).
This is to refute certain media reports after Marco Simoncelli’s presence at World Superbike Championship which took place at Monza Sunday, May 8.
”It’s really too bad that the World Superbike season starts and finishes earlier than MotoGP, because we’d personally love see a couple of GP riders try their hand racing Superbikes as wildcards, without the worry of compromising their season with an injury, but we doubt that Dorna would really give their seal of approval over a couple of their top riders helping promote Infront.