After just four rounds of the 2010 World Superbike season, we’re already talking silly season with the future of Ruben Xaus in the BMW team at risk, according to the recent gossip coming out after Assen.
After Xaus’ pull-out following four massive crashes during the Phillip Island round, where he also ran into the back of Noriyuki Haga’s Ducati and team manager Davide Tardozzi going to Spain to play the role of psychologist and trying to get Xaus mentally back in shape and stating that Xaus’ spot in the team wasn’t in doubt, and he would give his rider a couple of more rounds to to regain his lost confidence, but the Spaniard’s position in the team has slightly changed after Troy Corser’s excellent performance during the Assen round.
Xaus crashed four times during last weekend, once in qualifying, once in warm-up practice and twice in race 1 and in race 2 managed a tenth place, but now Tardozzi is now eyeing Jakub Smrz to replace Xaus in the German team’s 2011 line-up.
According to this week’s edition of Motorsprint, the volcanic Italian manager admitted that he’s thinking about having Smrz in BMW: “We like the guy and his name is the first on our 2011 list.
”Xaus is now officially warned.