There has been ongoing speculation and rumours floating around the motorcycling fraternity for the last six months about the future of a certain seven times Formula one champion and his intentions towards the two wheeled sport.
We’ve even had a chat about it at londonbikers.com and we seem to think that there might be something going on with Schumacher and his constant claims that it is nothing more than a hobby.
Schumacher has always been interested in motorbikes, and owns a large collection of bikes, including a Ducati 1098R and a Desmosedici RR. However he has always been quick to state that his appearance at the track has nothing to do with any plans to make a move into MotoGP. Instead it is merely Michael taking time out to enjoy his hobby of going fast on bikes.
Clearly being a seven times world Formula one champion, it would be hard to just retire and leave the sport of racing completely. For a start the adrenaline rush you get when racing is like a drug, for many drivers/riders and few ex-competitors have been able to go completely cold turkey.
Here is a quick timeline of Schumacher’s bike outings :-
- 2005 - Schumacher tests a Ducati at Mugello
- November 2007 - Schumacher tests Casey Stoners championship winning Ducati Desmosedici 800cc on the press test day at Valencia.
- March 2008 - Schumacher rides a 990cc KTM Super Duke in the 10 lap KTM Trophy race and manages to finish fourth
- March 2008 – Less than a week on from his previous race Schumacher takes a win on board a Triumph Daytona 675
- April 2008 – Italian test rider Vittoriano Guareschi was unfortunate enough to suffer a fall during day two of a three day test session for the Ducati Corse Development Team at the Mugello Circuit. This allowed Schumacher to climb back on board the Desmosedici GP8.
- May 2008 – Schumacher announces that he is in development of a new Motorcycle crash helmet with company Schuberth
- May 2008 – Schumacher attempts to enter the German Superbike championship under a pseudonym, but was forced to give his real name for insurance purposes. He managed to finish in 28th in race one whilst he failed to finish in race 2 on a Honda CBR1000RR.
There has been a lot of speculation that Schumacher is preparing for a MotoGP wildcard ride, a rumour that Michael has denied on several occasions now.
At londonbikers.com we think that Schumacher might be looking in a slightly different direction. Although his pace when he’s tested the GP8 for Ducati has been impressive, at 39 almost all the MotoGP teams would not risk taking on a motorcycling rookie.We think looking at the schedule that has been set out above and the type of races entered there are three possible options.
Option 1
Schumacher is training to enter into the German Superbike championship in 2009 or 2010 and is testing the water, by entering into several one off races to see if he will be competitive. Superbike offers Schumacher a more user friendly option compared to MotoGP. Entering the German Superbike championship would allow Schumacher to compete in his new hobby whilst staying out of the spotlight of a world series.
Option 2
Like the option above but instead of entering in to the German Superbike championship, Schumacher could be looking to enter into the World Superbike championship as one of the riders on the new BMW WSB team. BMW have already stated in their press releases that they will be looking for a mixture of youth and experience in their team. The first season for a new team in the series could always be troublesome as they will be unsure as to how competitive their bikes will be, but maybe having the backup of having a 7 time formula one champion in your team would help to give the bike some added publicity.
Option 3
Schumacher is telling the truth, taking part in the races purely for fun to fill his time now he has retired. One thing is for sure, as long as Michael Schumacher keeps jumping on a bike there will be rumours in some form or another. But whatever he does decide to do, we wish him all the best. Michael’s found out what the rest of us already know. Motorbikes are fun.
Let us know what you think and leave your comments....
