| New SuperMoto era beginning in Pleven
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July 2007 – With the FIM SuperMoto World Championship making its debut on the brand new circuit of Pleven, Bulgaria, a new era has begun for the sport.
The former off-road section, which is now called sky, is covered with tarmac; this solution was never adopted before, but has already proved to be extremely successful.
The huge commitment of BMF-Bulgarian Motorcycle Federation and of the Bulgarian Government brought to this incredible innovation, matching Youthstream and FIM’s suggestions perfectly.
The Dolna Mitropolia track in Pleven has also an incredible slide section –the former tarmac section- that was especially realized for SuperMoto with excellent asphalt.
The whole structure of Dolna Mitropolia is a two year project that will be completely finished in 2008; this incredible structure with massive permanent facilities will become the best SuperMoto track in the world.
Its sky section is one of the easiest to maintain and can always host great action, under any kind of weather condition. Such a permanent structure has an incredible grip, and the riders do not carry any dirt around when they race on it. Moreover, it never needs to be watered, and it is a permanent part of the track, that can be used also during training and free practice.
Giuseppe Luongo, Youthstream President, stated: “As always Youthstream is trying a new idea for the sports it manages, to make racing more fair and close at the same time. We have been working with success on this project for about two years already, and I have to thank the Bulgarian Motorcycle Federation and its President Bogdan Nikolov, the Bulgarian Government and its Minister of Interior Roman Petkov for believing in this project and for supporting us in its realization. What is happening today is unique in the world, this circuit is the first of the future of the FIM SuperMoto World Championship. We believe SuperMoto is a great sport, it just needs a little push to explode into what it really is. I think now we have found this push. The advantages of this track are enormous, the show is exceptional and the SupeRiders have a lot of fun to race on it. Some positive aspects of this track are that it can be easily used also for everyday practice, and any rider who wants to try and enjoy the SuperMoto bikes will have fun on it. We believe that the future of SuperMoto is in town circuits and also in circuits like this one.”
Wolfgang Srb, FIM/CMS President, said: “This weekend we open a new chapter in the book of SuperMoto and in a way we can say that SuperMoto starts today. The former off-road part has been transformed into the great sky section, which is covered with asphalt like the rest of the track. This opens unbelievable possibilities for this sport; we have no more dust or mud, but we have excellent facilities for the riders and an incredible view for the spectators. We have been thinking a lot on how we could improve this part of the circuit, we just needed to find a partner to develop our idea. We finally found a partner in the shape of the Bulgarian Federation and its President Bogdan Nikolov. What they have done is simply perfect.”
Also the SupeRiders had some positive comments about Dolna Mitropolia.
Thierry Van Den Bosch of Aprilia Off Road said: “This is a good project, and I like this track. Now it is new, and it needs some time to settle. I am very happy of the work they have done here, I was very surprised when I first came.”
Adrien Chareyre of CH Azzalin said: “It is all new here, and it was a bit strange to ride on such a track at the beginning. But it was very nice to ride on the sky section, there are many different lines. The sky section is an improvement because most of the times the former off-road section had only one line, and everyone was just following instead of overtaking. When there is asphalt everywhere, it is much easier to find different lines and open doors to pass who is in front of you.”
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