Is this the end for Troy Corser?
BMW has announced that Briton Leon Haslam will return with its factory world Superbike team in 2012, but it looks like the Aussie champ has been given the axeIs Troy Corser approaching the twilight of his magnificent world Superbike career?
It could be on the cards, with his current employer, BMW, announcing overnight that Leon Haslam will be continuing as a factory rider in 2012, while “the identity of the team’s second factory rider for the 2012 season will be announced at a later stage”.
For those into critical interpretation, that still leaves the door open for Corser to extend his three-year union with BMW, but that now appears unlikely as the German marque sets out to partially replenish its riding stocks.
And if Corser is set free, it appears unlikely that he’ll find a spot in another blue-chip team, based on his age – he’s 40 on November 27 -- and the fact Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki will be the only other factory teams represented in the 2012 championship.
Corser, at his best one of the most combative and feisty WSBK practitioners, won his two titles in 1996 (on a Ducati) and 2005 (Suzuki), and currently has 43 pole positions to his name along with 130 podiums for 33 wins, 47 seconds and 50 thirds.
But since he joined BMW in 2009, the pickings have been slim, with his two third place finishes in 2010 remaining his best results.
Three rounds remain in the 2011 championship, with Imola next up from September 23-25.
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