Big changes at CSBK today, as the series announced a new title sponsor and a name change. Starting in 2023, and running through 2026, Bridgestone Canada is going to be backing CSBK.
The important details come in the opening paragraphs of the CSBK press release:
The Canadian Superbike Championship Series (CSBK) and Bridgestone Canada Inc. (Bridgestone) announced today that the series will be known as the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship Series, or Bridgestone CSBK, in a four-year partnership. Bridgestone will also serve as the exclusive tire supplier for the series through the 2026 season, furthering the brand’s storied history in motorsports.
Bridgestone is a supplier of premium race tires for several international racing series, with their established line of racing Battlax VO2 slick tires. All six national classes of CSBK competition, from the feature Pro Superbike category through to Amateur Lightweight Sport Bike, will utilize the latest tire options for all conditions.
This move comes after a long-standing deal between Dunlop and CSBK, including the 2020 and 2021 seasons where CSBK ran its race series through Pro 6 Cycle’s infrastructure—and Pro 6 is Canada’s Dunlop distributor.
You can see the rest of CSBK’s official announcement here, including quotes from all the management figures involved, but this bit stuck out to us:
“As well as sponsoring the video elements of the series, Bridgestone will also support the top finishers in each Pro and Amateur category National event with contingency. Perhaps the most important aspect of the new agreement is a new year-end prize purse for the top-placed superbike stars in the featured Pro Superbike division.”
Might that mean more cash for the series’ racers, who’ve been on shoestring budgets for years? No, we won’t go back to the heady big-money days of the cigarette and alcohol advertisements, but more money would certainly be welcome for everyone involved.
“Bridgestone will also support the top finishers in each Pro and Amateur category National event with contingency.”
If it’s a spec series why the need to provide contingency ?
What does that mean – gift cards for new tires or hard cash ?