25 Years of World Superbike: Peter Goddard
There is quite a simply vast list of Australian riders who have won SBK races in the past, whether at home or abroad, but one of the earliest men to make his name was Peter Goddard.
At both Oran Park and Phillip Island Goddard won World Superbike races at the very start of the championship itself and then went on to ride a vast array of machinery in various classes.
For Goddard the attraction of SBK was partly its accessibility for riders operating at a high level in domestic championships like he was in Australia. "It was such an accessible thing, and that is where it was excellent at the beginning. You could come in with a domestic team and be competitive. The worst thing back at the start was the different tyres everyone had. The best thing we have now is that everyone runs on the same tyres. This is the best thing. In all of my racing career the thing that made you or broke you was the tyres. Now that is not it at all and I compliment Superbike for doing this. That was a very important step to bring out good racing, It's the only way it can be."
For Peter, who was in demand as a technical guru in the later years of his career as much as he was for being fast as a rider, his vast accumulated experience led to a continuation of his SBK career, albeit with a clipboard and set of tools in his hands. "Staying in SBK meant I learned a hell of a lot and I always worked on my own bikes when I was younger anyway. I enjoy engineering and all that side of it." Goddard is now part of the BMW Motorrad Motorsport technical team, meaning his SBK career has spanned the class's whole term.
