Ducati Marlboro's Valentino Rossi (Photo: Ducati Corse)

You can bet Valentino Rossi would be interested. He attempted to convince Yamaha to let him compete aboard an YZF-R1 at WSBK rounds in Portugal and Qatar not all that long ago with hopes of taking on Troy Bayliss on his turf. A huge Superbike racing fan, Rossi has put in plenty of miles on Honda, Yamaha, and Ducati production-based racers.

And if Rossi was interested so too would be the world at large. His participation alone would almost guarantee it as a media spectacle, and would also influence the participation of others, not only from the GP ranks, but racers from championships all around the world who would leap at the rare opportunity to race against 'The Doctor.'

And just imagine all of the curious eyes that would be on lifelong Grand Prix pilots like Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa pushing full works Honda Superbikes to the limit.

Exactly how quick would Jorge Lorenzo be on a R1? Faster than Marco Melandri? Faster than Ben Spies?

While former MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden has been largely overshadowed during the era of the 800s, the ex-Superbiker might flex his muscles and remind the world what a sublime rider he is on bikes better suited to his particular skills.

And what about Spies? Is there a better Superbike rider on the planet? Never mind Lorenzo, but would a day-in, day-out SBK specialist like Blake Young, the up-and-comer who took his position with the Yoshimura Suzuki squad three years ago, have any shot of beating him heads-up now that Spies has adapted his riding style to better match Grand Prix prototypes?

The potential storylines are virtually endless.

Opportunity

The World Cup of Superbike Racing could be positioned as a perfect made-for-television event, and maybe represent motorcycle racing's best chance at grabbing some serious mainstream attention all around the world, the United States included.

As the Olympics and, most recently, FIFA Women's World Cup soccer have shown, as long as you can convince Joe Q. Public that an event represents the best against the best, and is packaged in such a way that he only has to pay attention for a relatively limited time frame, you can get him to be engrossed by sports he normally would ignore.

Such a stage could serve as a terrific marketing platform for MotoGP, World Superbike, and, perhaps most effectively, the various national championships, helping to build fan bases and attract new audiences who might have otherwise failed to take notice.

However, a key would be convincing Dorna, In Front Motorsports, AMA Pro, etc. that the World Cup of Superbike exists to help brighten their respective spotlights, not steal them away.