Aaron Slight had one of the longest and more illustrious careers in all of World Superbike during his time in the series, that in all, spanned 13 years. The New Zealander tallied 13 WSBK wins, a remarkable 87 podiums, 8 poles and was 26 times the fastest lap in the race. But the one thing Slight never managed was winning the championship.
Slight has to be considered one of the all-time best World Superbike racers never to have earned the No. 1. Consider this extraordinary stat: For six consecutive seasons in WSBK (1993-’98), Slight finished either second or third in the championship in an impressive display of consistency.
Slight was slated to race in AMA Superbike in 2001 with HMC Ducati. He raced in the Daytona 200, but then, citing safety concerns in the AMA series after Scott Russell’s horrific starting line crash, opted instead to race British Touring Cars.
Aaron Slight on the beautiful Castrol Honda RC45 at the Laguna Seca round of the World Superbike Championship in 1996. Slight earned a podium in race two that day and went on to finish second to Ducati’s Troy Corser in the championship. (Henny Ray Abrams photo)
