WORLDSBK.COM - bis 20.06.2011

[WORLDSBK.COM]

The Pedercini Team has made a decision regarding the 2011 season in the World Superbike Championship. Lucio and Donato Pedercini reached an agreement with Mark Aitchison who will join the Pedercini Team starting from the next Phillip Island test that will take place on February 21st and 22nd before the first World Superbike Championship round. Twenty-seven year old Australian rider will be team-mate to the Italian rider Roberto Rolfo.

Aitchison's started his professional career competing in the World Superstock Championship with Suzuki Italia. He completed his campaign finishing fifth in the World Superstock Championship and was named 2007 Rookie of the Year. In the 2008 season Mark partnered with Triumph to enter the World Supersport Championship entering into the Top 10 on several occasions.

In 2009 he teamed up with the Hanspree Honda Althea Team for his second full season in the World Supersport Championship. The 2009 season was very competitive and Aitchison reached the podium on one occasion and scored a number of excellent Top 5 finishes, culminating 8th overall in the championship standings. Last year he participated to the last four races of the World Supersport Championship with Kuja Racing Team.

Donato Pedercini: "I'm very satisfied with the agreement reached with Mark Aitchison and I'm delighted to welcome him on board with our team. He's an excellent addition to the team, I appreciated his riding qualities and his determination. Mark is full of enthusiasm and with a passion for racing. Together we will take on this new challenge and we firmly believe he will quickly grow. Mark is strongly motivated and he's on the same wavelength as we are in terms of projects and targets. He'll test the new Kawasaki ZX 10R during the next Phillip Island test and of course the first two races will not be easy for him, but I'm sure that all our technicians will help him to be competitive very soon ".

Mark Aitchison : "To say I am excited now about my season ahead is a major understatement. To race in the World SBK class has always been a dream of mine and to be given this opportunity with a team that has such long history in World Superbike racing is something I am very proud of. I would like to thank all the Pedercini family for giving me such a wonderful chance to be a part of their team and I look forward to repaying their faith in me by giving all my motivation and dedication toward this project. In Phillip Island I'll be riding and racing the bike for the first time, so even though it will not be easy, I understand that this is a long season. The new Kawasaki package looks amazing, the bike is relative in size to its 600cc counterpart and after I have some laps under my belt I'm sure my technicians and I will have a much clearer understanding for the development of the bike and how we need to improve to reach our goals. I'm extremely looking forward to this new challenge, and I'm especially looking forward to getting back onto the Phillip Island circuit, which I love to race on".

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After last week's test in Eastern Creek, BMW Motorrad factory riders Troy Corser and Leon Haslam travelled to Phillip Island to continue preparation for the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship with two more test days. Weather conditions again were very hot, especially on the first day, with air temperatures up to 35 degrees Celsius and track temperatures up to 55 degrees Celsius. On the second day it was cooler but still dry. The team completed a total of 1.090 testing kilometers.

Corser had a fall on the first of the two test days. He was not seriously injured but as he suffered some painful bruises, he and the team decided that he would not ride on the second day. With Leon the team went through an extensive testing programme and his results showed that everything is heading in the right direction.

"We were still focusing on electronics and worked on a setup for this race track," declared Haslam. "This was important as in three weeks time we are going to have our first races of the season here. We have already found a good base to work on. I am happy; we made some good progress. My lap times were quite good for these hot conditions. Of course we still have some work to do before the season starts but I am happy with the progress we made so far. The bike improved a lot in the last month. I am now travelling to Brisbane with my wife and my trainer. We are going to spend two weeks training there before flying back to Phillip Island for the official test and the season opener. I am already looking forward to race again at last. We now don't have long to wait until we will find out where everybody stands."

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Gino Rea and the Step Racing Team (formerly known as Intermoto) have finished a positive two day test at the Aragon Circuit albeit in cold and bitter conditions. The test went well, providing the team with nearly 2 days to get through parts they couldn’t at Portimao. Once again testing provided valuable track time before the 2011 season gets underway, with new parts to try from chassis to electronics, Rea also got to grips with the new Aragon circuit and by the end of the second day, he was able to put in lap after lap at a good pace, matching the other top Supersport laptimes.

"That was definitely a much better test than Portimao, the Aragon circuit is good fun!†Rea commented. "Although it was cold and a bit frosty in the mornings, we had dry track time so we managed to develop the parts to where they need to be. We got a good feel of where the gear ratio needs to be come race weekend and I know which way the circuit goes now. We still have many things to work on but so far it has improved and improved, so I hope we can continue this at Phillip Island come the first round. We didn't show our potential at the official Portimao test as our package wasn't quite there to, but after this test I'm feeling much better. I enjoyed the last few sessions here at Aragon, I got back to my old self on the bike and was able to put some good lap times in. The off season was a long one so it's nice to get back into it properly. I'd like to thank my Step Racing team again for their hard work over the two tests."

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[WORLDSBK.COM]

Another exciting new season is about to start and thanks to the agreement between Infront Motor Sports and Expedia it is possible for fans to purchase online their tickets and travel package for all the rounds of the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship.

Live the unique Superbike experience, from the Paddock or the Grandstands, breathe in all the championship atmosphere and enjoy a full immersion weekend.

What are you waiting for? Don't hold back your passion, with Expedia you are already on the starting-grid! Book now!

Click here: http://www.worldsbk.com/en/round-info/tickets-a-travel.html

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This year the one-man Suzuki Alstare team has opted to hedge all of its bets with Italian rider Michel Fabrizio. The former factory Ducati man is 26 years of age and made his Superbike debut in 2006. He has four wins to his name and has been on the podium 32 times. Fabrizio has already raced with the Belgian Alstare team in 2003 when he won the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup.

"For this reason it's a bit like coming back home," he said. "Team owner Francis Batta gave me a great opportunity in 2003 and I hope that 2011 will also represent another turning-point in my career".

The last three years in Ducati can't have been easy. What are your hopes now you're back on a Suzuki?

"Suzuki have reduced the budget a bit for the Superbike development but the GSX-R is very competitive and last year it was the only bike that managed to keep up with the Aprilia. The team will continue under its own resources: for example, in the tests we had a different engine to the one used by Haslam in 2010 and a further step is expected for the summer races."

How does it feel to be back on a four-cylinder bike?

"It was a bit difficult to get acclimatized to it again after three seasons on a Ducati twin. But now I'm used to a four again."

Are you pleased with the winter testing results?

"We have not done much testing in the dry but we've still got another two days at Phillip Island to complete the workload and set-up. It'll be important to arrive at the first race ready to go."

What are your expectations?

"It'll be important to begin the world championship on the right foot. I always seem to go well in Australia and so does the Suzuki. I hope to be the surprise..."

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[WORLDSBK.COM]

Leading publisher Black Bean Games has shown off the official logo of SBK®2011 as well as some development assets featuring the creative processes of the bike and rider 3D model.

SBK®2011 has been completely revamped since last year. Following the consumer and International press feedback after the SBK®X launch, a lot of improvements have been made in four different areas: presentation, graphics, physics, online. All details will be revealed shortly.

The new SBK instalment is scheduled for release in May 2011 for PlayStation®3, Xbox360® and PC.

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[WORLDSBK.COM]

Fans of Eugene Laverty can now keep up to date with his on-track news and antics around the clock with the launch of his very own iPhone app. The Yamaha World Superbike Team rider is the first motorcycle racer in the world to launch a personal app for iPhones and iTouch, which has been created and built by Rockspin.

Laverty is no stranger to the world of social networking, having been an avid blogger and tweeter for the past three seasons. And now he has taken the next step by launching the Eugene Laverty app, designed as an extension of his website www.eugenelaverty.com.

In keeping with Laverty's traditional green and black website and merchandise, the app features his famous Leprechaun logo and offers a variety of new and unique content of news, videos, fan page, calendar and guide

"I was really keen on the idea because I'm very big on the whole social media explosion and believe that the next step forward was my own app," explained Laverty. "The fan page has been created so users can take a snapshot of where they are and post it straight up. We hope that in a few years we will have a photograph from every country in the world. It's designed to be interactive and a bit of fun."

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[WORLDSBK.COM]

On 27 February the Supersport World Championship gets underway at Phillip Island with a massive 16 different nationalities represented on the grid, providing a high level of global interest in this exciting and closely-contested championship.

The greatest number of riders representing a single country is seven, from Italy. Then a close distance behind comes the UK, with four. Two riders each will represent France (Florian Marino and Fabien Foret), Australia (Broc Parkes and Mitchell Pirotta), Hungary (Balasz Nemeth and Imre Toth) and there is even a pair from Russia, thanks to Eduard Blokhin and Oleg Pozdneev, from the RivaMoto team.

Spain has a high level representative in David Salom, and other countries with one rider on the grid include Portugal (Miguel Praia), Denmark (Robbin Harms), the Czech Republic (Ondrej Jezek), South Africa (Ronan Quarmby), Switzerland (Bastien Chesaux) and Sweden (Alexander Lundh).

A high level of interest from Eastern Europe means that there will be riders from Poland (Pawel Szkopek), Slovenia (Marko Jerman) and Ukraine, with Vladimir Ivanov flying his national flag on a Honda in the Step Racing Team.

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[WORLDSBK.COM]

Victorious in 2009 with Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha this year will be returning to the Supersport World Championship with six riders. Amongst these will be Luca Scassa, former Italian CIV Superbike champion, who will race a YZF-R6 entered by the Italian ParkinGO team. WorldSBK.com spoke to the Italian rider about the coming season.

 

Luca, you were going to compete in the world championship with a Triumph, what brought about this change?

"In 2010 I had a good season in Superbike and I agreed to race in Supersport because I was attracted by the offer from Giuliano Rovelli's team. I love difficult challenges and taking the glorious British brand Triumph to a win would have been fantastic. I had already tested the Daytona 675 at Aragon and I managed to set some good lap times."

But now you're on a Yamaha...

"There were a few problems between Triumph and my team and just before Christmas we found ourselves without any bikes. Giuliano Rovelli knocked on Yamaha's door and managed to obtain the 2009 factory machines. Now we are more combative than before."

What is the feeling like with the R6?

"It's a very small bike and I'm pretty tall, I needed a whole day's testing at Portimao to modify the footpegs so I could be comfortable with it. And it was the only dry day. My impression is that the Yamaha is a quick bike and very powerful. For sure more than the Triumph, but I'd already found an optimal set-up with that. With the R6 we're still in the early stages."

What are your aims?

"I only did one day in the dry so I'll be making my debut in the world championship with three days of testing behind me, that is if we get good weather in the two testing days at Phillip Island. But I'm not beating about the bush: I've got a great team, a great bike and great ambitions."

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[WORLDSBK.COM]

Tickets have gone on sale for the first-ever round of the FIM Superbike World Championship to be held at the Motorland Aragon circuit at Alcaniz, scheduled for the weekend of 17-19 June 2011.

Fans can purchase tickets through normal channels in Spain (El Corte Inglés, Ticketmaster, Carrefour, Viajes Halcón and FNAC), with a series of discount prices available until April 30: €30 entry for adults (€40 from May 1), €15 for 6 to 14 year-olds, with free admission for under sixes.

Daily Paddock Passes cost €20, while grandstand/paddock packages cost €45 until April 30 and €50 from May 1.

Tickets are valid for all three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) and include free parking in the circuit.

For further information: http://www.motorlandaragon.com/pagEstatica.aspx?id=56

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[WORLDSBK.COM]

An evocative name in all forms of racing inside the Superbike World Championship paddock, the Alstare team once more represents the might of Suzuki in 2011.

Financial realities means that the team, run and owned by Francis and Patricia Batta, will only field one machine in 2011. They have not only a proven competitive motorcycle, however, and a team of motivated experts all based in their headquarters at Alleur in Belgium, they also have proven race winner Michel Fabrizio signed up to spearhead their combined efforts in 2011.

The team has won numerous titles in the past, from Superstock 1000 to the Supersport World Championship and then the 2005 Superbike World Championship itself, thanks to Troy Corser. The team has had several high profile race winners in its ranks, with names like Corser, Leon Haslam, Max Biaggi, Fonsi Nieto, Yukio Kagayama, Max Neukirchner and Pierfrancesco Chili all scoring race wins for the Alstare and Suzuki partnership over the years.

Last year Alstare and Suzuki almost won the title again, with Leon Haslam that time around, but in 2011 the push for ultimate success will come via lone entry Fabrizio. For the Italian, it is something of a homecoming as far as Alstare is concerned, as this was the team he came to real prominence with when he won the Superstock 1000 Championship back in 2003.

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The new Ukrainian Step Racing Team squad was presented to the public this week during a crowded press conference in a luxury hotel in the capital Kiev. The team will take part in the 2011 FIM Supersport World Championship with riders Gino Rea and Vladimir Ivanov, using Honda CBR 600RR motorcycles with technical and logistic support from the former Intermoto Honda team.

During the conference Mr. Vadim Kopylov, President of the Ukrainian Motorcycle Federation, expressed his satisfaction for the new team and for its project to develop a new generation of young Ukrainian riders, also thanks to the opening in 2012 of the new Crimea Grand Prix circuit near Evpatoria.

Step Racing Team is also the company behind the development of the new Crimean circuit.

Mr. Paolo Ciabatti, SBK General Manager, declared that the 2011 FIM World Supersport Championship has had a very successful number of entries, with 28 permanent riders, a strong presence of Eastern European riders from Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland and welcomed the arrival of the new Ukrainian team in the series. Mr. Ciabatti also added that Infront Motor Sports is very pleased with the development of the new circuit in Crimea and that negotiations have started with Step Racing Team in order to bring a World Superbike event to Ukraine in the near future.

In the photo, from left to right, Alexander Artemev , Director of Department of Sport of the Ministry for family, youth and sport, Paolo Ciabatti, SBK General Manager Infront Motor Sports, Vadim Kopylov President, and Eugen Garbuz Vice-President, of the Ukrainian Motorcycle Federation.

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[WORLDSBK.COM]

The 2011 Supersport World Championship is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in recent years with on paper, any number of riders capable of getting onto the podium. These will almost certainly include Massimo Roccoli, the 26-year-old from Rimini who will race a Kawasaki Lorenzini machine alongside Vittorio Iannuzzo.

The Honda period for Roccoli is now over and he has returned to the team with whom he scored the best results in his career: a win in the World Championship at Misano in 2006 and three Italian titles. Kawasaki, which already has Parkes and Salom in the official team, with the signing of Roccoli with Lorenzini, has now boosted its ambitious aims for 2011. "I have a lot of confidence in the ZX-6R even though I haven't had an opportunity to test it yet", explained Roccoli. "The deal with Lorenzini came a few weeks ago and there hasn't been time to organize any tests in Europe: I'll try and make up for lost ground in the two days of IMS testing at Phillip Island on Monday and Tuesday next."

That's not much time to prepare for the championship though?

"In the first two or three races I'll have to grit my teeth and get through them, I know it's going to be difficult. But I know the Lorenzini team's professionalism and they know what I'm capable of. So I'm sure we'll be competitive pretty quickly."

What do you think of the Kawasaki?

"In 2010 they went well, the bike is a good one and I'm sure I have the potential to do well".

How well?

"In the past I proved that with the right team and bike I can race with the best. In 2010 I had loads of problems with the Honda but I finished eighth overall in the championship just a few points away from fifth. I'm going to start the season aiming for top 5 places and fight for the podium whenever possible."

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The Step Racing Team will be entering this year's FIM Supersport World Championship with two riders and with backing from Crimea Grand Prix as a promotional vehicle for their new circuit. The new team makes use of the expertise, crew and technical set-up of the Intermoto team from Czech Republic.

Step Racing Team is the company behind the development of the new circuit in Crimea, Ukraine (www.crimeagp.com). Negotiations have started between Infront Motor Sports and Step Racing Team in order to bring a World Superbike event to Ukraine in the near future.

The presence of British rider Gino Rea and Ukraine's Vladimir Ivanov in Step Racing Team's World Supersport line-up adds extra interest about the potential of this new team in the 2011 racing season.

"This is a really exciting prospect. Having a backer as enthusiastic as this means a great deal and the Crimea Grand Prix Circuit will be a fantastic facility." Gino Rea commented. "The name of the team has changed, but I still have my same crew on my side of the garage, so for me I get to keep the consistency from 2010. Our potential is already much higher than last year so I want to bring the Step Racing Team strong results; the first race in Australia is just around the corner now. I've improved both physically and mentally so I can't wait."

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The 2011 Yamaha World Superbike Team has unveiled the livery they will run for the upcoming World Superbike season. The new design features a Yamaha blue corporate racing colour scheme. The livery takes its inspiration from both the famous Yamaha speed block design and also one of the colours of the current production model YZF-R1, giving the bike a modern sleek appearance whilst emphasizing Yamaha's racing image.

The team features an all new rider line up for the 2011 championship with 28yr old Italian rider Marco Melandri, a previous 250cc World Champion, stepping across from MotoGP to partner 24yr old rider Eugene Laverty from Northern Ireland who steps up from the World Supersport Championship. The new livery will feature prominently on the leathers of both riders.

The team continues its winter testing schedule on the 21st and 22nd February at the Phillip Island circuit in advance of the opening round of the championship in Australia on 27th February.

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[WORLDSBK.COM]

Almost one year after its launch, the SBK official Facebook profile has now reached a total of 100,000 members.

By tapping into the social media outlets, the Superbike World Championship has succeeded in reaching out to a wider international audience of fans, enthusiasts and followers of the world's leading production-based racing series.

Regular news updates, photos, results, links, videos, fan comments and the usual easy Facebook user interface are just a few of the aspects that render www.facebook.com/sbkofficial such a popular ‘virtual' meeting-place for all SBK fans.

A big thanks for joining us on this World Superbike adventure and keep on following us!

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A legendary combination returns, as two names that resonate down the years have joined together again to create what they hope will be another successful force in the paddock. The previous Castrol Honda team won three World Championships in WSBK racing and now Castrol is back as title sponsor for the official Honda WSBK team in 2011, and their rider line-up could not be more exciting.

Jonathan Rea had an up and down season on his top-level Honda last year; the ups were many, the downs few but dramatic. Jonathan has now largely recovered from his Imola injuries and has been fast in testing. He will have different branding on his CBR1000RR this year, but he will also have the same talented and utterly committed band of technical staff from the Ten Kate squad to look after him and his machine. A proven winner, and certainly one of the riders the other top riders name without hesitation as a threat for the crown this time around.

The second rider in the Castrol Honda team is anything but a second rider. Ruben Xaus, an 11 times WSBK race winner, has scored a dream job for himself in 2011. If the Ten Kate team staff can get Ruben his confidence back to its previous race-winning levels, anything is possible from a rider who is entertainment to watch making laps on his own, never mind mixing it up in races.

The whole team will operate with the support of Honda Motor Europe, and be run by the dynamic family duo of Gerrit Ten Kate and Ronald Ten Kate. Gerrit is the business and technical power behind the team's passion for racing, Ronald the Team Manager and public face of the team at races and test sessions.

Already WSBK champions in 2007, Ten Kate will be all out to challenge again, so keep an eye on the white red and green flashes, all the way from Australia to Portugal.

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After a longer than expected sabbatical after major knee surgery, Chris Vermeulen is eager to get back to World Superbike, starting at next Phillip Island next week, when the Australian will take part in an official two-day test session.

"This is the longest time I have spent off a bike in my entire career," said Vermeulen. "I really can't wait to jump on the all-new Kawasaki ZX-10R and just start cutting some laps again. Of course, the number of laps I squeeze out at the Phillip Island test will depend on the condition of my knee.

It certainly has plenty of strength and stability now, but the biggest issue is I can't bend it how I want to - or to the degree that racing at the highest level demands. And when I push the knee too hard I get swelling and pain in it. That's why the test will be a delicate balancing act - I want to spend a lot of time of the bike to work on set-up, but I don't want to push too hard and set back my recovery."

Vermeulen first attempted to ride his ZX-10R at Sepang (Malaysia) in early January, but after only a few exploratory laps he called time. Since then, he's been back at his home on the Sunshine Coast not only receiving full medical treatment on his knee, but also swimming, cycling, paddling and the gym to build strength.

"It's certainly been frustrating, but to Kawasaki's credit they haven't been pushing me," continued Vermeulen. "The company has told me it wants to finish top six in 2011 and then really push for the championship in 2012."

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Arguably the biggest changes to any single existing team in the WSBK paddock this year have been made to the Yamaha World Superbike Team. In terms of machinery they continue with the latest model of machine that made Ben Spies the champion in 2009, but with some changes made to the weight distribution and balance of the machine to help it compete for the entire race distance.

 

But once more not just one but both riders are new for a new season, as Eugene Laverty jumps up from the Supersport World Championship and Marco Melandri join from the MotoGP world. A strong pairing, in a proven championship winning team, the official Yamaha entry, based in Gerno Di Lesmo, Italy, has many reasons to be confident on the eve of a new season.

 

There is a new team manager in charge, Andrea Dosoli, who will lead a team of technicians and support staff, all of whom will once more look to Silvano Galbusera to steer the overall performance of the machines, from dyno to racetrack. Yamaha recently launched a new livery for their race machines, and will very soon get to see how their rider choices will perform.

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The Castrol Honda World Superbike Team completed a two-day private test at Phillip Island in Australia, ahead of next week's official test, which will be followed by the opening round of the 2011 World Superbike championship.

The team has been blighted by poor weather conditions in Europe over the winter and maximised the opportunity offered by dry conditions to test a number of new components on its Castrol Honda CBR1000RR Fireblades.

Jonathan Rea completed 102 laps yesterday and settled quickly into a fast rhythm around the sweeping 4.5km circuit 150km south of Melbourne. However, in wet conditions the 24-year-old crashed at Phillip Island's fast turn one. Rea suffered neck pains and was transferred to hospital for a scan, which was clear, but he missed the rest of the day's testing programme.

"Everything felt really good yesterday and we did more laps than we've done during the whole winter in Europe," declared Rea. "This morning it was wet but, when it stopped raining and looked like clearing up, I went out but got off the bike quite quickly at turn one. I hurt my neck a bit but the paramedics insisted on putting me in a brace and taking me to hospital where it took about four hours to get a scan. Everything was fine and it was a little frustrating to lose the time today. But yesterday showed that we're in a pretty good place, so I'm looking forward to some more testing on Monday."

Rea's Castrol Honda team-mate, Ruben Xaus, who will celebrate his 33rd birthday in Australia today, took full advantage of his first real opportunity to get some dry time on his new CBR1000RR.

"I'm quite tired actually! I've done a lot of laps yesterday and today and this is quite a physical circuit. Combined with trying lots of different things and still a bit of jet-lag, it's been a tough couple of days. But so far so good, and we've had to go through a lot of different things to learn more about the bike and how it behaves in different situations. I don't want to go out and just give it full gas for three fast laps; I want to be able to go fast after a lot of laps, which is really important here. We know which direction we're going in and we'll follow that way when we come back on Monday and work a little more on stability through the corner."

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Tom Sykes, a rider who took the previous official Kawasaki machine to some great rides at the end of last year, has an all-new bike in 2011; a new bike which is already showing itself to be an improvement.

 

"The Ninja ZX-10R is a brand new bike," he says, "and the first few tests we had have been fairly positive. At the official IMS testing at Portimao we came out fairly decent, which for Kawasaki I think was very good, because Portimao was one of our worst tracks last year."

Part of the reason for his quiet confidence on the eve of 2011 is that for racing use the new bike is already an improvement on the previous version. "The bikes are two completely different machines. At the moment the new bike does everything better. Last year the Kawasaki seemed to stop very well in a straight line, and I expected not to improve on that this year because it was such a strong point - but Kawasaki still managed to improve on that with the new bike, let alone everything else. Possibly one of the biggest changes is the ability to hold a tighter line with the new bike. There are big changes this year."

Sykes is keeping any personal goals he has quiet for now but it is obvious he feels in a good position at this stage of his career. "I have targets and goals set out in my head, but I am not a rider who shouts about what he wants to achieve. I do not been any extra pressure from anybody else. I am going to go out there and give 110% as always. With Kawasaki and PBM behind me I think we have a good base package to move forward this year. I have worked with a lot of these guys before in the British Championships, and then again last year in WSBK, so my comfort level with this team is brilliant really. I am so relaxed in the garage."

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The Phillip Island circuit south of Melbourne, Australia will be the scene on Monday and Tuesday for the final session of pre-season testing in view of the opening round of the FIM Superbike and Supersport World Championships, taking place here next weekend. World Superbike has been coming to the Victoria State circuit every year bar one since 1990, making it the longest-running event in the calendar at a single circuit. In addition to being the venue for the final Infront Motor Sports collective test session, Phillip Island has also been used for testing over the winter by several of the championship's top teams: Aprilia Alitalia and Yamaha at the start of December, and most recently BMW Motorrad and Castrol Honda last week.

Following his 2010 title victory, all eyes will clearly be on the world champion Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia), who went some way towards resolving the problems that his RSV4 Factory had encountered during last year's opening round, where the Italian could only finish fifth and eighth. Following December testing Biaggi should now be quick straight out of the box. Britain's Leon Camier lines up for his second full year with the team and will be looking to produce the results.

Leon Haslam, Biaggi's main rival last year, has now changed team and manufacturer and during the recent tests he was able to put his new BMW S 1000RR through its paces. The German team has been busy throughout the winter and next week it will be possible to gauge exactly how competitive the bike has become. Last year Haslam won one of the Australian races and with his team-mate, seven-times Phillip Island winner Troy Corser, alongside him, the German team will be looking to bring home the results in their third season of WSBK.

The other 2010 race was won by Carlos Checa (Ducati Althea Racing), who now spearheads Ducati's attack in a championship where it is no longer officially present. But the Spaniard will enjoy all the technical and engineering support possible from Borgo Panigale. Checa was right on the pace in Portimao and Aragon testing, while Jakub Smrz on the factory-assisted Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati was quickest in Portugal. The Czech Republic rider will be flanked by Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli.

The Big 4 Japanese manufacturers will again be at the forefront, with their various levels of factory involvement. At the moment the leading candidate is Jonathan Rea, who together with Ruben Xaus, brings the legendary Castrol Honda red, white and green colours back to life on the Ten Kate-run CBR 1000RR. All change this year for Yamaha, who after a world title for Ben Spies in 2009 and a transitino year in 2010, line up for the new season with Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty. The Italian is anxious to return to the victory podium in a totally new category for him, while his Irish team-mate has already shown he is one of the best young stars in the category.

A real surprise could come from Kawasaki, another manufacturer to have been very active over the winter, during which it carried out a series of tests on several different circuits. Tom Sykes, Joan Lascorz and Chris Vermeulen (still recovering from last year's injuries) have all looked convincing and the team has carried out a lot of development work on the new ZX-10R, turning it into a competitive machine.

For its part Suzuki Alstare are campaigning with only one GSX-R1000 machine for one rider, Michel Fabrizio who this year has switched from the factory Ducati squad to Francis Batta's Belgian outfit. The Italian has trained hard over the winter and is pushing the undoubtedly competitive Japanese four-cylinder machine to its limits.

A further boost for BMW's hopes for glory could come from the satellite BMW Motorrad Italia SBK Team which, after winning the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup with Badovini, will line up on the grid for its Superbike debut with the Italian and the two-times world champion James Toseland.

Mark Aitchison also makes his debut in the category with the Kawasaki Pedercini Team, while the grid at Phillip Island will be filled out by wild-cards, both Australians and both domestic champions, Bryan Staring (Kawasaki Pedercini) and Joshua Waters (Suzuki Yoshimura).

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Phillip Island testing will also see an appearance by the Supersport contenders, whose only overseas round this year is in Australia. Judging by the results of winter testing, they are on course to offer one of the most interesting and competitive championships in recent years. The main focus of interest in the category for 600 cc Supersport machines comes with the return of Yamaha, following an agreement between the European wing of the company and the ParkinGO team to race the 2009 title-winning R6 machines, suitably updated.

In the hands of Luca Scassa and Chaz Davies, the Yamahas will have some tough competition from a plethora of Honda CBR600RRs, which have won the lion's share of the titles over the years. Men to watch on the Hondas will include the Hannspree Ten Kate entrants, former champion Fabien Foret and youngster Florian Marino (photo), both from France, as well as Sam Lowes (Parkalgar), Gino Rea (Step Racing) and James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR).

Kawasaki also have their sights on victory through the Provec Motocard.com team, which will enter Aussie Broc Parkes and young Spaniard David Salom. In winter testing the ZX-6R were right on the pace of the frontrunners. Last in the list of manufacturers present in Supersport is Triumph with its Daytona 675, two examples of which will be raced by South African Ronan Quarmby and Italian Danilo Dell'Omo of the Suriano Racing Team from Italy.

While the arrival of riders from as far afield as Slovenia, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary and Poland helps to give the championship an even more international appeal.

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An early crash at Turn 2, luckily without any consequences, failed to prevent Carlos Checa (Ducati Althea Racing) from setting the quickest time in the first free practice session at Phillip Island. The Spaniard was six-tenths quicker than Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda) who appears to be suffering no ill effects from his crash on the second day of testing here on Tuesday.

An impressive third was Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki Racing) who is rapidly proving to be right on the pace together with his ZX-10R machine, in his first year of World Superbike. Behind the Spaniard can be found Leon Haslam who made a late charge up the field on his BMW. Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) is in sixth, just behind Sylvain Guintoli on the Effenbert - Liberty Racing Ducati. Marco Melandri's first official session on the Yamaha YZF-R1 was a positive one with the Italian setting the eighth quickest time ahead of Michale Fabrizio (Suzuki Alstare) and team-mate Eugene Laverty.

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Quickest time in the first Supersport qualifying session was recorded by former champion Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). The Fast Frenchman had to work for it however as right until the last minute the timesheets were headed by the young Spanish rider David Salom (Kawasaki Motocard.com), in the photo.

Another up-and-coming youngster, 20 year-old Sam Lowes (Parkalgar Honda) went third quickest ahead of fellow Brit Chaz Davies who is now getting to grips with his Yamaha ParkinGO machine. Good news also for the other Yamaha team on the grid, Bike Service, with Roberto Tamburini getting the better of Luca Scassa (Yamaha ParkinGO) by a whisker. James Ellison (Bogdanka PTR Honda) continued his recovery with the ninth fastest time.

 

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