Raffaele de Rosa will make his World Superbike debut as the series heads to Laguna Seca for its annual stateside trip next week. The Italian, currently leading the FIM Europe Superstock 1000 Cup, will cover for Markus Reiterberger after the German rider fractured his D12 vertebra in a heavy crash on the opening lap of Race 2 at Misano.

Racing for the same Althea Racing Team on a BMW in Superstock 1000, De Rosa tested the Superbike on the Monday after the races at Misano.

“It felt good immediately,” he says in an interview with WorldSBK.com. “The bike is very different but it does have similar characteristics. The biggest differences are the tyres and electronics. The Superbike definitely has better performance overall, but the main difference for me at the test was that all of the other riders were testing fresh from the race weekend whereas it was quite new for me. I used a base setup from Reiterberger and I worked on adopting my position on the bike to feel good on it. Our Team Manager Genesio Bevilacqua is very good and he assessed all aspects of this situation.

“Riding at Laguna Seca is definitely a massive motivator for me. Of course, my goal for 2016 remains to win the Superstock 1000 title, but there will certainly be massive motivation to make my WorldSBK category race debut at Laguna Seca. It certainly won’t do me any harm when I consider my long-term future and it’s good to have this race weekend during the long summer break for Superstock 1000.”

De Rosa does not hide his enthusiasm for racing on such a fabled circuit:

“Laguna is one of those tracks you see on television and there have been some epic battles there. I would also say it probably looks even more spectacular in real life than it does on TV. Another thing that makes it so special is its location: California. The atmosphere is surely a bit special! I will approach the races in the same way as any other: leave the emotions aside and focus on the track activity, starting with the practice sessions on Friday. It will be important to get in as many laps as possible, especially as Race 1 comes up immediately on Saturday. My goal at Laguna will be to improve my performance from the Misano test; I need to keep reducing the gap to the front. This category is competitive and it won’t be easy.”

Track action for Round 9 of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship will commence with Free Practice 1 on Friday 8 July, starting at 10:15 local time (GMT -7).