News

The eni FIM Superbike World Championship comes to Italy for the third time this year at a crucial point in the season, with the San Marino Round at the Misano World Circuit the venue for what promises to be one of the hottest rounds of the year, and not just because of the encroaching summer weather. After six of 14 rounds the top of the table is an extremely hard-fought affair, with Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) in the lead since the opening round of the season, followed by Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) in second, equal on points with Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team).

The top 5 (Biaggi, Melandri, Sykes, Rea and reigning champion Checa), on five different manufacturer machines (respectively Aprilia, BMW, Kawasaki, Honda and Ducati), are all within 30 points of each other, and with eight rounds and 16 races left, there are plenty of points on the board for the current situation to change dramatically every weekend.

Misano hosts World Superbike for the 21st time. The first edition dates back to 1991 when the wins went to Texan Doug Polen on a Ducati, the Italo-American pairing the combination to beat at the time. This year's edition will be the 304th round in 25 years of World Superbike, the 602nd and 603rd races in the history of the production-based racing series.

Points leader Biaggi's win in Australia has so far been his only victory, but the Italian has defended his lead with a sequence of solid results on his Aprilia RSV4; two years ago Biaggi's double win launched him on the path to his world title. With two wins at the last two circuits (Donington Park and Miller Motorsports Park) Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad) has rapidly caught up with his compatriot, and is now just 18 points behind. After giving BMW its first historic win, the man from Ravenna is now giving a couple of thoughts to the title, a target that just a short while ago appeared to be off-limits. BMW has a good record at Misano, where Troy Corser scored the German manufacturer's first pole position in 2010 and then finished third. In Superbike Melandri's experience is limited to last year's edition on a Yamaha, the Italian finishing second in race 1 and crashing out in race 2.

Equal on points with Melandri is British rider Sykes who came close to a podium here last year. The Japanese manufacturer had its last win at Misano way back in 1994 with American Scott Russell. The team's second rider continues to be the 19-year-old from France Loris Baz who has replaced the unfortunate Joan Lascorz, scoring encouraging results in the last two rounds.

The two previous rounds have also re-launched the title hopes of Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team), who is now just 19.5 points behind Biaggi. At Misano in 2009 Rea was virtually unbeatable but after this showing the young northern Irishman has not had much luck, missing the 2011 races due to an injury from a crash in the warm-up. The 2012-spec CBR1000RR has taken on a new lease of life and Rea has become one of the challengers for the title.

The top 5 is completed by 2011 champion Carlos Checa (Althea Racing), 30 points behind Biaggi following two untimely crashes at Donington Park and Miller Motorsports Park. Misano will offer the Spaniard the chance to get back into contention, because Ducati has always gone well here, with 28 wins and 71 podiums in 40 races. Checa was untouchable last season, and he began his run-in to the title at the Adriatic Riviera circuit.

The FIXI Crescent Suzuki team is the only one unable to score the big win so far despite the team's big commitment and the talents of Leon Camier and John Hopkins. Misano is a special place for Hopkins who finished third behind Casey Stoner and Chris Vermeulen in the 2007 MotoGP race, again on a Suzuki.

Misano is an abrasive track on tyres and Pirelli, sole Superbike tyre supplier since 2004, has made a big effort by bringing a total of 12 solutions for teams, including three for the front and five for the rear slicks, in addition to the usual intermediate and rain solutions and the Superpole qualifying tyre.

At their home round, all eyes will also be on the Italians, in particular top rookie Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing), the 22-year-old from Rome and 2011 Superstock 1000 champion who has already stepped onto the podium with a second place in the Netherlands and who started from the front row in the previous Utah US Round. Misano could also prove to be positive for the BMW Italia pairing of Michel Fabrizio and Ayrton Badovini, while Niccolò Canepa (Red Devils Roma Ducati) and Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Racing Aprilia) are both looking for their big breakthrough.