WorldSBK welcomed to Misano for testing as racing return gets closer
Various teams and riders will be out on track in Italy in order to prepare for the frenetic season ahead
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship will see various teams and riders return to the track from the 24th – 25th June at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” in Italy. The venue, just a stone’s throw away from the Adriatic Coast, will host the first major private test since the first round of the season back at Phillip Island in Australia and will also feature a new surface, having been resurfaced since WorldSBK’s 2019 visit. The welcome return of track action will give a taste of what excitement awaits at the second round of the season at Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto.
Headlining the test are reigning Champions and Championship’s leaders, Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK. Jonathan Rea and Championship leader Alex Lowes will both be present at the circuit for the Catalan-based team and with both penning new contracts for the team into the future, rider minds and team’s attitudes are now solely focussed on the track findings and development.
ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati are ready for the test and after a solid first round of the season, they’ll prepare for Jerez at Misano, a circuit of which they took one victory at last season with the Ducati Panigale V4 R. Scott Redding and Chaz Davies will be present and ready to get back to track action, although Redding was on track at Donington Park just last week aboard a Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Making his return to action will be Leon Camier (Barni Racing Team). The British ace has benefited from the pause in action, after his persistent shoulder injury was given time to rest and heel whilst not losing too much in terms of the Championship. Barni themselves tested at the start of June with Randy Krummenacher, so the team have had some track time to shakedown. Fellow Independent Ducati squad Team Goeleven will also grace the track with Michael Ruben Rinaldi, as he ventures out for the first time, whilst the team will also return to the circuit.
Motocorsa Racing have been testing at Misano already with Leandro Mercado and will have a strong base-setting to follow on from. The Argentine rider is back at Ducati in 2020 for the first time since 2015 in WorldSBK and is aiming to be a contender for best Independent straight away. The final team at the test are the Brixx Performance Ducati team, taking to the Misano circuit for the first time, having not been in WorldSBK for the round last year. Sylvain Barrier leads the team at the circuit at which he won at in the STK1000 class back in 2012.
WorldSSP royalty will be joining the WorldSBK teams on Thursday 25th, with the BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team and Andrea Locatelli being joined by the MV Agusta Reparto Corse squad. Locatelli is the World Supersport Championship leader after just one round and will look to utilise the testing at Misano to consolidate his position. The MV Agusta team will feature Randy Krummenacher, Federico Fuligni and Phillip Island podium-finisher Raffaele De Rosa, all three of which will welcome track action after such a lengthy break.
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