The WSB rider list for 2010 has to be one of the most impressive for many years. Names like Haga, Biaggi, Toseland, Corser and Vermeulen would just about scare the pants of fellow competitors, except when those competitors are Checa, Rea, Xaus or Fabrizio, to name a few.
In 2009 Ben Spies came, he saw, he conquered. Not even mechanical DNFs could stop the Texan and although he has gone on to try his hand at MotoGP like every successful WSB campaigner before him, the competition this year in World Superbike is perhaps not only the most competitive, it’s also the most intriguing for quite some time.
Instead of one or two riders potentially dominating the series, we have a bevy of talent just waiting to be the next World Superbike Champion and that makes for a melting pot of intense racing, just what we’ve come to expect from World Superbikes.
Let’s start with none other than Noriyuki Haga. With Troy Bayliss out of the picture in 2009, Haga probably thought he had one hand on the trophy before the season had started, yet Ben Spies came along and ruined the party in his rookie season. Last season saw a measured Haga, will this season see a return of the banzai charge?
Partnering Haga is the precocious Michel Fabrizio. After suffering from a lack of self-belief, the Italian only needed one win to start reversing his fortunes to become a serious title contender. He’ll be taking no prisoners this year and that includes his teammate.
Sentimental favourite Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne has enormous talent we have rarely been shown in official capacity and is capable of a few upsets here and there. If he gets it together in 2010 he could be troublesome for the regular podium place-getters.
The Englishman won’t be able to be complacent if he hopes to beat teammate Carlos Checa this year. The Spaniard has been racing for what seems like eons and will jump on board a Ducati Superbike for the first time. He’ll be another interesting one to watch.
Jonathan Rea went from strength to strength in the Honda squad last year and now that he knows ‘how to win’ on a superbike, he’ll be hoping to continue that feeling in 2010. Like Fabrizio, he only needed a few good results to realise he belongs at the pointy end of the field.
Full of potential, Max Neukirchner switches to the Honda camp from Suzuki in hopes of achieving top dog status. He could be the surprise packet this year and surely his team will be hoping that will be the case but he’ll need to stay away from injury which plagued his season last year.
At Yamaha two time World Superbike champion James Toseland might rejoin the paddock a little battered and bruised from his experience in MotoGP but it’s experience nevertheless. We’ve seen it before too in Troy Bayliss (although Troy did endure greater success) and he came back to WSB on fire and that’s what we’re all hoping we’ll see in James. If he’s happy on the bike, he’ll be a top challenger.
Joining Toseland is the reigning World Supersport champion Cal Crutchlow who took the series in emphatic style and will be hoping to shake up the established riders. Success on a Supersport bike doesn’t always translate to a Superbike as Kenan Sofuoglu found out, so everyone will be keen to see if Cal can buck the trend.
Troy Corser is the granddaddy of World Superbike with two SBK titles 1996 and 2005, 33 race wins and 128 podiums. If anyone has the experience to elevate BMW to title contenders, it’s the Aussie. The BMW project must have lit his fire and this year Corser will be searching for race wins instead of top ten results.
Paddock favourite Ruben Xaus will be hoping the BMW Superbike has evolved enough to join Corser in the hunt for podiums. Never one to disappoint race fans, Xaus will be hoping he’ll be the one to take BMW’s maiden WSB victory.
The German marque isn’t relying on two riders this year, instead they have four in Andrew Pitt and Roland Resch. Andrew Pitt needs no introduction with two Supersport World Championship wins and MotoGP experience under his belt, he rejoins the top tier Superbike class in fine form. He’ll need to get up to speed though as his teammates already have a years worth of racing on the BMW.
Max Biaggi could easily have been forgotten about last year with the Spies and Haga show but the Italian finished a strong fourth on what was new machinery. If Aprilia have given Biaggi a bike that will enable him to race at the front, he just could sneak away with the title.
Biaggi’s new teammate Leon Camier, BSB Champion 2009, will hope to make a splash however he’ll need to settle in quickly to keep up with this years crop of talent.
Kawasaki rider Tom Sykes leaves Yamaha in hopes his new team will be able to give him a bike he can gel with. He’ll have to be on his game as the squad holds ex-Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen. Chris knows how to ride Supersports, Superbikes and MotoGP bikes at the pointy end and if he can set up the bike the way he wants, who knows what results will come. The question remains, can Kawasaki finally produce a motorcycle capable of running consistently at the front.
Also on a Kawasaki is Roger Lee Hayden, the 2007 AMA Supersport champion. Roger comes from a famous family of racers and had strong results whenever he was brought in as a wildcard. With a full season in WSB, we’ll hopefully get to see what young Hayden is made of.
Suzuki have two new riders in Sylvain Guintoli and Leon Haslam. Guintoli comes out of MotoGP and has found a home at Suzuki. How he’ll end up in WSB is anybody’s guess. His teammate Leon Haslam produced some very mature rides last year and outshone his factory Honda teammates on more than one occasion. Like Guintoli, his chances will rest on the Suzuki package and how quickly he can get to terms with it.
Other riders this season have made a name for themselves one way or another such as Broc Parkes, Makoto Tamada, Vittorio Iannuzzo, Matteo Baiocco, Jakub Smrz, Luca Scassa. db
