WSBK 2012 - Rd 1 - Phillip Island

[NinjaMaster]

Hooray, the racing season is finally upon us! Firstly, just to get the juices flowing again, following are a couple of videos from pre-season testing at the Island.

Superbikes
[youtube]Mv59RKY5AFM[/youtube]


Supersport
[youtube]9oZ_q-B4FBA[/youtube]


It's great to hear the sound of bikes screaming around a track again! I might try knock up a little first round preview tomorrow nite unless anyone else feels like doing one.

[NinjaMaster]

OK, so here's a quick rundown of WSB this weekend, or probably even this year, as I see it.

No. Rider
2 Leon Camier - Suzuki GSX-R 1000 - Crescent Suzuki
2012 represents an important year for the talented young brit. After a couple of disappointing seasons aboard the Aprilia RSV4R (for various reasons), Leon is slowly but surely coming to grips with his Yoshimura powered Suzuki. Should be a top 10 finisher at the Island and possible podium getter later in the season.

3 Max Biaggi - Aprilia RSV4R - Aprilia Corse
The 2010 champ had a disappointing year last season of uncharacteristic mistakes. There are plenty of question marks as to whether he still has the hunger to contend but one thing is for sure, on his day, he's still well and truly a race winner.

4 Hiroshi Aoyama - Honda CBR1000RR - Ten Kate Honda
Hiro joins WSB after a couple of tough years of MotoGP and is steadily adapting to his Fireblade amidst a deep field of talent and machinery. The 2009 250cc GP champ is still a talent to be reckoned with and should get stronger as the year progresses. He will be aiming for a couple of strong top 10 finishes in Australia.

7 Carlos Checa - Ducati 1198R - Ducati Althea
King Carlos, the reigning champ is the hot favourite to go back-to-back. Topping 3 out of 4 test sessions earlier this week at the circuit he has won 3 of the last 4 races, he deserves his favouritism and it would be a brave man to bet against him.

17 Joan Lascorz - Kawasaki ZX-10R - Provec Kawasaki
Lasorz showed glimpses of what he is capable of in his rookie season last year and this year he is reunited with the team that saw him a WSS title contender in 2010. The big 10R is much improved this year and I'd expect multiple podiums from Joan. He's a possible top 5 finisher this weekend.

18 Mark Aitchison - BMW S1000RR - Grillini
The hard charging Aussie impressed many on the Pedercini ZX10R last year and deservedly gets another chance in the class, this time aboard a BMW. He will have his work cut out for him with little testing done, if he can score points then that would be a big achievement for he and his team.

19 Chaz Davies - Aprilia RSV4R - ParkinGO
Davies steps up to WSB as the reigning WSS champion aboard a very fast Aprilia but the standard in WSB is very high so my expectation is that he'll be at the bottom end of the points finishers to start with, getting stronger as the year progresses.

21 John Hopkins - Suzuki GSX-R 1000 - Crescent Suzuki
Hopper resurrected his career last year, finishing second in the British Superbike title by the narrowest of margins. This year he finds himself back on the world stage and as luck would have it, well, luck has desserted him again following a pre-season crash that left him with a busted arm and he will miss the first round. When he returns he should be a regular top 5 getter though I'm uncertain if his Suzuki will be capable of regular podiums.

33 Marco Melandri - BMW S1000RR - BMW Motorrad
Melandri made an impressive debut in WSB last year but with his Yamaha team withdrawing from the series this year he finds himself on the BMW. Marco has the talent to win many races but the question mark is over whether his S1000RR is developing fast enough to be a consistent contender. Top 5 to podium chance this weekend.

34 Davide Giugliano - Ducati 1198R - Ducati Althea
Googs is the reigning Superstock 1000 champ and steps up to WSB with the same team and alongside WSBs current champ in Carlos Checa. Expect him to be the typically fast but erratic youngster with finishes in the lower half of the top 10 genuinely possible.

35 Raffaele de Rosa - Honda CBR1000RR - Pro Ride Honda
For a 24 year old, de Rosa has been around for a long time in a number of different championships. With WSB being so consistently strong in 2012 it looms as a tough assignment for the young Italian. Finishing in the points will be an achievement.

36 Leandro Mercado - Kawasaki ZX-10R - Pedercini Kawasaki
Unfortunately for the young Argentinian, injury from a pre-season crash means he will miss the first round of WSB. 2012 will be a tough year for Leandro riding for perennial backmarkers, Pedercini, but he is talented and will learn a lot for the future.

44 Davide Salom - Kawasaki ZX-10R - Pedercini Kawasaki
Salom had something of a breakout year in 2011 aboard his ZX6R supersport machine. He will find things much more difficult in 2012 and if he can score regular points then that will be a significant achievement for the Spaniard.

50 Sylvain Guintoli - Ducati 1198R - Effenbert Liberty
The likeable frenchman showed flashes of brilliance last year and the challenge for him is to change from flashes to consistent blinding bright light. Remaining with the Effenbert team for a second year he should regularly feature in the bottom half of the top 10 with a handful of podiums.

58 Eugene Laverty - Aprilia RSV4R - Aprilia Corse
After a very impressive debut year in WSB aboard an R1, much is expected of Eugene on the factory Aprilia this year. However, giving the competition a leg up by breaking his hand in testing last week is less than ideal but when he recovers he will get a lot of podiums and wins. His aim this weekend is for damage limitation and depending on his hand he could possible salvage a top 5 finish or two.

59 Niccolo Canepa - Ducati 1198R - Ducati Roma
Canepa is proving to be something of a journeyman over the sourse of his career. Having ridden WSB, WSTK1000 and even MotoGP for Ducati, Niccolo again finds himself up against it in the furnace of superbike racing. Scoring points will be his goal this weekend and probably most weekends this year.

65 Johnny Rea - Honda CBR1000RR - Ten Kate Honda
Johnny Rea would have to be second favourite behind Checa for the title. He's always had blinding speed and with the advancements of the Fireblade from late last year hopefully now has a bike he doesn't have to override to be competitive. A possible race winner this weekend and almost certain podium getter.

66 Tom Sykes - Kawasaki ZX-10R - Provec Kawasaki
The Grinner scored Kawasaki's first WSB win for years last year and still nearly lost his ride but his team have showed faith in him and if pre-season testing is anything to go by there's a good chance he will repay them in spades. With closer involvement from the Kawasaki factory this year Tom is a good chance of becoming a consistent top 5 rider and that's where he should finish this weekend.

84 Michel Fabrizio - BMW S1000RR - BMW Italia
Fabrizio changes scenery yet again this year, now aboard a BMW. The hot-headed Italian tends to blow hot and cold and it's anyones guess which Michel will turn up at any given weekend. He's capable of being fast and could finish anywhere from lower top 10 to outside of the points.

86 Ayrton Badovini - BMW S1000RR - BMW Italia
Badovini was a shining light in WSB in season 2011 showing great speed and racecraft to often be battling on his privateer BMW against the factory S1000RRs of Haslam and Corser. He will need to continue to improve this year as the competition has gotten stronger and he should be a consistent points scorer, aiming for the top 10 this weekend.

87 Lorenzo Zanetti - Ducati 1198R - Pata Ducati
Zanetti is a rookie to the WSB class this year and he will have his work cut out for him. He does have speed but his realistic goal is to finish in the points with maybe a top 10 if everything absolutely fell his way.

91 Leon Haslam - BMW S1000RR - BMW Motorrad
The 2010 WSB runner-up was quite consistent aboard his BMW last year but will be hoping he and the Bavarian marque can step it up a couple of notches to become truly competitive this year. However, Leon is another one to enter the season under injury having fractured his leg on Monday testing at the Phillip Island circuit. Fully fit, he is another to be fighting for top 5 finishes.

96 Jakub Smrz - Ducati 1198R - Effenbert Liberty
If only Kuba could consistently find a race pace equal of his qualifying speed he may well be a title contender! Jakub has the raw speed required to be competitive but he needs to figure out how to bring it regularly to fulfil his potential. A regular top 10 finisher with podium potential.

121 Maxime Berger - Ducati 1198R - Effenbert Liberty
Maxime is most famous for his rear wheel falling to bits at the Donington Park round last year but it masked his quietly impressive improving performances as the season progressed. Again on a Ducati, Berger will be another one fighting for top 10 finshes in a very evenly matched field. Should be a regular point scorer sprinkled with some decent top 10 results.

Finally, for the first round there will be three Australian wildcard riders participating: Josh Brookes, Bryan Staring and David Johnson. Of these, Johnson is the true wildcard running a one-off on his own bike whereas both Brookes and Staring are fill-ins for injured riders. Of the three, Brookes should be the most competitive aboard John Hopkins Gixxer Thou though Staring also knows his way around the Island at a decent clip. I'm sure they will all do themselves proud.

The forecast for the weekend, both on the track and the air temp is very hot with temps in the mid to high 30s (degree celsius) so I'll likely come home a happy lobster. Hurrah for the beginning of the raing season!

[patnicholls]

Good preview - if I was picking some dark horses for a surprise or two I'd go for Canepa or Berger at the minute - they could have a Badovini-type season.

[TheFamousEccles]

I'm on the Lascorz kiddie to do some good this year. The bike is much improved and there could be a boilover... watch this space

[Rod Richardson]

Great season preview by NinjaMaster. You have my applause for the effort taken to put that together.

The Kawasakis look strong so far in both superbike and supersport categories and I'm looking forward to close fought competition throughout the season............roll on race day

[chac47]

[quote="NinjaMaster"]O

4 Hiroshi Aoyama - Honda CBR1000RR - Ten Kate Honda
Hiro joins WSB after a couple of tough years of MotoGP and is steadily adapting to his Fireblade amidst a deep field of talent and machinery. The 2009 250cc GP champ is still a talent to be reckoned with and should get stronger as the year progresses. He will be aiming for a couple of strong top 10 finishes in Australia.

17 Joan Lascorz - Kawasaki ZX-10R - Provec Kawasaki
Lasorz showed glimpses of what he is capable of in his rookie season last year and this year he is reunited with the team that saw him a WSS title contender in 2010. The big 10R is much improved this year and I'd expect multiple podiums from Joan. He's a possible top 5 finisher this weekend

66 Tom Sykes - Kawasaki ZX-10R - Provec Kawasaki
The Grinner scored Kawasaki's first WSB win for years last year and still nearly lost his ride but his team have showed faith in him and if pre-season testing is anything to go by there's a good chance he will repay them in spades. With closer involvement from the Kawasaki factory this year Tom is a good chance of becoming a consistent top 5 rider and that's where he should finish this weekend.

[chac47]

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[Rod Richardson]

Superpole and racing for the day has been cancelled due to a fatality during one of the support races (asbk combined supersport/superstock race) - identity of rider is not yet available....

[chac47]

Very sad news.

[Rod Richardson]

The deceased rider has been identified on the internet but it seems a bit soon after the event for all of his relatives and close frieinds to have been notified so I'm not posting it.....RIP son