Valencia: Popular Spanish Venue Ready to Host 4th Round

VALENCIA TRACK LAYOUT WELL KNOWN TO ALL The second of five SBK rounds in relatively close succession is the fourth round of what has been an exciting championship season so far. With four different race winners in only six individual races, the tight and twisty 4.005km Circuito Ricardo Tormo will be good venue for another potential winner to present his credentials, as virtually every top rider has ridden at the Spanish circuit in the last few months, most at an official SBK test between 17 and 19 March.

TOSELAND STILL LEADING AFTER DRAMATIC DONINGTON Despite suffering the desperate bad luck that robbed him of a finish in race two at Donington, James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) still took his third win of the season at his home event, in race one, and thus holds onto his championship lead even now. His leading advantage was cut to five points, over Max Biaggi (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), with the Italian rider looking for SBK career win number two at Valencia, having taken the first race of the year at Qatar. Some 27 points behind Toseland, Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) has also installed himself as a winner now, having taken race two at Donington. Only seven points behind Haga is his team-mate Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) winless so far in 2007. He has, however, won at Valencia on both twin-cylinder and four-cylinder machinery, and is looking to the Spanish venue to push himself and his points total ever upwards.

DUCATI PAIRING LOOKING FORWARD TO VALENCIA A somewhat lacklustre 2006 season for Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) was punctuated by Valencia’s twin peaks - his only two podiums of the year. Having already scored third in Qatar race one, he is now looking for wins at a circuit he tested particularly well at recently. His team-mate and double SBK champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) has recovered well from injuries to his little finger and groin at Donington, and he fully intends to race. He will thus be presenting himself for medical checks as soon as he gets to Valencia. Lanzi is currently fifth overall, after solid points scores in every race, with Bayliss overall sixth after a win and a second place in round two in Phillip Island, and a Donington raceday which was injurious both to his body and points score.

NEUKIRCHNER’S CONSISTENCY PLACES HIM SEVENTH Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Germany) has been the most consistently fast privateer in race trim this year, despite riding a 2006 machine, and his six strong points scores place him at the head of a very close battle for the last few top ten places. Right behind him, by only a single point, is the top placed Spanish rider so far, Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Ducati) riding a 2006 factory spec machine. Another few points behind is Toseland’s team-mate Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) now gaining confidence since his swap from a privateer big twin to a full-on four-cylinder.

NIETO HEADS HOME FULL OF DETERMINATION The last place in the top ten thus far is held by Spanish superstar Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) but after a great ride at Valencia last year he expects to be in the mix and up the order by close of play on Sunday night. Ironically, the nature of the Spanish circuit will not help his cause too much, as the big Kawasaki is not best suited to the tight Valencia circuit. Nonetheless, both he and his team-mate Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse, 11th overall), are expected to get the most out of their machines at a track they have tested at recently. The factory four of Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) will be at Valencia, with the Japanese rider hoping to be fit once more after another big crash at Donington, following on from his misadventures at the Phillip Island meeting. Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) will be hoping to make better ground up than he did during recent Valencia tests, when he was unhappy with his general machine set-up.

PRIVATEERS READY FOR VALENCIA Jakub Smrz (SC Caracchi Ducati) has been a quiet revelation in the midfield since his move to World Superbike, and now sits 13th, having scored two top ten finishes at Donington Park, and having netted points five times in six attempts. Just behind Smrz, Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda) is out for two solid finishes to get his top-ten challenge on track again, while his team-mate Steve Martin hopes to get his machine performance up to meet his expectations. Alto Evolution Honda riders Karl Muggeridge and Josh Brookes were among many of the midfield riders who rode at the Official Valencia SBK tests in March, and like many others they also hope that the technical circuit in Spain will level the playing field somewhat up to the top runners.

SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - SOFUOGLU IN THE CLEAR With two wins and one second place to his credit thus far in 2007, Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) has scored an immediate jump on his many rivals, and such was the effect of a pivotal Donington Park meeting that no fewer than three of his main rivals left the UK injured and another two left with no points and one point respectively.

Thus Sofuoglu has a 27-point lead already, over the rejuvenated Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda) and a 31-point advantage on second place Donington finisher Robbin Harms (Stiggy Motorsports Honda). Gil Kawasaki’s two top runners, Fabien Foret and Pere Riba look to get their championship challenges back on the straight and narrow after disastrous Donington outcomes, ruining the good work of pole for Riba and a PI race win for Foret.

The almost traditional big WSS two of Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and Kevin Curtain (Yamaha SSP Racing) are each trying to be fit for Valencia after crashes in qualifying, finding themselves in the same boat as another modern-day great of Supersport racing, Broc Parkes (Yamaha SSP Racing).

SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP - ROUND TWO SET TO THRILL Niccolo Canepa (Ducati Xerox 1098) won the first race of the 2007 season at Donington Park, but it had been a closely contested affair, with Claudio Corti (Team Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha) second and 2005 champion Didier Van Keymeulen (TTSL MGM Racing Yamaha) third. Had leading riders Michel Pirro (Team Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha) and Ayrton Badovini (Biassono Unionbike MV Agusta) not clashed and fallen at Donington, it would have been an even more closely contested outing. With Valencia a favourite test ground for all, the Valencia race in the big Superstock class is expected to be another thriller.

SUPERSTOCK 600 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP - MAGNONI 1st Michele Magnoni (Bevilacqua Yamaha) won at Donington in round one, but with Andrea Antonelli (Team Italia Megabike AX) and Domenico Colucci (Ducati Xerox 749) third, each less than a second behind, it was a close run thing, and cosmopolitan in terms of the machinery in the podium places. At Valencia, few expect any less from the youngest riders in the paddock, most in their first full season of international competition.

MASCALZONE LATINO-CAPITALIA TEAM WELCOMES SBK America’s Cup contenders Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia team will welcome the top SBK competitors on board their new Ita 99 racing yacht on Thursday 12 April, at 5pm. The following riders will be present, and also will be available for a photo shoot afterwards:

Lorenzo Lanzi – Ducati Xerox Team

Max Biaggi – Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra

James Toseland – Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Team

Fonsi Nieto – Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse

Noriyuki Haga – Yamaha Motor Italia

Ruben Xaus – Team Sterilgarda

ASSEN NEXT UP FOR 13-ROUND CHAMPIONSHIP With Assen moving up in the calendar from its usual autumnal outing this year, to 29th April, the Netherlands is the next destination for the SBK masses, followed on 13 May by Monza, for the first of three Italian rounds in the season.

World SBK