This weekend the World Superbike series heads to Europe for the third round of the championship in Valencia at the Ricardo Tormo circuit.
The Ducati Xerox rider Noriyuki Haga is currently leading the championship after a win and three second places in the first two rounds in Australia and Qatar. However, this year he has Ben Spies to contend with on the Yamaha World Superbike who has so far won three out of the four races he has taken part in.
Jonathan Rea on the Ten Kate Honda feels confident of a podium finish in Valencia and believes that the tyre problems should improve at the European track.
The Sterilgarda Ducati rider Shane 'Shakey' Byrne is hoping to return to the domination he showed in testing after not finishing in either of the races in Australia. In Qatar Byrne showed his potential finishing inside the top six during race one and also has the advantage of knowing the circuit inside out.
The Japanese rider Makoto Tamada is set to return after missing the last round in Qatar while recovering from injuries he received just before the start of the races. Although he did break a toe in the accident he hadn’t broken his pelvis which was suspected at the time and is fit enough to get back on the Kawasaki.
Max Neukirchner will be hoping for a good race this weekend for the Suzuki Alstare team after his horrendous crash at the circuit last season. In the first race, he was in sight of his first ever Superbike win when he was collected by Carlos Checa on the final corner resulting in a smashed bike and a broken collarbone.
The Stiggy Racing Honda team recently had a one day test in Almeria with new parts on the bike and both riders Leon Haslam and John Hopkins are confident of a better race in Valencia after the progress the have made.
Hopkins makes his debut for the team at this round after seven seasons in MotoGP and is aiming for wins. He was left without a ride in the MotoGP this season after the Kawasaki team withdrew from the series before be signed by the Stiggy team in the WSB Championship.
Max Biaggi on the Aprilia has shown what he is capable of and it’s good to see him back on form, the Italian can still show some impressive riding, given the right machine, and is still a contender for the number one spot.
At their home circuit are the riders Carlos Checa on the Hanspree Ten Kate Honda and fellow Spaniard Ruben Xaus on the BMW, both know the circuit well but neither have shown any threat in the first two rounds.
The first two rounds have so far been dominated by Haga and Spies, will it be the same in Europe? I think that’s very likely.