Top Teams Gravitate to Spain For Official WSB Test
After the first two long-haul rounds of the 2006 World Superbike Championship have been completed, the entire World Superbike circus returns to Europe for the start of the second phase of the 13-round/26-race campaign.
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 After the first two long-haul rounds of the 2006 World Superbike Championship have been completed, the entire World Superbike circus returns to Europe for the start of the second phase of the 13-round/26-race campaign. In preparation for the first European round at Valencia the forthcoming official test, at the same venue, will allow teams from Superbike, Supersport and 1000cc Superstock classes to try out their latest equipment and race set-ups, allowing them to compete at the highest level on race weekend, 21 to 23 April. Valencia, justified in its assertion to be a circuit and a stadium, is a highly popular testing venue, for official and private tests. Its 4.005km layout provides a vast array of slow corners, plus some ultra-fast sweeps and rapid changes of direction. The importance of the forthcoming official test can be gauged by the fact that the roll call of participating riders and teams is a virtual mirror image of the permanent entry list, with 28 Superbike competitors on their way to the Iberian Peninsula. Heading up the bunch are the top three in the current championship standings, and in a close battle for the lead thus far Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) is a mere one point ahead of Winston Ten Kate Honda rider James Toseland. Each of these riders has won a single race in 2006; with the other two races having been taken by 2005 champion Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), currently third overall. All of the top trio have been World Superbike champions in seasons past, but in what is proving to be an unprecedented year for competitive entries, a groundswell of talent is waiting to make its first mark on the list of 2006 race winners. Alex Barros missed out on the previous unofficial round of Valencia tests, shortly before the start of the season, making his first visit to the popular Spanish venue on his Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR another important step in his Superbike career. He knows the circuit layout intimately, having been a permanent fixture in MotoGP until recently, and this should contribute to making his latest testing task somewhat less stressful than it could be. On the podium twice in Australia, Barros should be a good bet to post fast times at Valencia. Australian Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) and his Japanese team-mate Noriyuki Haga have each scored podium finishes in the 2006 series already, and each now looks to the Valencia tests to polish off their preparations and mount an attack on the top step of the podium. The Italian based Yamaha team faces pressure from two Italian riders in the current championship table, with rookie SBK inductee Roberto Rolfo (Ducati SC Caracchi) and former WSS star Michel Fabrizio (DFX Honda) just behind – both are heading to Valencia for the tests. The current championship top ten also features the still-recuperating Ruben Xaus (Ducati Sterilgarda Berik) and the top Kawasaki rider on show thus far, Fonsi Nieto (Team PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse). Such is the current championship competitiveness that even proven race winners in 2005, Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) and Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), nestle just outside the top ten at present. The Valencia test will be an opportunity to iron out the last of the early season wrinkles for riders like Lanzi and Kagayama, while a return to Europe, and the stability this brings to race preparations, is expected to settle many of the early-season wobbles experienced by riders such as Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda), Max Neukirchner (Ducati Pedercini) and Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse). Also in attendance at Valencia will be Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse), plus the Petronas pairing of Steve Martin and SBK rookie Craig Jones, with the latter two aiming to perfect the set-up of the unique three-cylinder machine after two rounds at comparatively fast circuits. SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP An impressive 31 riders will be in attendance for the World Supersport section of the forthcoming test in Spain, a total that includes the reigning champion and current championship leader, Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) plus his closest challenger Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany). First and second respectively in each race so far, Charpentier and Curtain can expect another clutch of riders to make the jump to potential winning pace after testing at Valencia. The great pace and consistency shown by Robbin Harms and Johan Stigefelt (each operating from under the overall Stiggy Motorsports Honda umbrella) puts them third and fourth respectively. Podium finishes have already come for young Turk Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda) and Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany), but each has also scored a DNF. Josh Brookes has made the most of the available power and handling of his Ducati SC Caracchi 749, and on his testing return to Valencia, he should be able to gauge accurately what lies ahead in terms of development. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP Possibly the most exciting prospect at the forthcoming tests is the form of the new batch of 1000cc Superstock class competitors, many of whom will be competing for the first time in this series. With the exit of much of the previous powerbase of Superstock talent (most being promoted to Superbike and Supersport) this year’s title could well be at least as closely contested as the previous season’s, in which six different riders scored at least one race win. Riders like Alessandro Polita (Team Celani Suzuki) are already established but an influx of new names and teams, on a wide variety of machinery, makes for an incredibly cosmopolitan class in 2006. At Valencia, we will get the first chance to see how the likes of 2005 European 600 Superstock Champion Claudio Corti (Team Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha) performs on a larger machine, while Jason Perez (HP Racing Suzuki) makes his mark for the USA. Riders from 12 nations will be at Valencia, proving how much of a career boost this series is to younger riders with international ambitions. After the Valencia test, another official practice session takes place before the third round of the championship itself in Spain. Misano is the next venue on the testing trail, on 12 and 13 April.
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