WSBK News

Noriyuki Haga believes the 2008 World Superbike season will be more exciting than MotoGP.

The bike was unveiled during an official presentation at Jerez. Bayliss was absent from the event as he continues to recuperate from a fractured collarbone - but the Australian will return to the track at the next test session, to be held at Qatar on February 12.

Jones finished fifth in the hotly contested World Supersport Championship in 2007 and is a definite title contender this year after securing Factory Honda support and the backing of Parkalgar, the futuristic motor-sport circuit under construction in Portimao in Portugal that will host the final r

The list reveals that there will be six of the new 1200cc Ducati 1098Rs on the grid this year, with single-rider entries for former factory pliot Lorenzo Lanzi (R.G.Team) and Czech Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Racing) adding to the two-rider Xerox and Sterilgarda line-ups.

The Ducati Xerox rider's pre-season preparations have been thrown into turmoil after he fell while attempting to overtake PSG-1 Kawasaki rider Regis Laconi, during Thursday afternoon.

"It's gone very well. We spent the days testing new parts, the results are good so now I am just waiting for the race," began Haga, who finished the test sixth fastest but just 0.3secs behind Suzuki's Yukio Kagayama.

Former MotoGP star Biaggi, who finished third in the 2007 world championship on an Alstare Suzuki, will ride alongside Ruben Xaus for the satellite Sterilgarda Go Eleven team this season.

Biaggi, who hasn't ridden a Superbike since splitting from Alstare Suzuki shortly after the end of the 2007 season, will join most of the leading WSBK and WSS teams in testing at the challenging Australian race track from January 8-10.

Ducati Corse's superbike press officer and factory spokesman, Julian Thomas, has left the company to assume the role of communications director for World Superbike championship organiser's FG Sport.

2005 BSB champion Lavilla has joined forces with Paul Bird's team, which won the BSB crown in 2002 and 2003, for its graduation to WSBK next year - and completed almost 200 laps doing his first encounter with the Honda CBR1000RR.

Fellow Australian Steve Martin may have endured a torrid time with DFX Honda last season, but that hasn't stopped countrymen Karl Muggeridge and Russell Holland joining the outfit for 2008.

Gregorio Lavilla is to return to the World Superbike Championship in 2008 after being confirmed as the lone rider for the Paul Bird Motorsport team.

Troy Corser doesn't expect any major changes to the Yamaha Italia R1, which Noriyuki Haga took to within two points of the 2007 World Superbike championship, next season - but is looking forward to a power boost.

Ideally the team wants to take these young riders up through the ranks developing their talent both on and off the track. For the 2008 season they have signed up British Superstock riders Peter Hickman and Paul Veazey to ride in the 1000cc Superstock class.

As has been rumoured for some weeks, the reason for the split is money related. Alstare's title sponsor Corona Extra is withdrawing from motorsport and Francis Batta's team says it is unable to find the finance required to re-sign the triple 2007 race winner.

After enjoying Ducati's advanced traction control electronics, the Briton admits he was shocked the first time he rode the Ten Kate tuned Fireblade, during pre-season testing, prior to the start of the 2006 season.

The Dutch-based team will run a three-man WSBK squad consisting of MotoGP contender Carlos Checa, current World Supersport champion Kenan Sofuoglu and defending British Superbike champion Ryuichi Kiyonari.

2005 winner Lanzi, taking part in his final event for the factory team, lapped three-tenths quicker than his double world championship winning team-mate during a rain-affected hour.

Starting from his first ever WSS pole, Jones led confidently for much of the race - despite being caught by world champion Kenan Sofuoglu.

Falling off three times is never ideal but to pull it back and claim pole position with the only sub 1min 36sec lap this weekend at Vallelunga is quite an achievement.

Foggy Racing was sidelined from the 2007 world championship after failing to find a replacement for Petronas, which left at the end of 2006 following a five-year association in which the FP1 Superbike was developed and raced against the established manufacturers.

This is the British manufacturer's first venture into racing on the world stage since the company was re-established in Hinckley. The Team Triumph-SC will be the sole factory representative for Triumph in the paddock.

Ten Kate Honda's Turkish star was entered at last weekend's Assen round as a reward for his total domination of WSS this season. Sofuoglu will graduate with Ten Kate to the premier class in 2008.

Double world champion Bayliss completed a few demo laps during the 2007 edition of World Ducati Week at Misano in July, however this was the first time that the 38-year-old Australian had ridden the bike in anger.