The World Superbike summer recess continues as the riders and teams recuperate and prepare for the final four races of the season in September and October. With just seven points between them the title fight will probably come down to a battle between Haga and Spies, but Michel Fabrizio isn’t so far behind that he can be counted out if the top two run into problems.Fabrizio will have other things on his mind as he prepares for a ride on the Pramac Ducati at the MotoGP round in Brno this weekend. Fabrizio will be replacing Mika Kallio who moved up to the factory Ducati alongside Nicky Hayden to replace the ailing Casey Stoner. Kallio will be Stoner’s replacement for the next three races, but at this point Pramac has only indicated that Fabrizio will be riding at Brno. Of the four remaining WSBK rounds three conflict with the MotoGP schedule. The next round at Indianapolis (8/30) is an off weekend for WSBK.
Ben Spies stellar rookie season in WSBK has been the dominant story this year, but he’s not the only newcomer who’s having a good year. Four of the top seven riders in the standings are newcomers to the series. Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes had wild card rides in the series last season, but this is the first full season for both riders. Rea took his first win at Misano, but Sykes has yet to match his second place run at Donington last year. Ron Haslam is a newcomer to the series in the sense that he only rode in four WSBK races last season. Haslam competed in 22 races in 2004 and finished eighth in the championship. His return to the series on the first year Stiggy Team has seen him take four podiums, and battling for fourth in the championship with Jonathan Rea and Max Biaggi.
1 - 326 - Noriyuki Haga
2 - 319 - Ben Spies
3 - 273 - Michel Fabrizio
4 - 206 - Jonathan Rea
5 - 200 - Max Biaggi
6 - 180 - Leon Haslam
7 - 150 - Tom Sykes
Max Neukirchner is suffering through a injury plagued season, and will unable to race for an undetermined length of time. After being put out of action after a first lap crash at Monza the German rider crashed at Imola while preparing to make his return. The latest crash left him with four damaged vertebrae and in a body cast, "I have to wear a body cast for around 40 days, so it should come off late in August. Then we will see how it is."
The gradual improvement that the BMW team has made throughout the season was highlighted by Troy Corser’s run to the front in both races at Brno. Ruben Xaus qualified in seventh right behind Corser, but a vicious high-side in race one left him with a broken femur. Xaus went under the knife and had three screws placed in his femur to repair the damage, “The operation went very well, and twenty-four hours later they told me I could leave. It's good that we have a bit of a break before the next race, but I'm already looking forward to being back at the track."
Three-time champion Troy Bayliss will be honored at the Imola WSBK round in September with a lifetime career award. Bayliss continued his transition to racing on four wheels in Australia with a recent test of the Jack Daniel’s V8 Supercar. Bayliss has tested with three different teams this season, and is hoping to race in the V8 Supercar endurance rounds at Phillip Island and Bathurst.
Source: World Superbike Championship
