World Superbike makes it’s return to Imola this weekend for the first time since 2006. Ben Spies comes to Imola with an eighteen point lead, and for once he’s riding on a track where he has some experience, "It wasn't that long ago that we were 88 points down and now we're leading with three rounds to go. We had a good test here and the bike was working well, so let's see where we end up on Sunday and then decide the strategy for the next four races”. With 150 points up for grabs other riders still have a mathematical chance at the title, but the man with the best chance of overtaking Spies is Noriyuki Haga, “I know this track very well. I like Imola, but I haven't won a race here. The start of the season went well, then I had a crash mid-season, but the title battle is not yet over. I'm at 99%, but in the last three rounds I must win to return to the top of the championship table".The battle for the championship looks like it’s going to be a good one, but so does the battle for third. Michel Fabrizio, Jonathan Rea and Max Biaggi are only separated by 65 points, and they have all won a race this season. Rea took his second win of the season at the last round in Germany, and he was the fastest rider at the Imola test in July. Team manager Ronald ten Kate likes what he sees in the 22 year old, Irish rider so the team signed him to a new two year contract, "We are delighted to continue with the plan which brought Jonathan from British Superbike, through our own World Supersport squad and on to his World Superbike challenge. He has grown up a lot this season, both as a rider and as a person, and he is an absolute joy to work with. I believe we are just beginning to see the great potential that Jonathan has”.
The most surprising news coming into the Imola round is that reigning 250cc World Champion Marco Simoncelli will be racing alongside Max Biaggi on the Aprilia factory team this weekend. Simoncelli tested the bike earlier this week at Mugello, and after coming close to the times of Michel Fabrizio on the Ducati he decided to race this weekend. The Italian sits third in this year’s 250cc championship, and will be riding for Gresini Honda in the 2010 MotoGP World Championship.
The Imola circuit has been changed since WSBK was last here, but the only current rider to win a superbike race at the old circuit was Ruben Xaus and he did it three times. Xaus is still recovering from his injuries at Brno, but he’s hoping to race at Imola, "My physiotherapy and rehabilitation has gone very well and I think I will be able to race. I should really not be on a bike at all before Portimao, but everything has gone well so far and I am very eager to get on my bike and race”.
Three-time WSBK champion Troy Bayliss was invited to Imola to be honored for his legendary career. Bayliss has been working on making the transition from racing bikes to racing cars, but apparently that change hasn’t been working out so well. David Emmet over at motomatters.com is reporting that Bayliss wants to race in World Superbike next season.
Normally we would have been able to report times from the first practice session at this point, but the riders went out for two laps and complained that there is no grip. Apparently the track was washed down after some car races last weekend and all the rubber was removed. Tom Sykes crashed during the abbreviated session, and has an unreported injury.
