WSBK: 2010 Season Preview

The Phillip Island grid will include 24 riders on superbikes from seven manufacturers: Aprilia, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha.

With Spies gone, the early favorite for 2010 is Noriyuki Haga of Ducati Xerox. Haga led in the championship standings going into last seasons finale in Portugal, but a Race 1 crash cost him the lead. A second-place finish in Race 2 would not be enough as Spies beat Haga by six points. After a career-best 456 points, eight wins and 19 podium appearances in 2009, Haga enters the 2010 season once again trying to shake the tag of being the best WSBK racer never to have won the championship.

Hagas teammate Michel Fabrizio is another early favorite for the 2010 WSBK crown. The Italian racer won three races and earned 15 podium appearances in 2009, including a stretch of eight consecutive podium results. In Fabrizios three wins however, second place went to Haga, leading critics to wonder whether Haga would have won the championship with a more helpful teammate.

Spies departure opened the way for former MotoGP racer and two-time WSBK Champion James Toseland to join the factory Yamaha Sterilgarda team. Toseland won the 2004 title for Ducati and the 2007 title for Honda. In 2010, Toseland will try to win his third championship with his third manufacturer.

For 2010, the Aprilia team gains a new title sponsor, Italian airline Alitalia, and a new teammate for Biaggi in Leon Camier. Aprilia started the season with Shinya Nakano as its second rider, until injuries forced an early end to both his season and his career. Camier stepped in for the final two rounds and will start 2010 with Aprilia Alitalia.

Jonathan Rea and Max Neukirchner will lead Hondas WSBK effort with the Hannspree Ten Kate team. Rea won two races in 2009 but was edged out of fourth place by Biaggi by just four points. Neukirchners 2009 season was brief as a first-corner crash in round five in Italy broke his right femur. Suzuki Alstare abruptly cut ties with Neukirchner in October despite having another year on his contract, so the German racer will be eager to upstage his former team.

Suzuki Alstare will have two new riders for 2010: Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli. Haslam was the top satellite racer in 2009, competing for Stiggy Honda. The team was disbanded due to a lack of sponsors, leading Haslam to join Suzuki. Guintoli rode for Suzuki Alstare at the Portimao finale as a replacement for Neukirchner.

BMWs debut WSBK campaign wasnt as successful as Aprilias, but the team of Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus showed some improvement through the season. The factory riders will be joined by the Reitwagen BMW satellite team of Andrew Pitt and Roland Resch, putting four S1000RR superbikes on the grid.

Former MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen heads Kawasakis factory team with Spies former Yamaha teammate Tom Sykes. Vermeulen will make his return to WSBK racing after several seasons in MotoGP while Sykes ninth-place finish in his WSBK debut season may have been more impressive if he wasnt overshadowed by his championship-winning teammate.

Pedercini Kawasaki will present the lone American rider on the 2010 WSBK grid, with Roger Lee Hayden making the move from AMA Pro Racing. Hayden will years of experience riding Kawasaki motorcycles to the satellite team. Hayden will be joined by Italian racer Matteo Baiocco.