The fifth round of 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship will be contested this weekend at Imola’s ‘Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari’, one of the most emblematic and iconic venues in motorsport history. Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team’s Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl will jump back on their Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machines to attack the 4.936km-long track in front of the traditional big crowd of passionate Italian fans.

The permanent circuit, located within the central Italian town of Imola, made its World Superbike debut in 2001 and, after a two-year absence, it returned on the calendar in 2009. The track itself is a technical mix of fast-flowing chicanes and stop-and-go corners, elevation changes, blind crests and hard downhill braking, with the slow-speed final esses often being the deciding corner of the race. All these features, combined with a relatively short straight (358m), make Imola one of the most physically demanding tracks of the season; furthermore, the different layers of asphalt throughout the lap – with different grip levels – add an extra challenge to teams and riders in their quest for the best set-up of their bikes.

Unlike his team mate Nicky Hayden, Stefan Bradl has never raced at Imola before, meaning that the 27-year-old German will have to make the best use of Friday morning’s Free Practice 1 session – which starts at 9:45am local time (GMT +2) – to get to grips with the circuit before focusing on his performance.

Nicky Hayden 69

I always enjoy racing in Italy: the fans always provide a great atmosphere! After Assen we’re looking forward to trying to get a good result at Imola and show the potential of our bike, which will be a great confidence boost for us. It won’t be easy, but we will do our very best!

Stefan Bradl 6

I’m looking forward to Italy. The weather there is usually nice and warm, so I hope it will be the same this weekend. I have never ridden there so I have no knowledge of the track, which is going to be challenge because I’ve heard it’s quite a technical one, with some blind corners and plenty of elevation changes. It won’t be easy to find the perfect line straight away but I’ll do my best to learn the circuit as quickly as possible and then build up from there.

Pieter Breddels

Whoever has been to Imola before knows how technical and demanding this circuit is: every corner is a story of its own, so the set-up has to be a compromise between stability under braking, acceleration out of corners and bike handling when changing direction. The grip is different in every sector, so tyre choice is more important than ever here. We need every minute of every session in order to continue working on our current package, especially with Stefan who’s never ridden around here. We will do our best, as always!