WorldSBK on the Adriatic coast of Italy for Round 8

Great anticipation for the PATA Riviera di Rimini Round.

It has been no surprise that Max Biaggi’s return to competition has made worldwide headlines ahead of this weekend’s PATA Riviera di Rimini Round. After Troy Bayliss, Tom Sykes and Sylvain Guintoli, ‘The Roman Emperor’ becomes the fourth World Superbike Champion to grace the eni FIM Superbike World Championship grid this year. His first of two outings will be at Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” in Italy.

Misano first appeared on the WorldSBK calendar in 1991: a season remembered for the utter domination of Doug Polen. 24 years later, the series features a similar set of circumstances for Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jonathan Rea as the Portuguese holiday resort of Portimao is traded in for the popular Italian destination of Misano Adriatico – surroundings long since associated with top-level motorcycle racing.

Championship-wise, Rea’s lead cannot be considered as anything other than colossal. Indeed, a margin of 124 points over second-placed team-mate Tom Sykes is the largest gap ever witnessed between first and second position in the Riders’ Championship after the opening 14 races of a season. In order to clinch what would be the first title for a rider from Northern Ireland, Rea no longer needs to win any more races – second and third places would be enough between now and the Qatar finale. On the other hand, should he seal doubles the like of which he has done four times from the first seven rounds, he will win the crown by as early as Malaysia on 2nd August – three rounds and over two months before season’s end.

However, it is Biaggi’s return that is arguably most awaited. Can the title winner of 2010 and 2012 improve on the ninth place finish of Troy Bayliss in Thailand? As mentioned by 43-year-old Biaggi himself, this will be the reference. Spicing up the plot only further, World Superbike has the privilege of being the first World Championship to race on Misano’s new track surface, which has been installed by Dromo and will encourage more grip in wet conditions in particular; the previous asphalt was particularly slippery in the wet, as the rainwater mixed with sea salt from the nearby Adriatic Sea. One would expect a fully dry June weekend anyhow, but there is no doubt that the new surface will encourage riders to push only more, even if the net result is that lap times will inevitably fall this year.

Amid the 2015 regulars, there are changes. Althea Racing has parted company with Nico Terol as Niccolò Canepa moves back to Genesio Bevilacqua’s team, with which he was second overall for EVO honours last year. Canepa’s seat at Grillini SBK Team has been taken for the round by 35 year old former World Supersport regular Gianluca Vizziello.

Not only will there be three factory Aprilias on-track, but a trio of Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team machines as well; Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano will be joined by test rider Luca Scassa, as the Italian rides for a factory outfit for the first time. A fourth BMW is added as former Superstock 1000 racer, 21-year-old German wildcard Markus Reiterberger, will compete with the VanZon Remeha BMW squad. He previously rode as a wildcard at the Nurburgring in 2013, scoring points in both races.

Opening World Superbike practice begins on Friday at 11:15 local time (GMT +2).

2015 eni FIM Superbike World Championship (7 of 13 rounds completed)

1 – Jonathan Rea Kawasaki Racing Team – 330

2 – Tom Sykes Kawasaki Racing Team – 206

3 – Leon Haslam Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils – 199

4 – Chaz Davies Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team – 184

5 – Jordi Torres Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils – 131

Cluzel heads to Misano hoping to close the gap to Sofuoglu

Until Portimao, Jules Cluzel had not won a World Supersport race since the Phillip Island season-opener. Now he’s back on the top step and refusing to back off the throttle, with Kenan Sofuoglu’s championship lead having been reduced to 40 points.

Cluzel won the first race from pole before being denied in Thailand due to an engine failure. A similar problem ruled him out of Aragon, while Sofuoglu picked up his first of four straight wins. But with five races still to go and the Frenchman having beaten the Turk in a head-to-head fight last time out, the battle is back on as Misano awaits.

Facts are facts. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) leads Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) by 40 points. He has won four races to Cluzel’s two and looks good for a fourth World Supersport crown following his previous successes of 2007, 2010 and 2012. For Cluzel, this is his third season in the category after 2012 and 2014; he finished runner-up on both of those occasions and is more than desperate to shake off the ‘bridesmaid’ tag he appears to have unintentionally attracted.

Misano will mark Sofuoglu’s 100th race start in the World Supersport class. It all started in Valencia in 2003 on a Yamaha, while the maiden win came with Honda machinery at Assen three years later. 12 years after his debut, the Turkish rider now leads the way for race wins, podium finishes, front row starts, fastest race laps and points scored. Furthermore, one more pole position would put him equal for the top spot with Sebastien Charpentier. But can he hit the race start century as a winner? His pre-race preparation has not gone according to plan, as Sofuoglu was briefly hospitalised following a highside in testing at Misano last Tuesday.

25 riders are set to start Sunday’s race. These include Italian wildcard Flavio Ferroni with Renzi Corse Srl SSD, whereas others are officially listed as ‘One Event’ riders. Alexey Ivanov again competes with DMC Racing, whereas Schmidt Racing joins the action with a pair of Honda CBR600RR bikes for Hungarian compatriots David Juhasz and Janos Chrobak. A total of eight Italian riders are included in the field.

Friday’s opening World Supersport practice session for the PATA Riviera di Rimini Round commences at 10:15am local time (GMT +2).

2015 FIM Supersport World Championship (7 of 12 rounds completed)

1 – Kenan Sofuoglu Kawasaki Puccetti Racing – 150

2 – Jules Cluzel MV Agusta Reparto Corse – 110

3 – PJ Jacobsen CORE” Motorsport Thailand Honda – 95

More, from another press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:

PATA the Main Event Sponsor for the Riviera di Rimini Round

The Italian company further strengthens its presence in the upcoming Italian event.

Italian snack company PATA has become the Main Event Sponsor for Round 8 of the 2015 eni FIM Superbike World Championship, taking place on June 19-21 at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”. The PATA Riviera di Rimini Round will feature a prominent presence for the Italian company not only around the 4.226km, recently fully resurfaced track, but in many ways within the WorldSBK paddock and on event promotional material.

PATA has a long history within the Superbike World Championship, starting in 2010 with team sponsorship and gradually extending to different classes during the years. While maintaining all of the previous partnerships, in 2015 the PATA Group has also become one of the sponsors of the Championship.

With the Main Event Sponsoring of the last Italian Round of the season, PATA ensures even greater visibility within its key market and worldwide.

In what is one of the highest attended and most passionate rounds of the season, the many spectators who will choose to experience the spectacular WorldSBK action live will be also able to enjoy all of the delicious varieties of chips and snacks made by PATA.