SECOND BRITISH ROUND OF 2007 READY FOR TAKE OFF – TOSELAND COMES HOME AS LEADER ONCE MORE It is only apt that the former airfield circuit of Silverstone will have its weekend on-track action publicised by an aerobatic display at nearby Sywell Aerodrome on the Thursday proceeding race weekend proper. It is also particularly fitting as a British rider, James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), arrives in his native land as the high-flying championship leader once more. Despite leaving Monza without a win two weeks ago, the first round he has not been victorious at since he started his 2007 campaign, Toseland has nonetheless extended his championship lead still further. He is now 35 points ahead of his nearest challenger. Toseland knows what it is like to win at Silverstone, having taken race two in 2005, but he will be fighting the recent formbook at the 3.561km circuit. The last four wins have been scored by riders on factory 999 Ducatis. Toseland has already won a race in the UK, taking the first race victory at Donington. HAGA NOW THE BIGGEST THREAT TO TOSELAND’S LEAD James Toseland may have been the convincing force since the start of the season, but after a dominant Monza weekend for Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) Toseland has a new rider and machine threat to concentrate on more closely. Haga’s double win displaced Max Biaggi (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) from overall second (albeit by only three points) making the Silverstone tussle between the Yamaha and Suzuki riders a battle to be enjoyed in itself. BAYLISS BACK IN THE HUNT AT A CIRCUIT HE KNOWS WELL Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) is the fourth serious threat to Toseland’s championship lead at the halfway point of the season, having put a gap of 29 point between himself and the frequently luckless SBK champion of 2005, Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia). Nonetheless, Bayliss has work to do it catch up with the fight for second, never mind the attack on Toseland’s lead, but his recent form at Silverstone and the circuit’s tight and twisty nature make it an ideal spot to pull back points in partnership with the flickable and torquey Ducati 999F07. LANZI AND XAUS IN THE TON-UP CLUB Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) and Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Ducati) both became the last two riders on 100-plus points scores at Monza, despite unlucky results in Italy. Each is a proven race winner, Xaus most recently at his home circuit in Valencia, Spain, but after Monza they have some serious competition coming up from behind. Roby Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was in near race-winning form two weeks ago and if what he says is true – that he has made a set-up and confidence breakthrough – a new chair has just been pulled up at the top table of World Superbike yet again. Rolfo’s immediate championship target is the highly talented German rider, Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Germany) who sits in overall eighth place, on 81 points. The last rider in the current top ten is an SBK factory team regular, and a former British championship contender, Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). BATTLE FOR TOP 15 PLACES HOTS UP Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda) leads the fight in the mid-table slots, with the young Roman rider looking to get back onto the podium soon. He is only one point behind Kagayama at present, in 11th, and has a scrum of riders just behind him going into Silverstone. In what has been a tough season so far for the factory Kawasaki runners, Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) and Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) are still looking for a genuine podium-threatening performance from their riding packages, as they languish in a very uncomfortable 12th and 13th places respectively. The top 15 is rounded out by the startling effective Jakub Smrz (Ducati SC Caracchi) who has taken to SBK racing like a seasoned veteran, despite being a rookie rider and finally Josh Brookes (Alto Evolution Honda). Both Brookes and his team-mate Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda) are overcoming the reliability problems that have afflicted their machines this season and each showed their own speed in qualifying at Monza, going fifth and third on day one. CORSER AND NIETO CARVING UP THE SKY On Thursday 24th May a press conference will be held at Sywell Aerodrome near Northampton, the home of aerobatic team ‘The Blades’. Troy Bayliss, Max Biaggi and James Toseland will be in attendance but Troy Corser and Fonsi Nieto will find themselves an even more integral part of the show”¦ WORLD SUPERSPORT – KENAN SET TO CONTINUE STRONG FORM Despite a stunning level of strength and depth in World Supersport the headline story of the year has been Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Going on recent form, with five wins from six attempts, Kenan’s is a story with no limits on where it will all end. Sofuoglu made another five points advantage on the next closest rider last time out at Monza, and now he heads up Fabien Foret (GIL Kawasaki) by 58 points – more than two full race wins of a differential. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda) scored decent points after a bad start at Monza, and is third overall, one up on Gianluca Nannelli and his Caracchi Ducati SC 749R. With Suzuki rider Barry Veneman fifth the WSS points table has an astonishingly cosmopolitan feel in terms of competitive machines this season. The top Yamaha rider is first year full-timer, Davide Salom (Yamaha Spain) in eighth place, but Monza sensation Anthony West (Yamaha World SSP Racing) will be back again in place of the still-injured Kevin Curtain. Winner of the last two Silverstone WSS races, Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), is hoping to be back to full form after recent injury, while Broc Parkes (Yamaha WSS Racing) has had poor reward for some great riders this year, as he inexplicably finds himself only 11th overall in the standings. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP – FOUR RACES FOUR WINNERS SO FAR The competitiveness of the big Superstock class this year can be measured in terms of the number of regular riders – almost 40 – and the fact that once more a new round led to a new winner last time out at Monza. Four riders in total have won races this year and they are Niccolo Canepa (Ducati Xerox 1098), Mark Aitchison (Celani Team Suzuki Italia), Michele Pirro (Team Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha) and Matteo Baiocco (Umbria Bike Yamaha). A disjointed and dramatic Monza meeting reassembled the leading riders in the championship standings, with Baiocco heading up Aitchison by two points, with Canepa only a point behind. SUPERSTOCK 600 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP – MAGNONI BACK IN FRONT Michele Magnoni (Bevilacqua Yamaha) scored his second race win of the year at Monza and in doing so reclaimed his championship lead from Valencia race winner Maxime Berger (Trasimeno Yamaha). Andrea Antonelli (Team Italia Megabike Honda AX) is the first non-Yamaha rider in the championship fight and the third rider to have won a race in 2007, at Assen. NEW LOOK MISANO NEXT FOR THE SBK CIRCUS After five rounds held on alternate weekends up to and including Silverstone, the next race on the calendar takes place at the revamped and ‘reverse-direction’ Misano on 17 June, a venue some top riders tested at recently. More, from a press release issued by Honda: KENAN GOES FOR SIX AT SILVERSTONE Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) has been the consistently dominant force in Supersport racing in 2007, taking his new model CBR600RR to an astounding five wins in the six races held thus far. The 22-year-old Turkish rider has been on ultimately peerless form, even in those races when he has had to fight himself clear of his competitors before taking the chequered flag. His points total of 145 is some 58 more than his nearest rival, and even his only non-race win in 2007 was a second place in Australia. Just to underline his recent form, he has also taken pole position at all of the last three races. Despite some dreadful bad luck this year seasoned WSS veteran Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) is third overall going into the Silverstone weekend. Himself a winner of six races in his WSS career going into Silverstone, Fujiwara has shown that both he and his 2007 spec machine can be fully competitive when circumstances allow. At Silverstone he will be going for his third podium finish of the year, and the 21st of his career. Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) is the only man to have won more than one full status World Supersport championship but his 2007 season has been marred by injury since a bad fall at Donington in round three. He hopes to be back to full stamina at the English track on Sunday and he is going for a winning hat trick, having won there in 2005 and 2006. Lorenzo Alfonsi (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) will be attacking Silverstone in an attempt to break into the top ten in overall points, and after some stirring rides and good points scores, he is going for his third top ten finish by overcoming a spectacularly competitive midfield entry in WSS this season. Memories of a horrid weekend at Silverstone in 2006 and a simple desire for more podiums is motivating Sofuoglu for this year’s Silverstone race. “Although I have a good lead, I am keeping my focus and I will not let it affect the way that I race,” said Sofuoglu. “There is no way that I can be complacent because I know that anything can happen and we are still only halfway through the season. I am looking forward to Silverstone. My results last year were not so good, but it was my first year and I didn’t know what to expect. This year I know the track a little better and I am certainly aiming to improve on 20th place! As always, my overall aim is consistency so anything in the top three would be ideal.” Fujiwara’s is determined to take a top three finish at Silverstone to make up for an ultimately disappointing previous round at Monza. “I’m not completely satisfied with my last result,” stated Fujiwara. “I was fast through all of the practice days but I did not get the best start and that left me unable to get in contention with the leading group. I hope to start well in Silverstone because I know I have a perfect bike and good team. I want secure a podium again.” Charpentier is out to get back to his race-long best and thinks that Silverstone will be the perfect place to demonstrate this, for many reasons. “The season has not gone well for me so far, but I am determined to improve the situation at Silverstone,” said the 2005 and 2006 champion. “It is a good track for me – I have had pole position and race wins there for the past two years – so hopefully I can make it a hat-trick. I also hold the best lap record and the Superpole lap record. I enjoy racing there and I just really hope that I can get some good results for the team.” Alfonsi approaches Silverstone with high hopes of a good results, even with the slow and twisty Silverstone short circuit coming so soon after the ultra-fast Monza. “I normally prefer to race at faster racetracks, but I do like Silverstone,” said Alfonsi. “After a lot of work we had good set-up for raceday at Monza and although Silverstone is very different, I think we will start out with those settings. I want to repeat my top ten results again and I know I will need good help from my team to make a good weekend.” World Superbike Round 7 of 13 TOSELAND READY AND WILLING TO SHINE IN FRONT OF BRITISH FANS The battling qualities inherent in the character of James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) have put him at the top of the championship table since the first round at Qatar, and despite leaving the most recent round at Monza without a single race win – for the first time in 2007 – Toseland extended his championship lead yet again. His total of 229 leads Noriyuki Haga by 35, with Max Biaggi now in third place, 38 behind Toseland. Toseland has happy memories of the short Silverstone layout to be tackled this weekend, having won a race there in 2005, and having scored two podiums on his Honda last year. He has a win total of five in 2007, with four second places also chalked up. Only a poor tyre choice in race one at Monza prevented him from challenging for a second podium last weekend, but even with that fourth place finish, he continued his strong run of form at the head of the championship. Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) re-ignited his championship challenge at Monza last weekend, running with the best until fuelling problems in race one and a desperately close fight for the last podium place finally prevented him from scoring his first SBK podium. Boosted by his new base set-up and improvement in his personal pace, Rolfo is confident for his chances of success in England, and he is now 9th overall, the second highest-ranked Honda rider. Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) comes to Silverstone ready to break into the overall top ten again, currently just one single point off Yukio Kagayama’s total of 60. The young native of Rome, still only 22-years-old, is finding this season exceptionally tough as a privateer, in a year when the general standard has increased markedly, both at the front and in the mid-table battles. After a difficult start to the season practice at Monza was fruitful for both Joshua Brookes (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) and Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) but raceday luck was once more noticeable by its absence for Brookes. For Muggeridge a pair of top ten finishes at Monza were welcome after several no scores, and at Silverstone his number one priority is to work towards two strong finishes. Currently Brookes in 15th overall, on a total of 40 points, with Muggeridge one place and 12 points behind. Luca Morelli (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) is the replacement rider for the outgoing Steve Martin in the DFX Corse Honda squad and will have his first taste of his new machine during practice on Friday. The 19-year-old Italian rider has been campaigning a privateer Ducati in the last few SBK rounds. Home ground advantage is something Toseland is looking forward to, and his personal aim of scoring a double win is also the perfect prescription to maintain and extend his championship lead. “I got two podiums at Silverstone last year and I am definitely looking to equal that this year,” said the 26-year-old Isle of Man resident. “Of course I am aiming for the double win – that is always the aim – but to get it in front of the home crowd would be awesome. I have come so close this year, but each time it has just been out of my reach. Anyway, whatever happens I know I will enjoy the racing because the home events are always good. I just hope I can give the fans what they want.” Rolfo found the way in machine set-up at Assen, and hopes that he can continue down that fruitful road at his own home track. “After Monza I think we have finally found a set-up that I feel comfortable with,” said Rolfo, a former 250cc Grand Prix star for Honda. “The feeling on the bike was great and I was able to contend with the front-runners for the first time this year. I am happy with the progress I have made over the last couple of rounds and I want to thank the team once again for their support and the way they have really listened to my needs. I am looking forward to racing at Silverstone and can’t wait to get out on the track.” Fabrizio is confident that he can make a better Silverstone showing this year, especially after a recent test at Misano. “Last year my bike suffered a lot of problems with the front suspension and we had chatter all weekend,” said Fabrizio. “I hope that after the Misano test and our work on the electronics the team and I can get two good results.” Brookes is looking to Silverstone as another opportunity to improve his personal best this season and although he is no fan of the shorter Silverstone layout, he is more than aware that the points on offer are the same at every track. “We are a little bit more experienced after the last race,” said Brookes, “and we have had more time to make changes to the bike. I am optimistic that things will work out well this weekend, but we’ll just have to wait and see. I don’t like the track very much, it would probably be much more enjoyable if we raced on the full circuit. But I will be approaching the track in the same positive frame of mind as usual.” For Muggeridge, Silverstone is almost home-from-home after spending a few seasons racing in the UK in his early career, and he believes it could be a positive experience for his team and himself. “We have some new suspension parts this weekend,” stated Muggeridge. “The rest of bike is OK, the engine and brakes are not bad already. Silverstone is not a horsepower track and with a good set-up we should go well.” New boy Morelli is looking at Silverstone as a high-speed learning experience. “For me it is a very important opportunity to race with the DFX Corse Honda,” said Morelli before Silverstone. “The Honda CBR1000RR is a fantastic motorcycle and I will test it for the first time in the race. The team has already said that I can’t risk anything because it is very difficult for me to go quickly without experience.” After the Silverstone weekend, both Supersport and Superbike championships have two free weekends, before competitive on-track action begins once more at the restyled and ‘reversed’ Misano circuit, between 15 and 17 June.