The sixth round of this year’s Superbike World Championship takes place at the Kyalami race circuit in South Africa this weekend and promises to be yet another close-fought affair for Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli. The season so far is proving to be the most competitive since the series began in 1988 and every practice, qualifying and race has been closely contested. After taking fourth and second last weekend in Monza, Haslam tops the series by three points and will be looking to extend that lead at the demanding 4.263 kilometre Kyalami circuit. The track is one of the most undulating circuits on the calendar and features many changes of elevation and bike set-up and a good grid position will be crucial. In Monza, last weekend, Haslam hurt his left wrist when he had a big ‘moment’ in the first race. He was spectacularly-high-sided but somehow managed to stay on the bike. In the process of keeping hold of his GSX-R1000 Suzuki, he tweaked an old scaphoid and ligament injury, but still managed to get on the podium in race two. Leon Haslam: “Kyalami is a physically-demanding track and it is going to give my left wrist a good workout, but I don’t think it’s going to be too much of a problem. It was well strapped-up in the afternoon and I didn’t feel much pain. Of course, it would’ve been good to have a bit more of a gap between Monza and Kyalami, but I shall just have to put up with it. That’s assuming of course that the volcanic ash situation doesn’t prevent us from getting there! It’s funny to think that we are all dependant on some stuff outside of our control, but hopefully we’ll all be able to get there and back! Max Biaggi went well in Monza, so I will have to do my best to make sure I beat him and maintain my series lead. In Kyalami last year, I qualified 10th, DNF’d in the first race and finished fourth in the second, so I will be aiming to do a lot better than that this weekend.” Sylvain Guintoli: “It’s going to be new territory for me riding the Suzuki in Kyalami and I will have to learn the track quickly and do well in qualifying. That’s something I have been struggling with recently, but I know that I have to improve my results on Friday and Saturday or else it’s very difficult to do well on Raceday. At the moment, I have been finding a bit hard getting into a good rhythm in practice and qualifying and that’s preventing me from doing what I should be doing in the races. Kyalami has many ups and downs and it’s a tough circuit at the best of times. I have to crack it early on and be in a good grid position and that’s what I will be trying my best to achieve.” 2009 results: Race 1: Haga (JPN-Ducati), 2 Fabrizio (ITA-Ducati), 3 Spies (USA-Yamaha). Leon Haslam (GBR-Honda) DNF. Sylvain Guintoli DNS. Race 2: 1 Haga, 2 Fabrizio, 3 Rea (GBR-Honda), 4 Leon Haslam. Sylvain Guintoli DNS. More, from a press release issued by Althea Racing: Kyalami, 13th May 2010 the sixth round of the 2010 World Superbike Championship takes place this weekend at the South African track of Kyalami. Genesio Bevilacqua’s Althea Racing team come to the Johannesburg circuit with one precise objective: to get back in a position to fight against the best after a difficult last round at Monza. Fit and ready, and determined to be a protagonist in the two races, is Spanish rider Carlos Checa. Riding the Italian team’s Ducati, the 37 year old from Sant Fruitos will attempt to hold pace with his main rivals, championship leaders Leon Haslam and Max Biaggi. Last year at Kyalami Carlos missed out on the top five, finishing both races in sixth position, and so his main goal this season is to significantly improve on those results. Having taken the best result possible at Monza, with a ninth place finish in Race 2, Englishman Shane Byrne also hopes to improve on last year’s performance. The former BSB champion closed race 2 in ninth, having retired from the first race. This weekend the Ducati rider, originally from Lambeth, will do all he can to take good points, to improve on his position in the general standings, currently twelfth. “The Monza round was very difficult for all the Ducatis”, declared Genesio Bevilacqua, General Manager of Althea Racing. “The layout of the track here at Kyalami on the other hand shouldn’t create any particular problems and we’ll be aiming for the best possible result. Carlos is third in the standings and at this track he’ll try to earn important points so as to stick with the two riders currently ahead of him. Shakey has the same goal as he aims to get into the top ten in the general classification. I am confident, we have everything in place to be able to perform at our expected level.” Kyalami’s programme kicks off tomorrow morning with first practice at 12.45, followed by first qualifying at 15.00. On Saturday, second qualifying starts at 10.45 with Superpole getting under way later in the day at 15.00. On Sunday the two Superbike races commence at 12.00 and 15.30. CLASSIFICATION: 1) HASLAM p. 181; 2) BIAGGI p. 178: 3) REA p. 110; 4) CHECA p. 110″¦ 12) BYRNE p. 58; More, from a press release issued by Infront Motorsports: FIFA World Cup Final venue welcomes World Superbike riders The Soccer City Stadium, near Johannesburg in South Africa, was the host venue for sportsmen other than football players today, as many of the Hannspree Superbike World Championship regulars visited the all-new stadium to launch this weekend’s sixth round of the championship to local and global media. The awesome new soccer stadium holds 90,000 fans and is referred to by South Africans as the Calabash, as it resembles the local form of water carrier of the same name. Top WSBK stars like Michel Fabrizio, Carlos Checa, Jonathan Rea, Cal Crutchlow, Tom Sykes, Troy Corser and Max Biaggi got to kick a ball on the turf that will see the first action of the World Cup get underway next month. The WSBK press conference took place in the stadium’s expansive media centre, with the top riders fielding questions as well as enjoying a kick-about on the soon-to-be hallowed pitch. South African and international football star Shaun Bartlett was in attendance, to show the riders some of the niceties of the game and the details of the new venue. The largely orange-coloured seats in the stadium are interspersed with some darker-coloured seats, forming vertical lines that radiate out like compass points to all the other stadiums being used for the World Cup matches in South Africa. More, from a press release issued by Team ParkinGO Triumph BE1 Racing: Team ParkinGO Triumph BE1 Racing is already in South Africa for the sixth round of World Supersport. The race will be held at the Kyalami circuit, on a 4236 metres long track where Triumph did well last season, when Gianluca Nannelli barely missed the podium due to a crash by the end of the race and Garry McCoy took seventh place. The African circuit is definitely more favourable to the features of the Triumph Daytona 675 compared to Monza and it is at Kyalami that Chaz Davies and his teammates are determined to battle for the podium again. GIULIANO ROVELLI – TEAM OWNER: “We scored a great result as a unit at Monza, with Matthieu Lagrive, Chaz Davies and David Salom finishing sixth, seventh and eighth. This boosted the team’s morale, we’re improving ourselves race after race and I’m confident we can do well in South Africa too. Last year we weren’t very lucky, but this year we have a four-rider lineup and an improved bike and so our goal is to battle for the podium”.