As tradition dictates, the Thursady right before the WSBK racing weekend in Monza is dedicated to the fans, and this year we also took the chance to go there and see how the vibe is in view of the upcoming battles (although weather forecasts do not look that promising..). Besides, this year Monza will also celebrate the 25th anniversary of this Championship, and that makes the whole thing even more spicy. So, if ‘bike porn‘ is what you are after, here is a nice photo gallery for you showing the bikes getting assembled in the pits, exposed, with no fairings.

However, the amazing racers of the World Superbike Championship aren’t the only hot motorcycles around in Monza as we were able to spot a few other nice ones around, such as a Ducati 1199 Panigale dressed up with the Pata Team colors, or the Honda Integra Limited Edition by Tresoldi we talked about a while ago, and even some car that should be pretty familiar with Monza’s surroundings. In order to see all the thumbnails at once, click on the ‘continue reading’ link below.

View the full WSBK 2012 - A Thursday in Monza photo gallery

Continue reading: WSBK, Monza: a stroll through paddock and pit-lane (Gallery)

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Accordingly to a Tweet unleahed on the internet by Italian journalist Fabio Di Palma, Guim Roda, team manager of the Kawasaki Racing team, has announced that the Ninja ZX-10R left available by injured Joan Lascorz will be ridden this weekend by former 125 and Moto2 rider Sergio Gadea. The 27 years old Spaniard will then take part at the imminent fourth round of the World Superbike Championship, taking place in Monza at the end of this week, but at this very moment it is unclear whether the choice is just temporary or definitive till the end of the current season.

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The third round of the World Superbike Championship that took place in Assen last weekend surely was an eventful race: downpours, crashes, bad tyre choices, unbelievable saves, red flags, outsiders taking the win and so forth. We told you about all that, but there’s one thing we left aside: the girls, and it is time to make up for it. Here’s a photo gallery starring some of the nicest ladies who attended the event and did not give up smiling even though rain and cold were there trying to turn everybody off. Check them out in our photo gallery.

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Roberto Rolfo through his official website has revealed the livery that Pedercini SBK team will be using to contest in the 2011 championship.

The livery on the ZX-10R is the classic Kawasaki green, with some black and white detailing in this fourth year that Pedercini has been using the Ninja.

Next week the team will be at Phillip Island for official testing before the season opener with Rolfo, and Australian stars Mark Aitchson and wild card rider Bryan Staring, who is under contract with the Italian team in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup.

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BMW’s Ruben Xaus, who crashed out four times at Phillip Island has been the latest rider to be targeted by the caustic wit of Motoblog’s resident comic artist Luca Ruggeri.

The Spanish rider who seems to single handedly support the motorcycle fairings market, according to the latest rumors that are circulating, may find himself without a ride for the rest of the season if he doesn’t regain his confidence and improve his performance in the next two rounds at Portimao and Valencia.

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Just before Xavier Simeon leaves for Spain to test his Ducati Xerox Superstock 1000 bike we found him for an interview.

Xavier, how does it feel to be a member of the Ducati Xerox Junior Team today?
It’s the first time for me to do some PR for Ducati and I really enjoy it. It’s a big change for me after Suzuki but it’s a new challenge. I am meeting so many journalists this days, it’s really great for me.

Did you receive many comments, reactions?
All my friends at home and in the paddock are very happy for me to join the Italian team and I am also sure that I made the good decision. Ducati won the SBK Championship, Superstock. I believe Ducati is the best.

How about the model range from Ducati?
They have a new bike, the Streetfighter. It think it’s a good bike for roads. All the Ducati bikes are built to have fun, not only riding. If I could choose a new bike for myself it’s the Streetfighter for sure, I want to try it out!

Continue reading: Interview: Xavier Simeon rider in the Ducati Xerox Junior Team

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In a press release from today, Kawasaki announced today that it suspended its factory MotoGP racing activities for this year.

Kawasaki said they can not recover the impact of the financial crisis and it pushed them to take this unpleasant decision. Kawasaki would like to thank all the fans and all people who have forwarded help to them.

It’s an unpleasant news to receive but we can’t denied we are not surprised by the decision of the Kawasaki factory. It was been told all around in the press and in fact we were all waiting for the official press release to be published.

The financial crisis came up and wounded Kawasaki but also the riders, like Marco Melandri, happy to race in 2009 with “the green team” after his suffering period with Ducati. But not only the riders, also the crew, the fans and MotoGP are hurt by this news.

Today we don’t expect an other team will withdraw from MotoGP but what do we learn from this? Did Kawasaki not reach the goal, the results the team or the factory expected? Or is it really the financial crisis removing the team from the start grid? And what about MotoGP in general? Even Valentino Rossi is looking at World Superbike and hoping he can race against Troy Bayliss? What about the strong teams, the upcoming BMW and Aprillia spending a budget to go for a win in the successful and exciting racing class called World Superbike? In a period Kawasaki will stop riding in MotoGP and when teams are discussing to have less races in a season.

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Ducati Xerox rider Troy Bayliss is the new World Champion SBK 2008. A few minutes after the last race, we received this interview from Ducati Corse:

-A third World Title and in your final year of superbike racing, a dream result?
Yes, a dream result for sure. For several reasons…. for the fact that it’s my third title, in what is my last year of Superbike racing; for the fact that I’ve now won on three different generations of Ducati Superbike; and for the fact that I win for the third time as part of such a fantastic Italian team. We came so close to tying it up at the last round at Vallelunga but it wasn’t to be, it’s been a rollercoaster ride emotionally speaking and so I’m extremely happy and relieved to have done it this weekend!

-And the 1098 wins in its very first year? How was it and how did it compare to your previous race bikes?
The 1098 has been a fantastic bike, we’ve had to work a little on the settings throughout the year, but I can say that the bike and I have got on great together. Sitting on the bike, it’s not at all like the 999, but much closer to the older style Ducati bikes, more similar to the 996 or the 998.

-Was it as easy as it looked to win this year?
It may have looked easy but I’ve been up and down in the points, going up to 78 points and then back down to 28, then up to over a hundred, and back down after Vallelunga. So no, it wasn’t easy, it’s been a lot of hard work and although I’ve had some great races, I also had some little dramas. It just comes down to the fact that other riders have had more dramas than me I guess!

Continue reading: Interview with Troy Bayliss, the new World Champion SBK

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The British Superbike rider Tom Sykes will ride as Wild-Card rider during the next round of World Superbike on September 7 at Donington. Tom rode also as Wild-Card rider during the last SBK round at Brands Hatch and finished 7th. In the British Superbike Championship the Rizla Suzuki rider is on 3th position.

At Donington we will see many British riders. Tom Sykes, Leon Haslam, Cal Crutchlow and James Ellison will all fight as Wild-Card rider for the British crowd.

James Toseland will be happy with so many British riders at World Superbike after the message to give more British riders a chance in the Championship.

Via | Buzzinmotorsport

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Good news from the Italian Guandalini SBK Team. The Guandalini Team confirmed today at Twowheels, that Jakub Smrz signed again and will be racing in 2009 for the team from Bologna. Not really a big surprise, Kuba told before during the SBK at Assen at twowheels about his good feeling inside the team. He said: ” I like to stay in the Italian team, they are all very friendly to me and I feel really comfortable!”

The Guandalini Team confirmed also a second SBK pilot, but we have to wait until the Championship is finished to know the pilot’s name! Jakub Smrz is riding the Ducati 1098 RS 08 and is performing very strong, the Guandalini Team is performing for the first year at WSBK and is coming many times in the picture because of the great performance from Jakub Smrz.
photo’s from Koen

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James Toseland has said he would like more British riders in the SBK. “Carl Fogarty, Neil Hodgson and I won 7 WSB titles in 15 years. Today only Chris Walker is returning to the Championship and it’s mid-season. We have so much British talent and I would like to see more youngsters given a chance and on a more regular basis.”

Riders like Troy Bayliss, Noriyuki Haga, Checa and others are all verging on retirement, according to the Britisch MotoGP rider James Toseland. Could we see some new blood come through?

Via | news.bbc

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