While Infront Motor Sports announced last week during the first round of the World Superbike Championship that thePhillip Island venue would be kept on the calendar until 2014, there have been rumors that the Flammini Brothers would like to add an additional venue in Australasia in 2012.

This should make Kiwi racing fans happy because it seems that Infront is in talks with the Hampton Down circuit owners about holding a race in New Zealand’s newest motorsport facility that is located about 60 km south of Auckland and 65 km north of Hamilton, when they lengthen the track to 3.8 km so they can obtain FIM homologation.

Continue reading: World Superbike Racing in New Zealand in 2012?

Francesco Guidotti will be the new team manager in the Aprilia Alitalia Racing team. It will be a return to momma Aprilia for the Italian who first started with the Italian manufacturer in 1993.

Guidotti, 37 has already managed Aprilia teams and in 2001 and 2002 was in World Superbikes series and the following two years was in charge Aprilia’s MotoGP project and 2005 managed the last official Aprilia team in the 250cc class.

The Italian manager has spent the last four years managing the KTM gran prix effort and if you find Guidotti’s name familiar it’s because his brother Giacomo is currently the technical director in Francis Batta’s Alstare Suzuki team.

Source | motoblog

Continue reading: Aprilia Alitalia Gets New Team Manager

Check out Carlos Checa’s brand new helmet design for this 2010 season. Checa who will be racing with Althea Ducati in WSBK, decided that it was time to change the graphics on his lid, and Nolan Group who supplies his helmets was more than happy to satisfy the rider’s request.

The designs on the helmet are a metaphor of Checa’s life and passions and each single design tells a story, with the animals expressing his love for nature, for free climbing, surfing and all extreme sports. The continents represent the Spanish rider’s feeling of being a citizen of the world and the top of helmet sees a windrose compass.

Nolan Helmets will be selling this X-Lite X-802 Checa Replica from April 2010 and is priced at € 539,00 and will be available in all authorized dealers.

Source | mypersonalhelmet

Continue reading: Carlos Checa's New 2010 Helmet

With the upcoming opening round of World Superbikes Championship, that is shaping up to be one of the most exciting seasons ever, with highly talented and big named riding stars, we caught up with Lorenzo Lanzi before he left for Phillip Island.

After a difficult past season, Lorenzo has been signed up to ride for DFX Corse, for whom he raced for last year (replacing the injured Regis Laconi) and the bike could not be anything less than an awesome Ducati 1198, a highly professional team, for an all Italian duo and with six Italian riders on the WSBK starting grid, great racing will be a guarantee.

Here’s some questions that we asked the rider from San Piero in Bagno, including his expectations for the upcoming season.

Q: Finally you’re going to be back riding a Ducati, how do you feel physically and mentally?

A: “I’m really happy to have found a place in the DFX team. I’m finally back in the series and for the entire season and really want to do well from the start. I have to say that I’ve always believed that I’d be back, so I’ve always been in training to prepare for the double races. I knew that if I raced in other championships in the end it would have paid off. I’ve always believed in my talent, but being a rider without personal sponsors, it wasn’t easy finding a place, and today I’m here and I’m grateful to the team and believe that I can hold my own in the championship.”

Continue reading: WSBK: Interview with Lorenzo Lanzi

World Superbike team Echo CRS has decided to replace injured Broc Parkes for the opening round of the Championship at Phillip Island with Josh Brookes.

Brookes who currently rides for British Superbike team HM Plant Honda has already been given the okay from Honda, could also take part in the upcoming WSBK official tests that are scheduled this weekend, always at the Island.

If Parkes doesn’t regain full fitness in time for the second round at Portimao, team manager Sandro di Stefano could ask Brookes to take part in the Portugal race, as the British Superbike Championship kicks off only at the beginning of April at Brands Hatch.

Source | motosprint

Continue reading: WSBK: Josh Brookes to Sub for Injured Broc Parkes

The World Superbike Championship season opener at Phillip Island will see two less riders on the starting grid.

Supersonic Racing Team has already stated that they will miss the first overseas race and now Pro Ride World Racing Team has also announced that they too will start the season at Portimao, that is scheduled from March 26th to 28th.

While Supersonic’s decision was based on not having the Ducati bikes until the beginning of March, Pro Ride according to team manager Marco Nicotari is facing logistics problems and are still missing several elements in their team structure that will be completed in March, in time for the Portugal race: “Once again I had to take the decision that we shall miss Phillip Island round. Personally for me it’s a shame, cause it’s a track that I love, but as the responsible for this Team and a project, I have to think professionally, so once we are not ready at 100%, due to the late agreements, it is better to stay home one more month and prepare everything properly. We hope to be at Portimão at full gas.”

Makoto Tamada who will be racing for the team this year had this to say :“I have to be honest and say that I am disappointed that I cannot make the season opener in Phillip Island. I always enjoyed going to Australia and the people there has always been so supportive to me. However, I believe that Marco’s decision is right. We are a new team, and we didn’t have enough time. It is tough decision, but this decision should turn out for the best in the long run.”

Source | proride

Continue reading: WSBK: Pro Ride Racing Team to miss Season Opener

While Luca Scassa was already listed in the World Superbikes entry list with Supersonic Racing team, the fact was that Scassa officially signed on the dotted line only last Saturday morning, to the relief of his numerous fans who were starting to worry that the deal had fallen through.

The new team that will be able run a Ducati 1198 R, however will not be present at the opening round at Phillip Island as Supersonic team manager Danilo Soncini has confirmed: “I have to thank Ducati for the passion shown and also Infront who clearly understood the lateness of the situation but allowed us to miss the Australian Round,” also adding: “We are all very happy for the situation that we have created, just think that one month ago the team’s plans were totally different but a series of factors made it possible for us to realize this fantastic dream.”

After a first season with Team Pedercini, Scassa will be riding a Ducati, that according to several sources will be supplying the debuting team with official 2009 material, but the bikes won’t be ready till the first week of March thus the reason for missing the first round.

Continue reading: WSBK: Luca Scassa finally signs with Supersonic Racing

Aussie rider Broc Parkes will miss the World Superbike season opener at Phillip Island after breaking the tibia of his right leg in a training accident.

Parkes who raced last year for PBM Kawasaki, was to debut with Echo CRS Honda who moved up to to Superbikes this year, will unfortunately be out of action for six weeks and the team is looking into a possible replacement to ride the CBR1000RR for the 1st round that is scheduled for February 28th. Parkes is hoping to be fit in time for the Portimao race that will be held on March 26th.

“I wish Broc all the best for an early recovery; we are waiting anxiously for his return,” declared team manager Sandro Di Stefano. “Now he has to concentrate on getting back into the best condition as soon as possible. This is a false start for us and it complicates our debut. Superbike is a difficult category, where every minor detail must be taken care of. Things like this confirm how much the human factor is one of the elements that can occasionally slip out of control”.

Source | worldsbk

Continue reading: WSBK: Broc Parcs Injured, will miss 1st Round

Yamaha Sterilgarda has become the lastest World Superbike team that has unveiled their new livery of their 2010 Yamaha YZF-R1 that James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow will be using this season.

The event that took place at the Sterilgarda’s headquarters in Castiglione della Stiviere (Mantova) this afternoon showed the bikes with almost imperceptible differences from last year’s livery.

Yamaha also released details regarding the R1’s upgrades that include:
- Maximum engine power increased by 8hp, considerable power benefits over the full rev range.
- Overall bike weight reduced by 3kg without losing the electric starter.

Continue reading: WSBK: Yamaha Sterilgarda Reveal 2010 Livery

After the official launch of the Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team at Fiumicino airport in Rome last Tuesday, we’ve now got a rather long video, with a mix of past and present of Aprilia and Alitalia and with Max Biaggi and Leon Camier behind the commands of one Alitalia’s planes.

Continue reading: Aprilia Alitalia Racing Team Launch Video

Alstare Suzuki has unveiled their 2010 livery that will grace the Suzuki GSX-R 1000 that riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli will use to contest in this year’s World Superbike season.

Francis Batta team owner, after dropping Dr.Brux last September due to payment problems has a new main sponsor VIRU, an Estonian beer distributed in Italy by the Biscaldi Group.

Continue reading: Alstare Suzuki Unveils New 2010 Livery and Sponsor

According to Italian website Motosprint, Italian rider Lorenzo Lanzi will be returning to Superbike team DFX Corse to subsitute Regis Laconi once again.

Lanzi subbed for Laconi for five rounds before being axed for Fonzie Nieto. Both Anthony West e 125 cc rider Andrea Iannone were linked to the team, however DFX’s team manager Daniele Carli picked Lanzi again, because according to the latest news Regis Laconi is still not physically fit to compete.

Laconi, suffered a horrific accident during free practice at the Kyalami circuit in South Africa and successfully recovered from two fractured vertebrae that kept him in a hospital for over a month and then continued physical therapy in France.

The French rider got back on his Ducati just five months after his crash and did three honour laps at his home race at Magny-Cours and later got some track time with his team at the Portimao tests last October.

Lanzi will be back on track for the official Infront tests that take place at Phillip Island the week before the opening round of the season.

Source | crash.net and motosprint

Continue reading: WSBK: Lorenzo Lanzi to Return to DFX Corse