While Alstare Suzuki rider Troy Corser has had a near-perfect record in the current WSBK championship, a first win at Monza this Sunday could bode well for the rest of the season as defending champ James Toseland, steadily falls off the pace.
While Alstare Suzuki rider Troy Corser has had a near-perfect record in the current WSBK championship, a first win at Monza this Sunday could bode well for the rest of the season as defending champ James Toseland, steadily falls off the pace.
Corser has dominated the early part of the championship by winning five of the six races, yet despite numerous outings at the historic Italian circuit, he has not tasted victory at Monza before.
His main rival, Chris Vermeulen (Honda CBR1000RR) scored two second-place finishes in the last round at Valencia and a victory in any of the two races on Sunday could give his championship chances a welcome boost.
Unfortunately, last season’s powerful Ducati pairing of Regis Laconi and James Toseland is having a tough time keeping their championship hopes alive as they have both failed to dazzle in the early part of the season. Laconi could not participate in either of the Spanish races after an accident during the warm-up lap, while Toseland is currently placed at tenth place on the log.
Yamaha’s championship fight is being directed by WSBK rookie and MotoGP veteran, Norick Abe, who is currently fifth overall for the Yamaha France team.
Former World Supersport champion, Andrew Pitt joins Abe at the Yamaha team and the former World Supersport champion has already displayed some promising performances in the first three rounds of the championship.
Klaffi Honda have a dynamic mix of experience and youth with veteran racer Pierfrancesco Chili and rookie Max Neukirchner in its team . However, the talented young rider will be forced to sit out at Monza after it he had broken a bone in his hand during a high-side on the first lap of the Valencia round.
The experienced Petronas duo of Garry McCoy and Steve Martin have not had results to match their qualifying performances this season, and are hopeful that their three-cylinder chargers will be up to the Italian test.