The Valencia race on the weekend of the 23rd April will be the first of a series of ten Europe legs. Before then, however, the world Superbike and Supersport circuses will be back on the track for a second session of official tests, organised by FG Sport, at Misano Adriatico’s Santamonica circuit in Italy on the 11th and 12th of April. Fans are eagerly looking forward to the results of the SBK trials. The Australian Troy Bayliss is looking more and more like the man to beat this season. Bayliss, of Team Ducati Xerox, has already showed what he can do on Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit and currently holds the track record. He will certainly be looking forward to the Misano tests as a chance to prove his superiority. Equally certain is the fact that Bayliss will be pushed harder than ever, since a number of top riders left Spain with the championship title in their sights. This is especially true of reigning world champion Troy Corser, whose lap times were within a whisker of those of his co-national, Bayliss. You can also expect to see Yamaha doing well with the consistently improving Noriyuki Haga. The Kawasakis are narrowing the gap between them and their rivals, and Martin did very well for the Petronas team in Spain. Then there is Alex Barros, another rider likely to put in a great performance, and one of the few Honda representatives who will be taking part in the Misano tests (Muggeridge and Toseland of Team Ten Kate will not be riding at Misano). Finally, keep your eye on Lorenzo Lanzi and Michel Fabrizio, the two young and talented Italians, who look set for a great championship.


On the Supersport scene, because the current championship leader, Sebastien Charpentier, will not be riding at Misano, there is likely to be tough competition indeed between some extremely well matched competitors. Curtain, Parkes, Fujiwara, Tiberio, Roccoli, Vizziello and Sanchini will certainly be out to impress.