QATAR ROUND KICKS OFF THE TWENTIETH YEAR OF WORLD SUPERBIKE
CHAMPIONSHIP
 The
Losail International Circuit in Qatar is the venue for the
opening round of the 2007 racing season this weekend as the
World Superbike Championship moves into its twentieth year.
Very little has changed for last year's championship-winning
Ducati Xerox Team, which goes into the new season with renewed
hopes of success, judging by the pace set during winter testing
by double world champion Troy Bayliss and his Italian team-mate
Lorenzo Lanzi, who line up together again. On the technical
front the successful Ducati 999 machine, which enters its
final year of world championship racing, also remains the
same, apart from an updated version of the idle control in
the electronics package. With title sponsor Xerox also on
board for a third successive year, the Ducati Xerox Team is
gearing up for what promises to be another splendid year of
World Superbike racing.
And the opposition will not be lacking, coming once again
from the four Japanese manufacturers, who will be present
in 2007 with brand-new or updated machinery, but it is the
rider front that gains the most with the arrival of four times
250cc world champion Max Biaggi in the Suzuki line-up, partnered
by Yukio Kagayama. 2006 runner-up (and former world champion
with Ducati) James Toseland is back on his Honda, this year
partnered by Italian Roberto Rolfo. In the Yamaha Italia team,
the ever-strong Noriyuki Haga is joined by double champion
Troy Corser, while Kawasaki have Régis Laconi and Fonsi
Nieto competing in a two-rider team. A strong outsider could
also be Ruben Xaus in the Sterilgarda Ducati team, while two
more Ducati 999s will be in the hands of Jakub Smrz (Caracchi)
and Dean Ellison (Pedercini).
Bayliss and Lanzi have been setting the pace during the winter
testing, the Australian resulting quickest in Qatar and smashing
the unofficial lap record at his home circuit of Phillip Island,
the venues for the opening two rounds.
Despite these exceptional performances the 37 year-old from
Taree remains circumspect about this weekend's race. "Honestly
one of the hardest races of the year is going to be the first
race in Qatar" declared Troy. "I'm not going to
keep my hopes up too much because I know how difficult it's
going to be for us. If we happen to win both races, we will
certainly be in a great position because it's going to be
nearly impossible to do that. Testing there in December looked
great on paper but if I come onto the straight first and there's
somebody within half-a-second, they're going to pass me. I
have to make a break and that's very hard to do. You can try
as hard as you can to get away, but you chew your tyres, it's
going to be a difficult situation."
"We've basically got the same package as we had last
year with a few minor changes but I would say that the team
has worked really hard on the settings over the winter. We've
had really good tests since we stopped at the end of last
year and Pirelli have worked well and come up with some new
tyres. Now we're just waiting for the first race but we're
confident we can do a good job with what we've got."
A reconfirmed Lorenzo Lanzi has been in terrific form over
the winter, recapturing the sort of performance that initially
earned him his place in the factory Ducati squad for 2006.
Now it just remains for the 25 year-old Italian to confirm
those testing results in this year's races.
"I feel quite calm about the season ahead because the
winter tests went very well so I am relaxed and in the right
frame of mind. We worked really well in the tests, trying
a lot of new solutions so let's see if we can have a good
championship. I set great times everywhere and this really
gives me a lot of motivation. I will need that because there
are a lot of fast riders out there. The guys to beat will
be those on the Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda, we're all going
to be up there fighting for the win. I've always gone pretty
good at Qatar, even though I had that bad crash last year,
so we'll be looking to start off well in tomorrow's first
practice session."
THE CIRCUIT
Name: Losail International Circuit
Length: 5.380 km
Pole Position: right
Finish line length: 1068 metres
Race distance: 2 x 18 laps/96.840 km
STATISTICS: Best lap: Bayliss (Ducati),
1m59.696s (2006). Lap record: Haga (Yamaha), 2m00.061s (2006).
Superpole: Bayliss (Ducati), 1m59.696s (2006).
2006 RESULTS: Race 1 - 1. Toseland (Honda);
2. Bayliss (Ducati); 3. Pitt (Yamaha). Race 2 - 1. Corser
(Suzuki); 2. Bayliss; 3. Haga (Yamaha).
TV COVERAGE: British Eurosport (UK): Friday
23 February, 1745 Superpole (as live); Saturday 24 February
0815 race 1 + race 2 (live). Eurosport (Pan European): Saturday
24 February, 1400 race 2 (as live); Eurosport 2 (Pan-European):
Sunday 25 February, 1100 race 1 + race 2 (delayed); La7 (Italy):
Saturday 24 February, 0930 race 1 (live), 1320 race 2 (live).
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