Even the idea of a return to Imola is enough to get ardent race fans excited, never mind the thought that the Imola WSB race is only a few days away now. This excitement is well-placed, not only because Imola is a superbly located circuit, not only because it has had a welcome makeover of its pits and paddock area for 2009, or that it has been sadly missed from the calendar since it was last used for WSB racing in 2006. 

What makes Imola particularly special for World Superbike fans is the fact that it has been the scene of so many pivotal and memorable moments in WSB history, particularly in recent times.

In 2006, Troy Bayliss (Xerox Ducati) won his second World Championship there. In the same race weekend, Alex Barros won what would be his one and only WSB race on his Klaffi Honda.

 

After a massive rainstorm in 2005, Troy Corser (Alstare Corona Suzuki) was crowned champion at Imola when race two was washed out and his only challenger Chris Vermeulen (Winston Ten Kate Honda) was left with not enough races to catch up. Corser thus became the first ever rider of a 1000cc four-cylinder machine to win WSB outright, making his own piece of history as he secured his second WSB title.

For returning WSB power Aprilia Racing (Brno race winners in 2009 thanks to Max Biaggi and the RSV4) Imola also has a special place in the company history. In 2001, Regis Laconi (Virgilio Axo Aprilia) took the last race victory for the RSV Aprilia twin, in what was a blanket finish with Ruben Xaus and Tadayuki Okada.

Maybe the most memorable finish to any WSB season came about in 2002, when Colin Edwards (Castrol Honda) won both races to complete a seemingly impossible comeback against Troy Bayliss (Infostrada Ducati). No one who ever saw the elbow-to-elbow battles between Edwards and Bayliss (photo) will even forget them, particularly as the characteristic layout of Imola itself was partly responsible for the impossibly dramatic ending of a titanic championship battle.