The start of the World Superbike season may still be a month away, but the WSBK teams will start their preparations for the 2011 season tomorrow. The first official World Superbike test of the 2011 season will start on Wednesday at Portimao in Portugal, and will end on Friday.
The testing session will be the first of two for the World Superbike riders. The second test will be held at Phillip Island in Australia, on February 21-22, just a few days before the start of the season. Most of the provisional grid will be present for the testing this week, although the BMW factory team will be absent.
Max Biaggi and his RSV4 Aprilia bike set the bar in the 2010 season, and the Portimao test will be the first opportunity to see what riders and what bikes can keep up with the pace. Aprilia will not only have the reigning champ in their corner, but they will also have WSB contenders Leon Camier and Noriyuki Haga.
Ducati, who isn't running a factory team this year, will still be well represented on the World Superbike grid. There will be three Ducati teams testing in Portugal, with Carlos Checa leading the way for the Italian manufacturer. Jakub Smrz and Sylvain Guintoli will also be aboard Ducati machines, as well as former Superstock competitor Maxime Berger.
The other big news around the WSBK paddock is the return of the Castrol Honda team. Castrol will be sponsoring the Ten Kate operated team this year, and is hopeful about their return to prominence. Jonathan Rea and Reuben Xaus both know what it takes to get to the top of the podium, and will definitely be contenders in 2011.
As far as machinery goes, no bike has had more hype than Kawasaki's new ZX-10R. And in 2011, there will be plenty of them around the World Superbike circuit. Tom Sykes, Chris Vermuelen, and Joan Lascorz will all be riding the ZX-10R in Kawasaki. Vermeulen and Sykes are WSBK veterans, but this will be the first year in the premier division for Lascorz.
Yamaha will also be putting their faith in a WSBK virgin. Eugene Laverty will be stepping up to the big leagues this year, alongside Marco Melandri, who raced in the MotoGP in 2010.
Suzuki is only riding one racer this year, but he's a good one. Michel Fabrizio will be taking the reigns of the GSX-R1000 this year.
There will be more than 20 riders testing out their machinery in Portimao tomorrow. The World Superbike season starts on February 27th in Australia.
