2009 World Superbike Championship: season preview and predictions

The all-new S1000RR superbike is still yet to hit showrooms around the world, but due to homologation rules, at least 3,000 will have to be built this year. It's an inline four-cylinder 1000cc motor, with some sort of tricky valve actuation technology (probably mechanical, not pneumatic, and BMW have stated that they're not desmodromic), and will feature traction control. Beyond that, we don't know a lot about it except that Troy Corser has shown he can make it sing.

Aussie hard man, former WSBK champ, bike setup specialist and last year's runner-up, Corser put in the 11th fastest time at the pre-season Portimao test, just a second behind the leader despite the fact that the team has had very little time to develop the bike as yet. To put that achievement into perspective, that time was faster than anything Kawasaki managed, and only one Suzuki beat Corser around the track. "I’m pretty happy and positive about the next time out on the bike," said Corser, "If I had to race the bike tomorrow, I would be happy enough to do it."

Corser's teammate, Ruben Xaus, on the other hand, seems to be less comfortable on the new bike than Corser, coming out with the third slowest time overall.

We wouldn't be expecting Corser to fight for the title this season, but we do expect to see the S1000RR at the business end of the field enough to make the other manufacturers uncomfortable - and pave the way for a proper title shot for BMW in the next few years.

Team Aprilia will struggle to make an impact early

2009 will see Aprilia return to World Superbike after a 6-year break with a brand-new bike that boasts the only V4 engine in the competition. The RSV4 superbike has been less instantly impressive on debut than the BMW, but with its adjustable chassis geometry, fly-by-wire throttle and massively powerful V4 motor it's a thoroughbred racer for the road, and with the right development work, it should be a contender before too long.

The long road to the pointy end starts here for ex-GP superstars Max Biaggi and Shinya Nakano. Biaggi, unceremoniously dumped from Honda's MotoGP team after a fifth-place finish in 2005, went to WSBK in 2007 and finished a credible third in his first season with Suzuki. Last year, with Ducati, he was less successful, finishing seventh and winless despite fairly regular podium appearances. Biaggi is not known as an outstanding development rider - Valentino Rossi once referred to him as a "lost man" when his bike's not instantly fast. This year with Aprilia will be a chance for Max, who has long been one of motorcycle racing's biggest characters, to prove himself or bury his career completely.

Shinya Nakano joins the Aprilia team fresh out of seven seasons in GP, spanning the 500cc, 990cc and 800cc eras. Last year he took a Gresini Honda to 9th place, with a best finish of 4th, and lost his ride to Toni Elias. Nakano has shown some promise as a development rider, taking over the fledgeling Kawasaki ZX-RR that Garry McCoy finished 22nd on in 2003, and finishing in 10th place in 2004, also bringing home Kawasaki's first ever MotoGP podium.

...continued