2009 World Superbike Championship: season preview and predictions

Expect Max N. to put up a decent fight, but we're unlikely to see much more of the Suzuki team this year.

Ducati preparing to dominate

There's only one V-Twin (okay, L-Twin then) on the grid these days - but it took the championship last year, and Ducati have assembled a very formiddable clutch of riders to fill the gaping hole left when Troy Bayliss decided to hang up the boots after his 2008 title. Consider this; at Portimao, 4 of the best 8 times were set on Ducati 1098Rs, including the outright fastest of the weekend. The Duke might not conform to the rapid update cycles of the Japanese bikes, but it hardly needs to; it's still the bike to beat. It certainly doesn't hurt that the base bike in production form costs up to three times what the standard Japanese superbike does on the showroom floor.

If the bike's a winner then, how about the riders? "Nitro" Nori Haga is a long-time veteran of the SBK paddock. His fearless, never-a-backwards-step attitude and unbelievable elbow-bashing battles with Bayliss, Corser and anyone else who dares ride near him have made him one of the most entertaining and successful riders of the decade. Haga missed out on the 2007 SBK title by a mere two points, finished third despite seven race wins with Yamaha in 2008, and now that he's jumped to the dominant bike in the series, it's fair to say he'll be a major contender in 2009. Nitro Nori posted the third best time at the Portimao test.

Then there's Shane "Shakey" Byrne, last year's British Superbike champion, who has tasted the bottom of the MotoGP barrel with KTM and Aprilia but now steps into World Superbikes on a winning bike that he's already comfortable on. 32-year-old veteran Shakey may be on a privateer team with Sterilgarda, but he sent a strong message to the paddock at Portimao with the fastest lap time of the weekend, and consistent pace.

Michel Fabrizio took several podiums last year in his first Ducati season, ending up with an 8th place. He's been quick in 2009 testing, though, and might make his breakthrough this year. in the Also Ducati-mounted this year are Alassandro Polita, Brendan Roberts, Jakub Smrz and Regis Laconi.

Ducati is riding high on recent Superbike and MotoGP successes - and team staff seem to have a fire in their belly that drives them harder towards racing goals than the better-paid Japanese teams. There will be red bikes aplenty at the front in 2009, but we'd expect Shakey and Nitro Nori to be spraying most of the champagne.

Yamaha: strong bike, laser focus

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