The teams and riders are ready in Australia, ready for the new era of WorldSBK as all the action kicks off on Saturday!
FAST FACTS ON 2016 FIELD:
Most wins: Jonathan Rea – 29
Most podiums: Jonathan Rea – 65
Most poles: Tom Sykes – 30
Most fastest laps: Tom Sykes – 28
Most race starts: Tom Sykes – 184
Oldest rider: Nicky Hayden – 34
Youngest rider: Markus Reiterberger – 21
Number of WorldSBK Champions: 3 – Sykes, Guintoli and Rea
Yet to start a WorldSBK race: 5 – Abraham, Al Sulaiti, Hook, Menghi and Schmitter
Nationalities: 12 (5 – UK, 3 – Spain, 2 – Australia, France, Hungary, Italy, 1 – Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, Qatar, Switzerland, USA)
WHO IS WHO:
Kawasaki Racing Team
Kawasaki ZX-10R
JONATHAN REA – First back-to-back Champion of the millennium?
– Ballymena, Northern Ireland, UK
Race number: #1
Age: Turning 29 on February 2
Race starts: 166
Wins: 29
Podiums: 65
Poles: 6
Fastest laps: 21
Last year: Dominant season to become first Northern Irish WorldSBK Champion: 14 wins, 23 podiums, 2 poles and 11 fastest laps, while just missing out on points record
TOM SYKES – Looking to bounce back
– Huddersfield, England, UK
Race number: #66
Age: 30
Race starts: 184
Wins: 26
Podiums: 64
Poles: 30
Fastest laps: 28
Last year: Third in championship with 4 wins, 15 podiums, 6 poles and 7 fastest laps
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
Ducati 1199 Panigale R
CHAZ DAVIES – Trying to carry on where he left off
– Knighton, Wales, UK
Race number: #7
Age: Turning 29 on February 10
Race starts: 100
Wins: 9
Podiums: 32
Poles: 1
Fastest laps: 11
Last year: Second only to Rea with 5 wins, 18 podiums, 1 pole and 5 fastest laps
DAVIDE GIUGLIANO – Keeping out of trouble
– Rome, Italy
Race number: #34
Age: 26
Race starts: 89
Best finish: 2nd (x6)
Podiums: 9
Poles: 5
Fastest laps: 6
Last year: Injury-stricken fifth season with flashes of brilliance: poles and podiums
Honda World Superbike Team
Honda CBR1000RR SP
MICHAEL VAN DER MARK – Learning year over, now down to business
– Gouda, South Holland, Netherlands
Race number: #60
Age: 23
Race starts: 26
Best finish: 3rd (x3)
Podiums: 3
Best grid: 4th (x2)
Last year: In rookie season, more podium finishes than World Champion team-mate
NICKY HAYDEN – The goal: to win both MotoGP and WorldSBK
– Owensboro, Kentucky, USA
Race number: #69
Age: 34
Race starts: 2 (Laguna Seca wildcard, 2002)
Best finish: 4th
Last year: A difficult final MotoGP season ends with 20th position overall after a difficult bike
Althea BMW Racing Team
BMW S1000 RR
JORDI TORRES – Taking the fight to the Brits
– Rubí, Catalunya, Spain
Race number: #81
Age: 28
Race starts: 26
Wins: 1
Podiums: 4
Best grid: 2nd
Last year: Rookie of the season, fifth overall; five podiums and impressive Qatar win
MARKUS REITERBERGER – Knows BMW better than anybody
– Trostberg, Bavaria, Germany
Race number: #21
Age: 21
Race starts: 6
Best finish: 12th
Last year: Scored points in WorldSBK races and won German IDM Superbike title
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team
Yamaha YZF R1
ALEX LOWES – Time to shine free of Suzuki– Lincoln, England, UK
Race number: #22
Age: 25
Race starts: 54
Best finish: 2nd
Podiums: 3
Best grid: 3rd
Fastest laps: 2
Last year: Thai podium followed by immense frustration with new ECU on Suzuki
SYLVAIN GUINTOLI – Clean sheet for 2014 title winner
– Montelimar, France
Race number: #50
Age: 33
Race starts: 154
Wins: 9
Podiums: 41
Poles: 4
Fastest laps: 12
Last year: Single podium in otherwise uncompetitive season on Honda
Barni Racing Team
Ducati 1199 Panigale R
XAVI FORES – One-man band
– Llombai, Valencian Community, Spain
Race number: #12
Age: 30
Race starts: 15
Best finish: 5th
Best grid: 3rd
Last year: Solid sub for injured Giugliano (including front row qualifying in Qatar) while winning three IDM Superbike races to finish runner-up to Reiterberger
Team Pedercini
Kawasaki ZX-10R
SYLVAIN BARRIER – Needs to stay fit
– Oyonnax, France
Race number: #20
Age: 27
Race starts: 17
Best finish: 10th (x3)
Best grid: 10th
Last year: Lost WorldSBK ride and moved to Superstock 1000, but hit by more injuries
SAEED AL SULAITI – The third Qatari to race in WorldSBK category
– Doha, Qatar
Race number: #11
Age: 30
Race starts: 0
Last year: Raced in Qatar SuperBike Championship (QSBK)
MV Agusta Reparto Corse
MV Agusta 1000 F4
LEON CAMIER – Rapid racer, comprehensive developer and team builder
– Ashford, England, UK
Race number: #2
Age: 29
Race starts: 133
Best finish: 2nd (x2)
Best grid: 2nd
Last year: Along with his team, few riders grafted harder in developing their machine and a top five finish at Magny-Cours was well deserved
Team GOELEVEN
Kawasaki ZX-10R
ROMAN RAMOS – Mr. Consistency
– Santander, Cantabria, Spain
Race number: #40
Age: 25
Race starts: 26
Best finish: 7th
Best grid: 14th
Last year: A very respectable rookie campaign, scoring in all but three of the races he finished and retiring only three times from 26 starts
Grillini Racing Team
Kawasaki ZX-10R
DOMINIC SCHMITTER – Stepping up the ladder
– Altstätten, Rhine Valley, Switzerland
Race number: #9
Age: 21
Race starts: 0
Last year: Finished World Supersport 14th overall, also racing twice in IDM Supersport Championship and scoring a podium finish
JOSH HOOK – Into the shark pool
– Taree, New South Wales, Australia
Race number: #16
Age: 23
Race starts: 0
Last year: Finished second in prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours alongside Kyle Smith and Dominique Aegerter. Also raced in All Japan Road Race Superbike Championship and four Grands Prix in the Moto2 World Championship
Team Toth
Yamaha YZF R1
IMRE TOTH – Climbing the steep learning curve
– Budapest, Hungary
Race number: #10
Age: 30
Race starts: 44
Best finish: 12th
Best grid: 20th (x4)
Last year: On a lesser developed bike than rivals, Toth achieves three points finishes
PETER SEBESTYEN – Half of Hungarian duo hungry for international success
– Budapest, Hungary
Race number: #56
Age: 21
Race starts: 11
Best finish: 18th
Best grid: 25th
Last year: 29 points in STK1000
MILWAUKEE BMW
BMW S1000 RR
KAREL ABRAHAM – Grand Prix winner tries his hand at WorldSBK
– Brno, Czech Republic
Race number: #17
Age: 26
Race starts: 0
Last year: Former Moto2 winner starts ten MotoGP races in season plagued by injury
JOSH BROOKES – Newly-crowned BSB Champion returns to WorldSBK
– Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Race number: #25
Age: 32
Race starts: 35
Best finish: 7th
Best grid: 3rd
Last year: A controlled ride to BSB title on Milwaukee Yamaha, amassing no less than 13 wins, 23 podiums, 6 poles and 11 fastest laps along the way
VFT Racing
Ducati 1199 Panigale R
FABIO MENGHI – Ever-popular WorldSSP rider steps up a gear
– Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Race number: #61
Age: 29
Race starts: 0
Last year: 15th overall in World Supersport with best finish of sixth at Misano
