FIM Releases 2011 WSBK Entry List, Begins Official Testing

The FIM released the provisional 2011 World Superbike entry list just days before the first official test of the season kicked off in Portugal this morning. Twenty riders are entered for the entire season, with Team Pedercini yet to finalize their second rider. Five Britons, five Italians, three Spaniards, two Australians, two Frenchmen, one Japanese, one Irish, and one Czech rider are currently entered for the thirteen rounds in the WSBK championship.

Only the Kawasaki factory team has three riders, with Yamaha, Honda, Aprilia, and BMW all fielding two factory riders. Suzuki has only one factory rider and no satellite teams. Ducati has provided no factory support, though two single rider squads and Team Effenbert – Liberty Racing’s two rider team will race on the Italian machinery. Honda has no satellite teams, while BMW has a one step-down factory based squad in Italy. Noriyuki Haga will appear on the single non-factory Aprilia. Kawasaki has entered the larges effort of the manufacturers, though satellite Team Pedercini is still waiting on Gabor Talmacsi and has entered Bryan Staring as a wildcard for season-opener Phillip Island. Roberto Rolfo has long been signed to the team for this season.

Today is the first chance for the various riders and teams to see each other in action. While some have run off to the far corners of the globe for private tests, all but the factory BMW team with Troy Corser and Leon Haslam are in Portugal for the official Infront Motor Sports test. Max Biaggi is looking to keep his championship crown while Haga has already begun a war of words, while sitting on his on Aprilia in Italy.  Two times champion James Toseland is back for a second season after a sojourn to MotoGP, though this time on the Italian BMW squad. He partners rookie Ayrton Badovini. Fellow WSS rider turned WSBK rookie Eugene Laverty has parlayed his success into a Yamaha factory ride, where he can pick up tips from veteran and now former MotoGP rider Marco Melandri.

Johathan Rea and Reuben Xaus have a championship team name on their sides for 2011 with the return of the Castrol Honda name, but they remain part of recent WSBK stalwart team Ten Kate. Part of the mighty Kawasaki wave this season, Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz partner with the still-recovering Chris Vermeulen. Carlos Checa is riding for Althea Racing, which has become the de facto Ducati factory team. Maxime Berger will contest his maiden WSBK season for Supersonci Racing Team, the other single-rider Ducati team.

Source: FIM