WSBK preview: Imola, Italy, May 8-10

The fifth round of the 2015 Superbike World Championship heads to Imola this weekend at the circuit named in honour of Enzo and Dino Ferrari.

Imola has been on the world superbike calendar since 2001, with the exceptions of 2007 and 2008 when the series raced at Vallelunga. The current 4.936km layout features 22 corners of which 13 are left-handers. The flowing nature of the layout, the many elevation changes and the lack of long straights make Imola one of the most demanding and technical tracks in the world.

Imola has hosted a total of 23 races to date, with only the second encounter of 2005 having been called off due to adverse conditions. Furthermore, since 2002, no less than seven events out of 11 have thrown up double victories; Colin Edwards did it first on the historic day when he beat Troy Bayliss to a second world title, whereas the latest was taken by current series leader Jonathan Rea in 2014.
That only adds to further confidence for the Kawasaki Racing Team rider Rea, who has already picked up two doubles since the start of 2015: Buriram and Assen. Having collected a massive 95 percent of the maximum championship points on offer so far this season, few would bet against the Northern Irishman.

“I am looking forward to Imola because it is a track I really enjoy; a really technical track," said Rea. "It requires a lot of thought to be put into the lap and there are many areas where you can make up time by using quite different techniques, especially in the Piratella and Acque Minerali sections. I enjoy going to Italy in general and it is good to go somewhere where I went really well last year and in the past."

There could be a lot for the Italians to shout about this weekend. Aprilia has achieved no less than 11 podiums at the track and at least one of the marque’s bikes has always finished in the top five of every Imola race since the start of 2009. The manufacturer’s leading representative in the current standings is Leon Haslam, who is the closest challenger to Rea and took a victory in Australia, while rookie teammate Jordi Torres is yet to finish lower than in sixth position every time he sees the chequered flag.

Perhaps the biggest stories will be the world superbike comebacks of two famous names. Davide Giugliano finally returns, having been ruled out of action when he injured his back in a pre-season testing crash at Phillip Island. Since then, his Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team has returned to winning ways with Chaz Davies, who is third in the championship standings. Last year, Giugliano started on the front row at Imola, having finished on the podium after leading race one in 2013.

Elsewhere, Michel Fabrizio is also likely to boost attendance figures as he reappears on the grid, subbing for Nico Terol at the Althea Racing Team. The 30-year-old Roman has been a regular on the grid since 2006 and will ride alongside fellow countryman Matteo Baiocco ahead of Terol’s suspected return at Donington Park. The grid’s other Italian is Ayrton Badovini, who believes his season ‘will begin’ at Imola.

Behind the championship top three of Rea, Haslam and Davies, 2013 title winner Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) is looking to get his championship fight back on track, having struggled with a major lack of rear-end traction last time out at Assen. Such struggles were not a problem for Honda's Michael van der Mark, who made history by becoming the first Dutchman to clinch a world superbike podium finish; he immediately doubled the tally by clinching another podium in race two. He now sits just 5pts in arrears of world champion teammate Sylvain Guintoli, while the championship top 10 is completed by Ducati's Leandro Mercado.

At Suzuki, Alex Lowes and Randy de Puniet move into their third round since switching to a Magneti Marelli electronics package. They will continue to juggle their race setup work with bike development, with the ongoing testing ban meaning the British-based team is having to use practice sessions to continue expanding its bike's capabilities. Although it may be a steep mountain to climb, signs of progress were visible in the Netherlands two weekends ago, not least as Lowes qualified on the second row of the grid and went on to finish raced two in ninth place.

Several riders will reach landmark race start numbers in Italy. Ayrton Badovini will make his 130th world superbike start in race two and Giugliano’s return will begin with his 80th race in the opening encounter. As for championship leader Rea, Imola’s second race will see him become the 24th rider to start 150 races in world superbike. He debuted on the Algarve in 2008; since then, Rea has amassed 21 race wins, 50 podium finishes, 13 Superpoles and 13 fastest laps.

Rea also carries the sixth largest lead after the opening eight races of a season in the series’ history, with a 50pt cushion over Haslam. Nine rounds and a maximum total of 450pts remain between now and the Qatar finale on October 18.

In world supersport, Queenslander Aiden Wagner will make his debut with the Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres team, whose sports director is Australia's two-time class world champion Andrew Pitt.

“It was a difficult decision to go overseas with such an attractive offer in Australia with Honda," said Wagner. "However, after many sleepless nights I decided my future was overseas. This year will be a learning curve for me overseas, as I haven’t ridden any of the tracks. I am a bit nervous about going, but on the other hand really excited for the year ahead."

Wagner's teammates will be Patrick Jacobsen and Lucas Mahias. Jacobsen is currently running second in the title behind fellow Kawasaki rider Kenan Sofuoglu.

Australia's second world supersport rider at Imola will be Glenn Scott (Honda).