From a press release issued by SBK International, which organizes the Superbike World Championship:


New SBK Season Shapes Up

The stunning conclusion of the 2002 World Championship is still a fresh memory for all those who were privileged to watch the culmination of the 13 round, 26-race series at Imola on September 29.

As the final chequered flag of the season fell, however, the plans for 2003 were already in various stages of advanced completion, for organizers and competitiors alike.

With the 16th season of SBK racing beckoning, Neil Hodgson (Ducati Infostrada) was an early call up for the official factory effort, and the talent of Ruben Xaus, a 2002 factory Ducati rider in his own right, has recently joined the Lancastrian. Both riders have tested their 2003 mount on separate occasions, the all-new Ducati 999R, at this season’s favourite test venue of Valencia.

For Hodgson, third in the championship in 2002 and the only man to consistently mix it with Colin Edwards and Troy Bayliss, the new season presents a gilt-edged opportunity to become the first Briton since Carl Fogarty in 1999 to win the World Championship. A proven SBK race winner and former British Superbike Champion, Hodgson’s hunger and consistency will be matched to top class machinery this season, making him the pre-season favourite for most.

A new season invariably means new signings but this year SBK welcomes a whole new manufacturer – PETRONAS – in the form of the Foggy Petronas Racing team, led into the breach by four-time Champion Carl Fogarty.

The eagerly anticipated Anglo-Malaysian Foggy Petronas entrants have been hard at work in the workshop and on the racetrack, moulding the curvaceous FP1 three-cylinder machine to the rigours of World Superbike competition. The initial competitiveness of any new machine is always an unknown until points are up for grabs but the seriousness of the new team’s intention to win as soon as possible has been underlined many times.

With riders of the calibre of 1996 SBK World Champion and 23 times race-winner Troy Corser plus the mercurial British Superbike race winner James Haydon on their books, the FPR team may just achieve some ambitions earlier than anyone could realistically expect.

Another team with their plans sorted early is the HM Plant Ducati squad, who will field Britons James Toseland and Chris Walker on 2002-spec factory Ducatis. A Supermoto injury has seen Walker undergo a restorative operation on his left ankle recently, but he and Toseland are both expected to be testing in mid December.

Fans’ favourite Pierfrancesco Chili, 15 times World Superbike race winner, will be taking to the tracks again in 2003, this time on a privately entered PSG-1 Ducati. Having scored a podium finish in 2002, he will be another looking for regular top three placings on one of many quick privateer Ducatis in the 2003 field.

All the private riders will be helped by the new restrictions placed on the numbers of rear tyres used in timed and untimed qualifying, with only 13 tyres per rider permitted in pre-race sessions.

Tyres will be a pivotal topic for the DFX Pirelli Ducati team, three riders strong this year. Aussie Steve Martin returns for another European based campaign, and he will be joined by former factory Ducati star Juan Borja and rising Italian talent Marco Borciani.

Long-time SBK supporters Team Kawasaki Bertocchi are back in the fold, with Mauro Sanchini and Ivan Clementi also taking on the Team Pedercini Ducatis of Lucio Pedercini and Serafino Foti for the honour of top Italian privateer team.

In addition to the traditional saddle swapping between seasons, another SBK dynamic has been the main talking point in recent weeks. Two new tracks will be added this year – although technically Magny-Cours in France is a returnee to the SBK fold, having been the venue for the French race in 1991. A date change to 19 October has been announced from the original pre-calendar slot for the welcome return of France to the SBK circus.

The endlessly impressive Sepang circuit in Malaysia is, however, an all-new track to the fold, and should deliver strong local and vocal support for the new PETRONAS entry.

Before the racing gets underway there will be an official SBK test session, at Valencia, on 21-23 February, a test that will give the top teams a chance to measure their off-season progress a mere two weeks before the start of the season in Spain.

The Supersport World Championship returns for its fifth season as a full status World Championship, and the competition in the class will be made even keener by the arrival of three new machines. The existing Suzuki GSX-R600 will line up against the new boys, the Honda CBR600RR, Yamaha YZF-R6 and Kawasaki ZX-6RR, in what will be one of the most closely contested series on the planet.

Yamaha field their usual combination of Christian Kellner and 2000 Champion Jörg Teuchert in the Yamaha Germany team, with Paolo Casoli and James Whitham challenging for honours in the Belgarda squad.

Honda have flooded eight factory CBRs into the grid this year, for the Ten Kate, van Zon, BKM and OPCM teams, which include the riding talents of Karl Muggeridge, Chris Vermeulen, Iain Macpherson, Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes.

Kawasaki, Champions in 2001, has given the factory team status to Kawasaki France for 2003, and the new/old team will be supporting reigning champion Fabien Foret and Spaniard Pere Riba in their very own dream team.

Diminutive Italian rider Alessio Corradi scored an early pre-season success at Supersport tests in Valencia on 13/14 November, setting the fastest time on his Team Italia Spadaro Yamaha.

A new era of World Superbike racing dawns in 2003 when 1000cc four-cylinder machines, fitted with air-restrictors, will be welcomed into the SBK grid for the first time, allowing SBK to continue the close links with the road-going machines the class itself is based on.

The season starts at Valencia on March 2, with the final calendar expected to be published at the end of November.