Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Rules requiring teams and riders to designate–and limit their testing to–two specific test tracks played a large role in the outcome of the 2002 Superbike World Championship.

Heading into the final round of the 2002 Championship at Imola, Castrol Honda’s Colin Edwards led Infostrada Ducati’s Troy Bayliss by a single point, a virtual tie. Edwards, however, was the only World Superbike competitor allowed to test at Imola in the days leading up to the final race, 11 days before the start of official practice, because Edwards was the only rider who had named Imola as one of his two designated test tracks.

Bayliss was forced to test at another Italian track, Mugello, because, “The Santerno circuit (Imola) was not chosen as test-track for the Italian manufacturer because no days were available during the month of September in which the noise level could exceed 70 decibels,” according to a press release from Ducati Corse issued last September.

Recently the World Superbike Championship press office released the following list of 2003 World Superbike teams and their designated test tracks, and several teams chose Magny-Cours, the site of the final races of the season.

Superbike

Foggy PETRONAS: Misano – Magny Cours
Kawasaki Bertocchi: Misano – Imola
PSG-1 Corse: Misano – Imola
HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing: Misano – Magny Cours
Alstare Suzuki: Sugo – Magny Cours
Fila Ducati: Misano – Magny Cours
Union Bike Gimotorsport: Misano – Monza
Mir Racing SL: Valencia – Imola
Pedercini: Misano – Mugello
DFX: Misano – Magny Cours
JM SBK Team: Brno – Misano
Caracchi NCR Nortel Net.: Misano – Imola
Aprilia Austria: Misano – Imola
White Endurance Team: Monza – Magny Cours
Team Rumi: Monza – Misano