Lorenzo Lanzi, team-mate to Bayliss and
Ruben Xaus on the Sterilgarda Ducati both became the last two riders on 100-plus points scores at Monza, despite unlucky results in Italy. Each is a proven race winner, Xaus most recently at his home circuit in Valencia, Spain, but after Monza they have some serious competition coming up from behind. Roby Rolfo, Toseland’s team-mate was in near race-winning form two weeks ago and if what he says is true - that he has made a set-up and confidence breakthrough - a new chair has just been pulled up at the top table of World Superbike yet again.
Rolfo's immediate championship target is the highly talented German rider, Max Neukirchner riding for Suzuki Germany who sits in overall eighth place, on 81 points. The last rider in the current top ten is an SBK factory team regular, and a former British championship contender,
Yukio Kagayama on the Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra.
Michel Fabrizio riding for DFX Corse Honda leads the fight in the mid-table slots, with the young Roman rider looking to get back onto the podium soon. He is only one point behind Kagayama at present, in 11th, and has a scrum of riders just behind him going into
Silverstone. In what has been a tough season so far for the factory Kawasaki runners,
Regis Laconi and
Fonsi Nieto are still looking for a genuine podium-threatening performance from their riding packages, as they languish in a very uncomfortable 12th and 13th places respectively.
The top 15 is rounded out by the startling effective Jakub Smrz on the Ducati SC Caracchi who has taken to SBK racing like a seasoned veteran, despite being a rookie rider and finally Josh Brookes riding the Alto Evolution Honda. Both Brookes and his team-mate
Karl Muggeridge are overcoming the reliability problems that have afflicted their machines this season and each showed their own speed in qualifying at Monza, going fifth and third on day one.
