This far 2005 Champion
Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) has scored two wins, but two non-finishes have left him some 76 points behind Bayliss.
James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) has scored one win thus far, and is likely to begin the Misano weekend with a new electronics package on his Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR, after recent test at Brno. Currently fourth overall, Toseland is only four points down on Yamaha's leading light of the 2006 year so far,
Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia). Four times a podium finisher already, Haga will be pushing for a win on his team's native soil, partnered by another proven podium finisher in '06, Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia), currently sixth overall.
Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda) has entered World Superbike at a very high level, and has already taken a trio of podium finishes. He hopes for even more from the Misano weekend, as he has tested a full race spec CBR1000RR at Misano already this year, a luxury he has not previously enjoyed since his move over from
MotoGP. In a one-man team, Barros can only improve as his SBK experience grows, and he looks to the second half of the season with confidence of scoring consistently high points throughout.
The aforementioned Pitt lies sixth, with two heavy hitting Ducati riders immediately behind.
Lorenzo Lanzi's form has been changeable in his first full factory season for the Ducati Xerox team, but he sits in seventh place, six points ahead of Ducati privateer
Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Berik Ducati). Having just missed out on a podium in race one at the most recent
Silverstone round, Xaus looks to Misano as another opportunity to show his outstanding prowess, especially around the triple lefts of the Curva Grande.
