WSBK News

Former MotoGP star Garry McCoy will start his first ever World Superbike event from the second row after qualifying his NCR Ducati 999 sixth in his first ever Superpole session, at Valencia this afternoon.

The championship-winning Ducati Fila team launched its 2004 World Superbike campaign in Valencia this afternoon [26 February], the day before the season gets underway at the Ricardo Tormo circuit.

2004 will see Ducati return to the World Supersport class - with a factory presence - for the first time in three years, where the Bologna based company's new 749R will take on Honda's championship winning CBR600RR - plus Yamaha's YZR R6, Suzuki's GSX-R600 and Kawasaki's ZX-6RR.

Telecom Italia has joined forces with Ducati for the 2004 World Superbike Championship, associating its 'Alice' high-speed broadband internet brand with Team Ducati.

Today at FGSport's headquarters in Rome, Noriyuki Haga signed to ride in the 2004 World Superbike championship for Renegade Ducati, alongside Leon Haslam.

Regis Laconi completed Ducati Fila's World Superbike pre-season test session at Phillip Island today on a positive note, the Frenchman knocking half a second off yesterday's best to end with a time of 1min 33.55secs - comfortably quicker than the fastest race lap from the 2003 WSBK event, set by

Factory Ducati riders' Regis Laconi and James Toseland both made substantial progress on the second day of pre-season testing at Phillip Island today (Wednesday) - although Toseland was left needing stiches after a highside.

Garry McCoy has concluded his first World Superbike test session after signing a contract for the 2004 WSBK season with Scuderia Caracchi Nortel Networks.

Following confirmation that all MSMA manufacturers, other than Ducati, would not be entering - or officially supporting - any teams in the 2004 World Superbike championship, Alstare Suzuki have announced their withdraw from the class, although they will stay in World Supersport.

Ducati Fila's new line-up of Regis Laconi and James Toseland had their first ride on the full factory spec 999s that they will race in the 2004 World Superbike championship, during a three-day Pirelli test at Valencia.

As predicted by Crash.net , Carl Fogarty has today confirmed that fans' favourite Chris Walker has signed to ride for Foggy Petronas Racing in the 2004 World Superbike championship.

Former world champion Fabien Foret has signed to race an factory-supported Yamaha YZF-R6 for the Belgarda team in next year's Supersport World Championship.

The much anticipated road version of the Foggy Petronas Racing FP1 was launched today at the Galeri Petronas, in Kuala Lumpur, in a ceremony officiated by Malaysia's Minister of Youth and Sports Dato' Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and watched by FPR team boss Carl Fogarty.

With the much anticipated FP1 road bike launch in Malaysia just a day away, Petronas' head of motorsports, Madam Norhayati Hj Md Ali, took time to reflect on Foggy Petronas Racing's first season in the World Superbike Championship.

After a long, hard season for Troy Corser, the final round of the 2003 World Superbike Championship at the French circuit of Magny Cours, ended in disappointment when the 1996 World Champion crashed out of the second race on the warm-up lap, costing him a top ten spot in the final rider's standin

HM Plant/GSE Racing closed out their current stay in the World Superbike Championship with three podium appearances in four combined starts for Chris Walker and James Toseland on Sunday in Magny Cours.

Foggy Petronas Racing's debut season in the World Superbike championship ended in disappointment when Troy Corser and James Haydon notched up three crashes in four-combined start at the French circuit of Magny-Cours.

In the 11th and final round of the Supersport World Championship, Ten Kate Honda star Karl Muggeridge scored another race win today at Magny-Cours, his third straight success after victories in Assen and Imola.

The Ten Kate Honda team have officially confirmed that they will compete in the 2004 World Superbike Championship with the new Honda Fireblade and their newly-crowned World Supersport champion Chris Vermeulen.

Ducati Corse has not only confirmed its participation in the 2004 World Superbike championship, but also announced that Regis Laconi and James Toseland will spearhead the Ducati Fila team attack - meaning both current riders Neil Hodgson and Ruben Xaus will be leaving the team.

After a season of incident and occasional glory for the Kawasaki Racing team, the final round of the World Supersport Championship takes them back the point of origin for most of its team members.

Foggy Petronas Racing chief engineer Steve Thompson (pictured) has already set his sights on a number of areas of focus for his efforts in improving the performance of the FP1 for the next World Superbike season.

Yamaha Belgarda's Jurgen van den Goorbergh bounced back to top form at Imola yesterday, with a third place after 21 laps of the classic undulating Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit - to move within six points of second place in the championship.

Ruben Xaus continued his late season surge as he took the spoils in the first World Superbike race of the day at Imola.