WSBK News

Having been apparently immune to the front end feel problems suffered at some stage by almost all the Ducati 999 riders this season, factory star Regis Laconi today experienced the dreaded issue - but insists it's no big problem.

The influence of Foggy Petronas Racing team boss Carl Fogarty has rubbed off Chris Walker in the build-up to this weekend's British round of the World Superbike championship, at Silverstone.

Oschersleben World Supersport winner Karl Muggeridge, and the five other Honda CBR600RR riders disqualified for underweight rear axles, have been reinstated after Honda admitted an error was made 'when filling in the homologation documents'.

The entire crop of Honda CBR600RRs could be banned from racing following a controversial judgement by the WSBK technical director Fabio Fazi.

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Stephane Chambon and Katsuaki Fujiwara finished today's 28-lap race at Oschersleben in fourth and sixth positions when the chequered flag dropped, but were then sensationally moved up to first and second when six Hondas were disqualified.

Ducati Fila rider James Toseland moved back to the top of the World Superbike championship points table with a brace of second places at Oschersleben today.

After the exhilaration of yesterday's Superpole success, today [Sunday] saw Troy Corser leave Oschersleben bruised and disappointed. Engine problems in both 28-lap races robbed Corser of his best weekend's prospects this season.

Foggy Petronas Racing's Troy Corser will start tomorrow's races at round five of the Superbike World Championship in Germany in pole position after a stunning Superpole performance.

The wild-card riders who will race in the Superbike and Supersport World Championship rounds at Oschersleben on May 30 are the following:

Carl Fogarty is back on the road to recovery after the latest of a number of operations on his troublesome knee. The FPR boss had suffered from repeated pain in his right knee and, after advice from his surgeon, opted to undergo another episode of keyhole surgery yesterday (Tuesday).

Just as it was looking so good for Chris Vermeulen and the Ten Kate Honda, a post race inspection revealed a discrepancy with the tilt-switch meant he was stripped of his race two second place.

Foggy Petronas Racing faces what could well be its biggest challenge of the World Superbike season this weekend, when the FP-1 takes on the high speed straights of Monza.

Surprise British TV audience figures for last weekend have shown that the Misano round of the World Superbike championship beat the opening round of the MotoGP world championship, in terms of outright viewer numbers.

Troy Corser achieved Foggy Petronas Racing's best result on the FP1 when he was second in a dramatic first race at Misano in the third round of the World Superbike championship.

The Eastern coast of Italy plays host to the third round of an increasingly unpredictable 2004 World Superbike Championship, after two previous events of alternating fortunes for the top contenders.

Foggy Petronas riders Troy Corser and Chris Walker found themselves locked in intense battles throughout Sunday's two races at Australia's Phillip Island circuit.

After a gap of a month, the World Supersport Championship finally enters its second round of the year at the popular Phillip Island circuit - and a number of Honda riders believe that they are in with a chance of podium glory.

The second round of the World Superbike and Supersport championships, at Australia's Phillip Island circuit, will see no wild-card riders in the SBK class, but two local stars join the Supersport event.

Katsuaki Fujiwara raced the new Suzuki GSX-R600 to its first podium position of the season in the opening round of the World Supersport Championship in Valencia, as all three Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders filled top six positions.

WSBK legend Frankie Chili turned what had been a nightmare Valencia weekend around with two strong finishes on race day, despite switching from his new Ducati 999 to last year's 998 model.

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.