The World Series Championship finds Leon Haslam in Qatar

The World Championship of production derivatives is preparing for the grand finale of 20016 on the Losail track in Qatar, in an evocative night round, in which the World Champion will be celebrated.
The Gaerne Qatar Round will be the opportunity to see perhaps for the last time, at least for 2017, riders like Sylvain Guintoli and Davide Giugliano, who will leave their places in Yamaha and Ducati but have not yet found a place, but also meet up with well-known faces like Leon Haslam, who will compete on the Pedercini Racing Kawasaki ZX-10R.

What will happen if he gets caught up in a fight between title rivals Rea and Sykes? He revealed this exclusively to WorldSBK.com

Leon, how long has this comeback been planned?

Honestly, Kawasaki has been asking me to race all year. They wanted me to do Assen and Donington, but my team didn't want to because of my commitments in England and Japan. Now I'm no longer under contract in the British Championship, so it was an easy decision. This experience in Qatar was organized by Kawasaki Europe and Pedercini.

You will race with Pedercini Racing but you will be hired directly by Kawasaki. Will you be like Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes?

I'll be on a Pedercini bike and I won't have anything more than what they've had all year, but I was told by Kawasaki that it's the same engine, the same electronics and the same suspension as the Kawasaki Racing Team. Obviously there are some different things, but I'll have what Pedercini had this year. I hope to at least be able to have two solid races and I'm curious to see where I'll get with this bike.

What are the main differences in terms of components?

The main difference is that I will have a full system of Magneti Marelli electronics, and this is very different to having no electronic aids, which is how I drove this year in the British championship. So this includes traction control, anti-wheelie and different engine braking. The suspension and chassis is the same, but there is a slightly different swingarm and some other elements.

You are the last rider who won in WorldSBK in Qatar. What do you hope your return will be like?

And who knows! Mainly it depends a lot on the bike. If we can stay close to Tom and Johnny I would like to fight them, and I will try to beat them. But this is a very very different bike from the one I have used this season and it is not the same as the one they use. We have to wait and see how it will be compared to them and where we can stand. There have been many riders on this bike this year and Westie (Anthony West) had the best result with fifth place in Sepang, in damp conditions. In a dry race we will have to see where we will be, but it will be nice to be back on the track where I won the last race. We'll see what we can do.

Let's imagine you find yourself in the middle of a battle between Rhea and Sykes. What would you do?

[Laughs] I'm riding for Kawasaki! It would be a dream to think of having a bike competitive enough to be there. It's a race, but I think Jonathan can close things out at the end of Race 1! Obviously no one wants to take a driver out of the race and you are always a little cautious with your colleagues! But I will be on the track for myself and for Kawasaki; they let me get on the bike to thank me for the season and I will do some tests for them over the winter, so it's nothing more.

Did you miss the WorldSBK paddock?

I saw the lap times this year and I know that if I had a competitive bike, I could have fought with them, but you need a good package and a good team. In my opinion Kawasaki and Ducati are ahead of the others at the moment and with the options I had for this season and next, I couldn't compete with them. I could have maybe fought for a fifth place, nothing exciting for me. That's why I'm in this situation, but I'm happy to do it in the best way possible for Kawasaki.

Are you looking to return to WorldSBK in the future?

I would love to come back. If there was an opportunity, a bike and a team with which I could win the world title, I would jump at the opportunity. The only reason I'm out is because I don't have an opportunity like that. If I have a chance to win, I'll be there.