Superbike Imola: everything is ready for the seventh round of the season... even Noriyuki Haga!

The seventh round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship opened today in Imola.

Imola is the second and final round of the world championship on Italian soil, given the exclusion of Misano from the calendar.

At the moment Sylvain Guintoli is firmly in command of the general classification: since the start of the championship the Frenchman has achieved only one victory but his consistency (six second places and two thirds) is allowing him to keep all his opponents at a distance, first and foremost Tom Sykes.

The vice world champion in the second race in Portimao lost precious points due to a fall on the reconnaissance lap but does not lose hope of catching up with his rival, galvanized above all by the memory of the two second places in 2012.

In both cases he preceded him Carlos Checa (winner of five of the last six races held on the circuit named after Enzo and Dino Ferrari, ed.) who hopes that the Imola races can represent the turning point for his season, which has so far been unlucky and characterized by physical and technical problems .

Those who want to improve the results of the past certainly are Eugene Laverty, never gone higher than fourth place in the race at Imola, currently third in the championship.

Decisive weekend also for Marco Melandri: the player from Ravenna is looking for stability and consistency because the gap from the leader is starting to be significant (-57 from Guintoli, ed.).

They are certainly not to be forgotten in the fight for victory Jonathan Rhea, winner of race 1 in 2011, e Leon Camier, third in race 2 again in 2011.

They will also be worth keeping an eye on Michelle Fabrizio, on the top step of the podium in 2009 alongside Haga and Marco Simoncelli (who on that occasion replaced the injured Nakano in the official Aprilia team, ed.), and David Giugliano, who in 2006, at just 16 years old, won the Superstock 600 race.

Guest of honor and special observer will certainly be Noriyuki Haga: the Japanese will be in Imola as a “One Event” driver riding the BMW of Team Grillini Dentalmatic. Haga's last appearance in the Superbike Championship was 20 months ago.