Superbike: Everything ready for the Imola round

On Sunday the Superbike will contest the second round of the 2012 season and will do so on the Imola circuit. Once the trip to Phillip Island is over (one victory each for Biaggi and Checa), we arrive in Italy, a country that will host three races this year, Imola, Monza (6 May) and Misano (10 June).

We arrive with Biaggi leading the world championship standings (a 1st and a 2nd place) and with our eyes set on the world champion Ducati with Carlos Checa and on the BMW of Marco Melandri from Ravenna (who achieved the podium in the first race)

One of the best races of the Superbike World Championship (which celebrates 25 years this year) was that of 2002, where in front of one hundred thousand spectators, Colin Edwards, Honda's Texan tightrope walker, won the play-off against Troy Bayliss. 2011 saw winners Jonathan Rea (Honda) and Carlos Checa (Ducati).

In the previous nine editions (17 races in total, because race two in 2005 was canceled due to rain) Ducati won 11 times, Honda 5 and Aprilia only once, in the now distant 2001 with the Frenchman Règis Laconi. The multiple winners - with 3 successes each - are Laconi himself, Carlos Checa and Ruben Xaus. The only Italian rider to have won in Imola was Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) in 2009. The traditional appetizer of the challenge will be the Open Paddock scheduled for Thursday afternoon. From 14pm the public will be able to access the circuit for free to meet the champions, have autographs signed and take a look into the secrets of the pits just a few hours before the tests begin.

Standings (after 1 of 14 rounds): 1. Biaggi 45; 2. Melandri 30; 3. Sykes 29; 4. Checa 25; 5. Rea 22; 6. Guintoli 16; 7. Smrz 16; 8. Haslam 15; 9. Aoyama 15; 10. Berger 12; etc. Manufacturers: 1. Aprilia 45; 2. Ducati 41; 3. BMW 31; 4. Kawasaki 29; 5. Honda 22; 6. Suzuki 4.