Superbike Imola: the second round of the world championship has officially begun!

The second round of the Superbike World Championship has officially begun; teams and drivers are ready and already surrounded by a festive atmosphere, also thanks to the various initiatives proposed by the city of Imola.

The weekend was opened by a press conference which took place in the presence of the local authorities and some of the protagonists of this 2012 world championship: the reigning world champion Carlos Checa, the points leader Max Biaggi, Marco Melandri, Jonathan Rea and Michel Fabrizio, the only Italian to have won at Imola. It happened in 2009, when Marco Simoncelli was on the podium with him.

These are the pilots' statements:
Carlos Checa: “I've won three times here, this is a historic track and for me it's always great to race here. Last year I won race 2 also thanks to Jonny's trouble; it was a wonderful victory because there were really a lot of people and I was already very close to the title.”

Max Biaggi: “Fifteen years ago I won here in 250 and in 2010 I celebrated my first Superbike title here: these are unique memories just as the second race at Phillip Island will remain unique. I never thought I would be able to do a race like this, it will remain one of the most exciting memories of my entire career. Imola is a track that I really like; I hope to be able to conquer it because in Superbike I haven't managed it yet but it won't be easy at all.”

Marco Melandri: “For me it's my home track even though I only raced here last year and in 1999. Hopefully we can be more consistent and competitive than in Australia.

Jonathan Rhea: “I love this circuit and the bike works well here. I hope I can continue and improve the work done at Phillip Island.”

Michelle Fabrizio: “I've always liked the Imola track, last year it didn't go very well, this year I hope to be able to do better. The bike is also better than I thought, the team is working really well.

From tomorrow the words will leave room for the times and performances on the track: appointment at 15.30 pm for the first official qualifying sessions.