VOL. 50 ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 20, 2013
With the retirement of reigning
World Champion Max Biaggi, the
title favorite must be 2012's halfpoint second-best Tom Sykes,
whose Kawasaki team by the end
of last year seemed to have consistently found the magic compromise in setup between the
blisteringly fast jump out of turns
that the ZX-10R is capable of providing, and making a softer, grippier rear tire last race distance.
Add in his own Superpole skills
– the quintessential Brit, born in
that most English of counties,
Yorkshire, was on pole for nine
of the 14 races last year – to ensure he starts from the front of
the grid, and can set the pace
unencumbered with the need to
fight his way through a closely
matched pack, and he will take
some beating this season. In Loris Baz he has a young teammate
capable of springing a surprise,
especially in tricky track conditions like when he triumphed in
the Silverstone rain last year, and
the fact that the Spanish-run but
factory-backed Provec Kawasaki
Eugene Laverty
will be left to fly the
Aprilia flag with the
retirement of World
Champion Max
Biaggi.
team really is a solid team, makes
Sykes the favorite to bring Kawasaki its first World Superbike
crown in exactly 20 years, on the
anniversary of Scott Russell's last
Kawasaki title in 1993.
In Biaggi's absence Aprilia will
be counting on Eugene Laverty
to defend their pair of 2012 World
titles (Riders and Manufacturers,
P53
both), and having already won a
race last season on the Italian
V-four, the Ulster-born rider certainly has what it takes to do.
Laverty won in Portimao after Aprilia refined their ultra-fast
bike's aggressive throttle response for the final three rounds,
which also tipped the title-clinching balance in Biaggi's favor, and
Carlos Checa
is back with
Ducati and
is hoping the
Panigale fits
the bill.
