[kropotkin thinks...] - 2009 World Superbikes Assen Preview - Double Dutch

[Ninjette Newsbot]

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The World Superbike series completes its spring migration this weekend, reaching the most northerly point of the season, after starting at its most southerly point just two three races ago. For the teams and riders of the series are gathering at Assen, to do battle on the emasculated version of what was once called the Cathedral of Racing.

But as they gather in the paddock, there are plenty of new faces all round. After the Stiggy Racing team set a trend for dumping one rider (Roberto Rolfo) when another, bigger name rider (John Hopkins) became available - prompting rumblings from WSBK regulars that the atmosphere is changing, and this kind of thing belongs more in the MotoGP paddock than in World Superbikes. But needs must when the devil - or rather, Mammon - drives, and so up and down the paddock, riders are disappearing, some to be replaced by others bringing sponsorship, or the hope of better results, while others go to save money and cut costs.

Ayrton Badovini from the PSG-1 Kawasaki World Superbike squad and Shaun Geronimi from the Hoegee Suzuki World Supersport team are two of the names leaving the paddock, Badovini forced out due to a lack of funds, while Geronimi - himself a last-minute draftee to fill the gap in the Hoegee lineup - is being dropped for a lack of results. Not undeservedly, as the former Australian Supersport rider was a little out of his depth on the world stage, persistently finishing last.

Geronimi is to be replaced by a rider who lost out in earlier cost-cutting: Alessandro Polita was due to partner Shane Byrne at Sterilgarda Ducati, but a lack of funding left Polita out in the cold. Polita has extensive experience in the paddock, having won one Superstock 1000 championship and regularly challenged for others, while he has also contested the World Supersport championship, though with less success.

Two new faces will be joining the regulars, though their final destinations are not yet known. Lorenzo Lanzi and Gregorio Lavilla are expected to be present at Assen, and rumors surround where they will be going and who they will be joining. Lanzi was released from his contract to race in the Italian Superbike Championship with KTM Scuderia Corse, and has already announced that he has a World Superbike ride. It's just that he hasn't announced who that is with.

Rumors suggest Lanzi could join Regis Laconi aboard a second DFX Corse Ducati, after a benefactor provided two 2008 Ducati 1098RS' to race. But Lanzi could also replace Brendan Roberts at Guandalini Ducati, the reigning Superstock 1000 champion failing to impress after stepping up to the World Superbike series.

Then again, Roberts could be replaced by Gregorio Lavilla instead. The Spaniard - a former BSB champion who lost his ride when the ProRide Honda team folded before the season started - had been drafted in by the Guandalini team to test their Ducatis, to assess the state of the bikes. However, a mixture of severe rain and oil on the track at Misano forced the team to cancel the test they had planned there, raising speculation that Lavilla could replace Roberts as early as Monza, the round after Assen. Lavilla's name has already been linked with the Sterilgarda team, but nothing more has been heard of that suggestions.

But all such speculation is enough to make your head spin, and frankly, there's more than enough racing in the World Superbike series to be able to disregard any financial and contractual shenanigans which may be afoot. For the series is rapidly turning into a two-horse race, with a Japanese veteran aboard an Italian thoroughbred facing off against a Texan riding a Japanese machine with an impeccable racing pedigree.

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