Preview to the 2004 World Superbike championship

By Dan Moakes
May 4 2004

Ducati won every World Superbike race in 2003, and this year, with all the factory opposition almost completely gone, they must be odds-on to repeat the phenomenon. Unless of course Suzuki’s wildcard riders do the job in the UK or the US...

It is hard to look beyond another Ducati-mounted World Champion, and the two favourites have to be the works riders - Régis Laconi and James Toseland. Both have a WSB race win to their name, but it will be their first season on the best machinery. In contrast, possibly their biggest rival - Frankie Chili - remains with the same team, and he also knows about being up front regularly. However, it seems likely that whichever Fila Ducati man gets the upper hand will be on top in the end.

More Ducati riders who will surely get in the mix are Noriyuki Haga, Garry McCoy, Leon Haslam and Steve Martin. Haga and Martin have the most WSB experience, but only the Japanese rider as a front runner. Certain bikes don’t seem to work for him, though, so it will be interesting to see how he goes on a twin, in relation to his 750cc Yamaha days. His feel for the tyres could be crucial.

Haslam and Martin spent last season in the same teams, and with Ducatis under them, and the young Englishman already looks a handy prospect. But the single tyre rule must be in Martin’s favour, as he will now be on an equal footing, and with all the Pirelli experience of 2003. Like Haga, McCoy is another former Yamaha pilot who will have the crowd behind him. After years in Grands Prix, there is no guarantee he will fit in straight away, but the talent is there.

Elsewhere, we have the Foggy Petronas pair, and a bunch of privately entered Japanese bikes. Troy Corser and Chris Walker are competitive riders, but the FP1 has yet to prove the threat that Carl Fogarty was hoping for. If development work has gone well, expect these two to be regular top six contenders.

The remainder of the field has a few newcomers, including the 1000cc Honda FireBlade and the similar capacity Kawasaki ZX-10RR. With a couple of new teams, there remains an unknown quality to the pecking order, but testing suggests that Suzuki’s riders may continue to have the edge over their Japanese rivals.

Racing starts this weekend...