It seems like forever since the finale to the 2008 season in Portimao, Portugal, but the wait is over with WSBK kicking off at PI this weekend. As usual, all eyes will be on the Aussies, especially Troy Corser as he begins his quest to become the only rider in WSBK history to win 3 titles on 3 different brands of bikes.
WSS will also be enthralling with Aussie World Champ, Andrew Pitt, defending his title against what will be his most serious rival, the 2007 champion Kenan Sofoglu.
FoxSports will have coverage as usual, and so will Channel 10. Warm the set and cool the tinnies.
In other news, it was announced this morning that Kawasaki WILL run a 1 bike team with Marco Melandri in the saddle for 2009. I wouldn’t be reading too much into this at this stage. The pundits are already calling the team “Dornasaki” in a none-too-subtle reference to the fact that it’s probably only there because the Big K was bullied into it by the threat of a massive lawsuit if it didn’t honour its contract with DORNA. In any event, don’t expect to see Marco anywhere near the “pointy” end in 2009.