World Superbike and Supersport 2009 entry list

Rome (Italy), Thursday 15 January 2009

Record numbers of entries in World Superbike and Supersport The FIM (Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme) has today published the entry lists for the 2009 Superbike and Supersport World Championships. Both championships, organized by Infront Motor Sports, are continuing their successful trend, with the Superbike category in particular going against the recent unhealthy global economic downturn by posting a record number of permanent entries and manufacturer representatives.

The 2009 HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship entry list shows 32 inscriptions from 10 countries, and 7 different manufacturer bikes from Aprilia, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha, an unprecedented level of factory participation in a world championship.

The lion's share of the entries goes to Italy, with 8 riders, while Britain, Japan, and Spain are all well to the forefront with 5 riders each. Australia has a healthy quota of 4, with the USA, Germany, Czech Republic, France and Austria one apiece. New arrivals in this year's championship include three-time AMA champion Ben Spies, three of the top four from the 2008 British Superbike Championship (Shane Byrne, Leon Haslam and Tom Sykes), plus 2008 Italian Superbike champion Luca Scassa and 2008 Superstock 1000 FIM Cup winner Brendan Roberts.

On the manufacturer front, Honda have the largest representation with eight CBR1000RR machines split between six teams, followed by Ducati with seven 1098R (four teams), Kawasaki with six ZX10R (three teams), Suzuki with four GSX-R 1000 K9 (three teams), three Yamaha YZF-R1 (two teams) and Aprilia and BMW with two RSV4 and S1000RR each in the factory team.

Paolo Flammini, CEO of Infront Motor Sports, declared: "I am delighted with the success of the entry list for the 2009 SBK championship, which is the best ever. It is a true demonstration of the success of a formula that allows teams to compete in a high-level series with relatively low costs, and which also gives the possibility to private teams to go well. The validity and the stability of the technical regulations have also helped to bring about the entry of two important new manufacturers, Aprilia and BMW, which takes the number of manufacturers present to an all-time record for Superbike. The rider quality will also be very high, with the arrival amongst others of the reigning AMA and BSB champions, as well as a number of talented new riders. In a moment of global economic difficulty Superbike can look to the future with serenity and optimism."

The Supersport World Championship sees 30 permanent entries, with Italy (6 riders) and Australia (5) making up over a third of the grid. The other nations represented are Spain, France, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Turkey, Great Britain, Ireland, Portugal, Japan, Denmark, Poland, Germany and Indonesia. Honda provide the most CBR600RR machinery on the grid, as befits the most successful ever Supersport winner, with 16 bikes out of 30. 6 Yamaha, 2 Suzuki and 2 Kawasaki complete the Japanese manufacturer assault, with the only interloper being British factory Triumph, with four 675 triples coming from two different teams. New entries to watch in Supersport this year are Cal Crutchlow from BSB, Australian MotoGP refugee Anthony West, Irishman Eugene Laverty and Doni Tata Pradita from Indonesia, while 2007 champion Kenan Sofuoglu will be up against his successor Andrew Pitt in the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team's stellar line-up.

<pre> FIM Superbike World Championship

|Nr   |Rider           |Nat. |Machine          |Team                    |
|41   |Noriyuki Haga   |JPN  |Ducati 1098R     |Ducati Xerox Team       |
|84   |Michel Fabrizio |ITA  |Ducati 1098R     |Ducati Xerox Team       |
|19   |Ben Spies       |USA  |Yamaha YZF R1    |Yamaha World Superbike  |
|66   |Tom Sykes       |GBR  |Yamaha YZF R1    |Yamaha World Superbike  |
|7    |Carlos Checa    |ESP  |Honda CBR1000RR  |HANNspree Ten Kate Honda|
|65   |Jonathan Rea    |GBR  |Honda CBR1000RR  |HANNspree Ten Kate Honda|
|53   |Alessandro      |ITA  |Ducati 1098R     |Sterilgarda             |
|     |Polita          |     |                 |                        |
|67   |Shane Byrne     |GBR  |Ducati 1098R     |Sterilgarda             |
|71   |Yukio Kagayama  |JPN  |Suzuki GSX-R 1000|Suzuki Alstare          |
|     |                |     |K9               |                        |
|76   |Max Neukirchner |GER  |Suzuki GSX-R 1000|Suzuki Alstare          |
|     |                |     |K9               |                        |
|23   |Broc Parkes     |AUS  |Kawasaki ZX 10R  |Kawasaki Superbike      |
|     |                |     |                 |Racing Team             |
|100  |Makoto Tamada   |JPN  |Kawasaki ZX 10R  |Kawasaki Superbike      |
|     |                |     |                 |Racing Team             |
|24   |Brendan Roberts |AUS  |Ducati 1098R     |Guandalini Racing       |
|96   |Jakub Smrz      |CZE  |Ducati 1098R     |Guandalini Racing       |
|15   |Matteo Baiocco  |ITA  |Kawasaki ZX 10R  |PSG-1 Corse             |
|86   |Ayrton Badovini |ITA  |Kawasaki ZX 10R  |PSG-1 Corse             |
|55   |Regis Laconi    |FRA  |Ducati 1098R     |DFX Corse               |
|9    |Ryuichi Kiyonari|JPN  |Honda CBR1000RR  |Ten Kate Honda Racing   |
|33   |Tommy Hill      |GBR  |Honda CBR1000RR  |HANNspree Honda Althea  |
|94   |David Checa     |ESP  |Yamaha YZF R1    |Yamaha France GMT 94    |
|     |                |     |                 |IPONE                   |
|25   |David Salom     |ESP  |Kawasaki ZX 10R  |Team Pedercini          |
|99   |Luca Scassa     |ITA  |Kawasaki ZX 10R  |Team Pedercini          |
|36   |Gregorio Lavilla|ESP  |Honda CBR1000RR  |Pro Ride World Superbike|
|3    |Max Biaggi      |ITA  |Aprilia RSV4     |Aprilia Racing          |
|56   |Shinya Nakano   |JPN  |Aprilia RSV4     |Aprilia Racing          |
|11   |Troy Corser     |AUS  |BMW S1000 RR     |BMW Motorrad Team Alpha |
|     |                |     |                 |Racing                  |
|111  |Ruben Xaus      |ESP  |BMW S1000 RR     |BMW Motorrad Team Alpha |
|     |                |     |                 |Racing                  |
|31   |Karl Muggeridge |AUS  |Suzuki GSX-R 1000|Celani Race             |
|     |                |     |K9               |                        |
|77   |Vittorio        |ITA  |Honda CBR1000RR  |Squadra Corse Italia    |
|     |Iannuzzo        |     |                 |                        |
|44   |Roberto Rolfo   |ITA  |Honda CBR1000RR  |Stiggy Motorsport AB    |
|91   |Leon Haslam     |GBR  |Honda CBR1000RR  |Stiggy Motorsport AB    |
|88   |Roland Resch    |AUT  |Suzuki GSX-R 1000|TKR Suzuki Switzerland  |
|     |                |     |K9               |                        |

FIM Supersport World Championship

|Nr |Rider |Nat. |Machine |Team | |1 |Andrew Pitt |AUS |Honda CBR600RR|HANNspree Ten Kate Honda | |54 |Kenan Sofuoglu |TUR |Honda CBR600RR|HANNspree Ten Kate Honda | |35 |Cal Crutchlow |GBR |Yamaha YZF R6 |Yamaha World Supersport Team | |99 |Fabien Foret |FRA |Yamaha YZF R6 |Yamaha World Supersport Team | |13 |Anthony West |AUS |Honda CBR600RR|Stiggy Motorsport AB | |105 |Gianluca Vizziello|ITA |Honda CBR600RR|Stiggy Motorsport AB | |50 |Eugene Laverty |IRL |Honda CBR600RR|Parkalgar Honda | |117 |Miguel Praia |POR |Honda CBR600RR|Parkalgar Honda | |77 |Barry Veneman |NED |Suzuki GSX-R |Hoegee Suzuki Team | | | | |600 | | | |TBA | |Suzuki GSX-R |Hoegee Suzuki Team | | | | |600 | | |21 |Katsuaki Fujiwara |JPN |Kawasaki ZX-6R|Kawasaki Provec Motocard.com | |26 |Joan Lascorz |ESP |Kawasaki ZX-6R|Kawasaki Provec Motocard.com | |8 |Mark Aitchison |AUS |Honda CBR600RR|HANNspree Honda Althea | |14 |Matthieu Lagrive |FRA |Honda CBR600RR|HANNspree Honda Althea | |24 |Garry McCoy |AUS |Triumph 675 |Triumph BE1 Racing | |69 |Gianluca Nannelli |ITA |Triumph 675 |Triumph BE1 Racing | |7 |Patrick Vostarek |CZE |Honda CBR600RR|Intermoto Czech | |55 |Massimo Roccoli |ITA |Honda CBR600RR|Intermoto Czech | |51 |Michele Pirro |ITA |Yamaha YZF R6 |Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni | |28 |Arie Vos |NED |Honda CBR600RR|Veidec Racing RES Software | |127 |Robbin Harms |DEN |Honda CBR600RR|Veidec Racing RES Software | |32 |Fabrizio Lai |ITA |Honda CBR600RR|ECHO CRS Grand Prix | |83 |Russell Holland |AUS |Honda CBR600RR|ECHO CRS Grand Prix | |19 |Pawel Szkopek |POL |Triumph 675 |Factory Racing | |96 |Matej Smrz |CZE |Triumph 675 |Factory Racing | |71 |Jose Carlos |ESP |Yamaha YZF R6 |Holiday Gym Racing | | |Morillas Cuenca | | | | |88 |Yannick Guerra |ESP |Yamaha YZF R6 |Holiday Gym Racing | |9 |Danilo Dell'Omo |ITA |Honda CBR600RR|Kuja Racing | |30 |Jesco Gunther |GER |Honda CBR600RR|RES Software Veidec Racing | |5 |Doni Tata Pradita |INA |Yamaha YZF R6 |YZF Yamaha |