Motorbike racing thread - real racing!

After the first round of the championship delivered thrills and excitement all the way at Phillip Island last month the eyes of the world will be focused on Portimao this coming weekend, as WSBK reconvenes at another highly rated and very popular venue.

The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve is a remarkably feat of modern engineering and design, with the undulating track layout and circuit facilities both coming in for high praise. The track was completed in time for the WSBK weekend in 2008, making this the third competitive visit to the 4.592 km circuit for some of the riders and teams. An official test in January of this year saw virtually all Superbike and Supersport World Championship teams set laps in changeable conditions, meaning the one universal wish from a strong 2010 entry is for sunshine on the Algarve coast for the next few days.

ALL TO PLAY FOR AND ALL IN PLAY: A total of 17 regular SBK riders have already scored points of some kind in 2010, and all of the seven competing manufacturers - Aprilia, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha - have also scored points in the Manufacturers' Championship at the first attempt. Leading the Riders' Championship now is Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) who won the first race in Australia, and in doing so took his first WSB win, in his first full factory ride. He is followed in the early rankings by Michael Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) and PI second race winner, privateer Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati). As events in Australia showed very clearly, there will be any number of official or supported private teams who should be capable of podium finishes at some stage in 2010. The combination of experience and relative youth, and the closely regulated technical rules mean that opportunities will be available for all. This coming weekend should be no exception.