Provisional 2012 World Superbike Championship Entry List Released

Dennis Chung
by Dennis Chung

The International Motorcycling Federation has released a preliminary entry list for the 2012 World Superbike Championship.

The preliminary list includes 24 entries representing six manufacturers: Aprilia, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki. Noticeably absent is Yamaha which announced last summer it would pull out of WSBK racing.

Also noticeably absent is Noriyuki Haga, a veteran of the series bearing the unenviable title of winningest WSBK rider without a championship title. Haga was one of the most dominant WSBK racers of the last decade, finishing no worse than fourth from 2000-2009. His results since then have been less impressive, finishing sixth in 2010 with the Ducati factory team and eighth last season for the PATA Racing team. PATA will field Lorenzo Zanetti this season while switching from the Aprilia RSV4 to the Ducati 1098R.

Reigning WSBK Champion Carlos Checa is listed as wearing #7 for this season instead of the customary #1 plate. He will defend his title with the Althea Racing team on the Ducati 1098R.

John Hopkins is the lone American racer on the preliminary entry list. He will race his customary #21 with the blessing of another famous #21, Troy Bayliss.

Provisional 2012 WSBK Entry List
RiderMotorcycleTeam
3 – Max BiaggiAprilia RSV4 1000 FactoryAprilia Racing Team
58 – Eugene LavertyAprilia RSV4 1000 FactoryAprilia Racing Team
7 – Carlos ChecaDucati 1098RAlthea Racing
34 – Davide GiuglianoDucati 1098RAlthea Racing
50 – Sylvain GuintoliDucati 1098RTeam Effenbert Liberty Racing
96 – Jakub SmrzDucati 1098RTeam Effenbert Liberty Racing
33 – Marco MelandriBMW S1000RRBMW Motorrad Motorsport
91 – Leon HaslamBMW S1000RRBMW Motorrad Motorsport
4 – Hiroshi AoyamaHonda CBR1000RRHonda World Superbike Team
65 – Jonathan ReaHonda CBR1000RRHonda World Superbike Team
84 – Michel FabrizioBMW S1000RRBMW Motorrad Italia GOLDBET SBK Team
86 – Ayrton BadoviniBMW S1000RRBMW Motorrad Italia GOLDBET SBK Team
78 – Lorenzo ZanettiDucati 1098RPATA Racing Team
17 – Joan LascorzKawasaki ZX-10RKawasaki Racing Team
66 – Tom SykesKawasaki ZX-10RKawasaki Racing Team
36 – Leandro MercadoKawasaki ZX-10RTeam Pedercini
44 – David SalomKawasaki ZX-10RTeam Pedercini
21 – John HopkinsSuzuki GSX-R1000Crescent Suzuki
TBA – Leon CamierSuzuki GSX-R1000Crescent Suzuki
TBA – Mark AitchisonBMW S1000RRGrillini Progea Superbike Team
121 – Maxime BergerDucati 1098RLiberty Racing – Team Effenbert
19 – Chaz DaviesAprilia RSV4 1000 FactoryParkinGO Aprilia Racing Team
35 – Raffaele De RosaHonda CBR1000RRPro Ride Motorsports
59 – Niccolò CanepaDucati 1098RTeam Ducati Roma

[Source: FIM]

Related Reading
Yamaha Quitting World Superbike Racing After 2011 Season

Dennis Chung
Dennis Chung

Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.

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