The 2017 Motul Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) opens with the Yamaha Finance round at Phillip Island on 24-26 February, marking the beginning of what’s shaping up to be a spectacular season. CycleOnline.com.au looks at some of the more topical factors heading in within this latest Q&A feature.

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Q: Who can we expect to challenge for the title?

A: With two world titles to his credit in 2015 and 2016, Jonathan Rea has to be the title favourite and Kawasaki Racing Team stablemate Tom Sykes will be right there with him once again as the current world number two – both now armed with the up-spec ZX-10RR. Aside from them – and we may be wrong – the only rider we can really see in the championship hunt is Chaz Davies, coming off of six-straight wins to cap of last season on his way to third in the points.

Q: How long will it take the Red Bull Hondas to get up to speed?

A: It’s likely the dynamic combination of Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl will be on the pace reasonably quickly, however dialling in the consistency over a race distance may be more challenging. Regardless, they should be more competitive than the Fireblades were last season and the underlying pressure of Red Bull being title sponsor will ensure they get down to business sooner, rather than later.

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Q: Can we expect more from Pata Yamaha?

A: Finishing 11th and 12th in the points last year wasn’t how Yamaha anticipated its return to WorldSBK to go, especially if you consider outgoing rider Sylvain Guintoli missed much of the year, only to come back and score their lone podium with a third at Qatar’s finals. Now with Michael van der Mark on board with Alex Lowes, the youthful duo are likely to capitalise on what was learned last year. A race win is the more immediate target.

Q: What’s the deal with Ducati bringing Marco Melandri off the bench?

A: With a huge Italian following, it’s important for Ducati and also the series itself to take advantage of riders like Melandri on the grid. A grand prix veteran with very healthy credentials, he was fourth in the points with six wins last time he raced WorldSBK fulltime in 2014. So far in testing he’s been pretty impressive and probably even better than we initially thought he’d be, so all’s on track for a positive season.

Q: Will Eugene Laverty be as good as he was on the Aprilia in 2013?

A: Last time Laverty was on an RSV4 he won nine races and claimed second in the title four years ago. Since then he spent a season aboard a Suzuki and then two years in MotoGP, but he will take some time to adapt. Title challenger with Milwaukee Aprilia this season is a long-shot.

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Q: Where will Josh Brookes finish at Phillip Island?

A: Last year on the BMW that he didn’t like at all and with minimal development time, Brookes registered a pair of top 10s at home. On paper, reunited with the R1 he won the British title with two years ago, Brookes should be better this time out, but you can’t underestimate the challenge of being a privateer wildcard. If he matches what he did last year, he can stand extremely proud, even though he most certainly wants more.

Q: Why aren’t there any Aussies on the grid fulltime?

A: Put simply, money talks louder than ever these days. However, to be fair, there aren’t a heap of well-supported independent teams and the private entries do require funding from somewhere, which usually results in well-backed riders bringing in sponsorship. It’s the ‘easy’ way out for teams to secure budgets, or, otherwise the sponsors they do have mostly insist on riders who are local to their brands. Being from Australia, it’s more difficult to apply that kind of financial support, but – as the Aussies do – it’s only a matter of time until someone works their way in. For example, with Mike Jones on the Aruba.it Racing Ducati Junior Team in STK1000 thanks to and opportunity provided by Troy Bayliss, results could be enough to eventually take him to the factory WorldSBK team. Key words there? Opportunity and results.