Features 3 Sep 2014

Cycle Central: 35

A front row view of Australian road racing, presented by Alpinestars.

The World Superbike summer break is finally over and the championship roars back into life at Jerez this week.

At the head of the field the focus is on the factory fight; Tom Sykes and Kawasaki have a solid advantage at this point but the changeable nature of this series and the races means there’s still a fair fight before he seals title number two.

The event holds significance for Aussies with our presence effectively doubled as both Jed Metcher and Matt Davies re-join the circus. Both have bags of experience in their respective classes and will be treating these final events with utmost importance as they view any openings for 2014.

Metcher has a unique assignment, slated to ride a Ducati 1199 Panigale in the Superstock 1000 class for the final two rounds. He has plenty of momentum behind him after some good race results here in Australia and should be competitive despite his relative lack of experience on this particular bike.

Source: Grillini Kawasaki.

Source: Grillini Kawasaki.

Matt Davies is another making his return to the world championship. The teenager, still the youngest ever to pilot a World Supersport machine, makes his return to the category, joining forces with Andy Offer aboard a CBR600RR.

Good luck to both boys on their return.

We’ll also be following the progress of Bryan Staring who is eager to round out a challenging year on a high note with Kawasaki in the EVO class of World Superbike. He’s factored in the points and has plenty of experience on these tracks so will be one to watch beginning this weekend.

The Silverstone grand prix produced another great battle up front, with Marc Marquez getting the nod over Jorge Lorenzo in a similar finish to last year’s race.

As the race went on it looked like this may have been the chance for Lorenzo to break his win drought, and he came excruciatingly close in the dying stages before being outwitted by his younger rival.

Another maximum points haul means the title will fall into Marquez’ hands well before the season is out. Will he be beaten a second time this season or can he stave off the competition and win every race until the finale? A tantalising question. We’ll keep an eye on how that evolves.

Image: Keith Muir.

Image: Keith Muir.

On a local front it seems a handful of regular national-level racers were on hand to contest the Pirelli Series at Phillip Island, with the likes of Metcher, Aiden Wagner and Callum Spriggs all running at the head of the field.

This not only provides some good seat time, but also allows the riders who are eyeing World Superbike wildcards to further their plans and progress.

On the domestic front we’re counting down to the next Swann Series round at Wakefield in just over a week’s time. With the experience and data gained from the first round it looks like the competition will be even closer come race day.

That’s it for this week. For more updates check out our social media accounts – just search ‘CycleOnline’ on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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