The iconic Imola circuit hosts the 11th round of the World Superbike Championship this weekend with Kawasaki Superbike Racing Team riders Joan Lascorz and recent Nurburgring race winner Tom Sykes ready for action once more.

Yorkshireman Sykes and Spaniard Lascorz will arrive following a positive recent test at the Misano circuit while third team member Chris Vermeulen will miss the Misano race as he is still not at full fitness.

Sykes was second fastest on race tyres and fastest of all on qualifiers at Misano so he arrives at Imola full of confidence following his and the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R's maiden win at the Nurburgring last time out.

Sykes' impressive weekend in Germany has seen him move up to 11th in the overall rankings with Lascorz only a few points behind in 13th for the Penrith-based Paul Bird Motorsport Team. Both riders have the final three rounds and six remaining points scoring races in which to lift themselves higher in the overall rankings.

Tom Sykes:

"We had a great weekend in Germany and we could not have wished for anything else so massive thanks to all my crew and Kawasaki. To get that win under our belt was a fantastic feeling and we can build on that now. The test at Misano was positive so I am hoping to continue that at Imola for this weekend. Imola is a difficult track and hopefully we can be even stronger than last year and if that is the case we could well taste champagne again."

Joan Lascorz:

"Our recent tests went well at Misano and we tried some new settings on the machine. They helped me in some areas of the chassis performance so I was happy with that. We will go to Imola to be more consistent and get a good grid position in Superpole. Imola can be a very good track for us but we will have to work well to make sure we get away with the leading riders so we can go for the best finish possible in each race."

Paul Bird, Team Owner:

"It doesn't get any better than winning and we hope to continue where we left off at Nurburgring. Both the team and the riders will be giving 100% as normal and it is our intention to finish the season in style. Imola should be a good track for us and after a positive test last week; I know confidence is high in the team."


The opening race gets underway on Sunday 25th September at 12.00 CET with race two at 15.30 CET and British viewers can catch the action live on British Eurosport.