A strong first season on a Honda in World Superbike took 2004 World Superbike Champion James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) to overall second place, and at Losail on Saturday 24th February, Toseland will take his first steps down a road he hopes lead back to ultimate championship success. Teamed up with former 250cc Grand Prix race winner Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR), Toseland is but one of six supported Honda riders in the championship, riding the latest development of the CBR1000RR Fireblade, launched as a new model in 2006.

A strong Honda Superbike push in 2007 includes not only the renamed Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team, but also the DFX Corse Honda squad, running Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) and new signing Steve Martin (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) plus another two fast Australian riders, Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) and World Supersport race winner for Honda in 2004, Joshua Brookes, (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR). Each Honda Superbike team runs their own choices of engine tuning, suspension components and support technologies, and thus each has embarked upon their own series of winter tests.

Toseland is looking for an even better start than last year, especially after a good off-season of development with a team he slotted straight into at the start of the 2006 championship.

“I have been looking forward to the first race since I finished so strongly at the end of last year,” said Toseland. “I won the first race of the season in Qatar in 2006, which was a big surprise to everyone – including myself – particularly as I had switched to Honda after being with a rival manufacturer for five years. This put us in a good position to battle for the championship for the rest of the year and this it the kind of start I am hoping for again. I want to keep the winning streak going. The development of the bike in pre-season testing has been really strong. After the final test in Valencia last week, I think we are ready to go to Qatar and be capable of winning. We didn’t have much to test in Spain but it’s nice to have a bit of a ride-out only 11 days before the first race.”

Roby Rolfo’s first year on a Honda Superbike will doubtless feature a steep early learning curve, but he is a big fan of the generally fast Losail circuit, and knows this should help his first weekend’s chances.

“For the first race of the championship I am very focused on understanding and applying everything we have learned during the winter testing,” stated Rolfo. “I have learned a different riding style and I am really happy with the progress that I have made with Hannspree Ten Kate Honda. Qatar is a track that I like very much because I have always had good results there. I’m glad that the first race is there because hopefully I can start the series well and carry this on through the rest of the championship.”

An up-and-down 2006 rookie SBK season for Fabrizio featured a few notable highs, including three podium finishes, and a second year in the same team should be a good springboard for even more success.

“Things are good and I am happy,” said Fabrizio, “and we have been close with the other top teams we have tested with. In Qatar we don’t know what will happen but I feel we are in a position to defend the colours of our team. I have stayed with a more familiar development of the CBR1000RR because I feel it is more ‘mine’. The other development of the bike goes equally well, but I prefer to stay on one path at the moment. I do not want to create false hopes but I feel that we will be a big reality this year.”

In Steve Martin the DFX team has replaced outgoing rider (and new team-manager Pierfrancesco Chili) with one of almost equal experience, even if he is new to the CBR1000RR.

“I’m really looking forward to the Qatar and Philip Island opening rounds and just getting back into racing mode,” said Martin, who has ridden for DFX in the past, in its pre-Honda days. “I feel in top form physically and mentally and so now can’t wait to get going. I was still using an old spec engine in the most recent tests so there wasn’t anything we could do in terms of development and mapping in that area, but we did get some more positive work done on set up and handling and I managed to improve on my previous test lap time from last month.”

Muggeridge, who rode for the Ten Kate Honda team last year, is itching to get back into action again, although he knows there is still work to do to after some recent testing in Sicily.

“We are going to Doha in the right frame of mind,” said Muggeridge, “but the season starts so early and it’s been difficult to get everything ready and developed. I ran a single bike in our recent tests, and we only had limited time because of that. But we will be giving it all we have when we got to Doha. I just wish the season started a bit later in the year.”

For Brookes, who started in Supersport in 2006 and then moved to Superbike midseason, 2007 will be a challenge, but one laden with opportunities as the year unfolds.

“I am being totally realistic about our chances in Qatar,” said Brookes. “The bike still has masses of improvements to make in all areas, from suspension to the electronics and basic set up, but I am ready to race and will give it my best shot. I’m a racer, and if I can qualify in Superpole, a top ten finish in the two races may not be out of the question. The bike is just awesome, so if we can get some settings sorted in the first day, then things will go OK. It’s vital we don’t put unrealistic expectation in the first few rounds, but I am quietly confident that as the season progresses things will get better and better.”

Like Supersport, the second round of the Superbike series moves to the classically sculpted Phillip Island circuit, between 2 and 4 March.