BSB arrives at Mondello Park

British Superbikes heads for Ireland for the first time this weekend with five leading riders all in with a serious chance of winning either round.

None have much experience of the Mondello Park circuit and it looks likely that the race, and Saturday’s Superpole, could be wet – adding another variable to the risk.

MCN reckons those in with a shout at Mondello Park include Suzuki’s John Reynolds and Yukio Kagayama, who between them have won three out of the last four races, and ETI Ducati’s Steve Hislop and Sean Emmett, both of whom have much to prove after mid-season sackings.

And you can’t discount Monstermob Ducati’s Shane Byrne. The championship leader hasn’t had a win in the last three races and is anxious to get back on top of the podium.

If the rain does come down, it could pave the way for wet weather specialist Michael Rutter to close the gap on Byrne.

Steve Plater hasn’t been able to finish better than third place this season but he has been preparing well for the Mondello Park race and has already spent a day lapping the track on an SP-2 road bike last month to get to know the circuit.

After sacking Hislop, Virgin Mobile Yamaha had planned to let grounded GP rider Chris Burns take the bike out at Mondello but Burns broke his collarbone at the British GP last weekend so Garry Mason will be left to fly the Yamaha flag alone.

The teams were all out practising on Friday. We’ll bring you times as soon as they become available.

Check back regularly throughout the weekend for updates on all the action from Mondello Park