The 4th edition of the FIM Supermoto World Championship fires into action at the end of this month (April 30th-May 1st) in Italy, at the famed Casteletto di Branduzzo circuit, located south of Milano.
Despite being one of the youngest world championships the season promises plenty of action. Defending S1 World Champion Thierry Van Den Bosch will defend his title against strong opponents such as Gerald Delepine, Bernd Hiemer, Max Manzo, Ivan Lazzarini, Valter Bartolini or Fabrice Lecoanet as the KTM factory star tries to make it back to back wins in the class.
As has been the case right around the world the S2 class will probably inherit the title of the premier class with no less than nine manufacturers represented. Aprilia, Husqvarna, KTM, Honda, Yamaha, Husaberg, Terra Modena, TM and Suzuki will all be having a crack at the end of the year bragging rights as riders such as former S1 world champions Eddy Seel and Boris Chambon go up against a gaggle of up and coming talent. Jerome Giraudo will defend his crown against riders such as Davide Gozzini, Max Verderosa, Fr̩d̩ric Bolley, Simone Girolami, Jorge Nestor and Fabio Balducci who all won at least one heat in 2004.
In a positive move forward the two finals and one SuperFinal format has been abandoned in favour of two heats per class, making the program similar to Motocross, except for the qualifications; after the traditional qualifying sessions on Saturday, the SuperPole (the four fastest riders on Saturday will do one fast lap each) on Sunday morning which will define the first row of the grid, and 28 riders will be allowed to race each Grand Prix.
The season will start on the 1st of May in Italy (Casteletto di Branduzzo) and will end on November 20th in Spain (Finestrat). Eight countries will see at least one round of the series, and in Namur (May 8th) the event will combined Motocross and Supermoto with two World Championships organised on the same day in the same place!
‰ÛÏNamur is really a completely new thing, and we must considerer it in terms of show,‰Û
