Nieto ready for home race

From Team Suzuki Alstare

After the flyaway trip to Qatar and Australia, the Superbike World Championship returns to European soil with this weekend’s third round in Valencia.

The race will be a special one for Team Suzuki Alstare rider Fonsi Nieto, as it will be his home race and will also be an important one for one of the team’s Spanish sponsors - Pepephone. For Yukio Kagayama and Max Neukirchner it will be a chance to improve on last year’s so-so results.

"Racing at home is always a bit special and I want to put on a good show for all my fans this weekend - especially after my pair of DNF’s last year," Nieto said. "I am second in the championship at the moment and will be chasing a couple of podiums for sure.

"Valencia is a track where it is important to have a really good bike set-up if you want to go fast, so that’s what we’ll be trying to do from the very start of practice."

"The recent tests showed that my collarbone was OK and now that I’ve had a bit more time off, I feel even better," added Kagayama. "I don’t think that I will have any trouble with the injury, but Valencia is quite a physical track, so I’m sure it will get a good work out."

Added Neukirchner, "I am sure that I can improve on my 12th and 10th places from last year and realistically I shall be chasing top six finishes this weekend. I am getting more and more comfortable with my bike every time I go out and as long as we can find a good set-up in practice, I think I can make a good show."