Only the semi-official Team Alstare GSX-R1000 Suzuki represented Japan, but plenty of the Italian bikes turned up to compete. It could easily have become a free for all, but even Ducati’s runners were arranged hierarchically.

The full factory team, now with backing from Fila, had the all-new 999RS F03 model. This was the class of the field, and was followed by HM Plant’s pair of 998RS F02 bikes - with which Troy Bayliss had won fourteen races in 2002.

Then there were the various customer 998 runners, fielded by regulars Team PSG-1, Team Pedercini, DFX Racing and Team Caracchi NCR. In the end, Ducati whitewashed the series, winning every single race of the year. The closest it had come prior to 2003 was with twenty-three wins from twenty-six, in 1991.

The following seasonal ratings are purely personal, and any debate is welcomed on the site forum.

1 Neil Hodgson - Fila Ducati
Neil Hodgson was signed to replace the GP-bound Troy Bayliss as Ducati Corse’s team leader. Then it looked like he was going to get World Champion Colin Edwards as his partner, until the Texan did a similar deal with Aprilia. This left Hodgson as firm number one, and he truly lived up to that billing. In the first six rounds it looked easy, with Neil winning eleven of twelve races, setting five poles and six fastest laps. This was perhaps misleading, as he maintained that a lot of hard work was going in behind the scenes. But these early races set him up nicely, and he went on to miss the podium in only four outings all year. There were mistakes at Misano and in France, but they didn’t cost him, as he wrapped up the title over 100 points clear. A deserving MotoGP berth awaits him.

2 Rubén Xaus - Fila Ducati
Rubén Xaus was reprieved when Edwards moved away from WSB, and therefore started his third season with Ducati. True to form, the Spaniard remained spectacular and erratic, but put up a more consistent run, with only four no-scores. To begin with, he wasn’t quite a match for Hodgson, and in fact he only made the front row four times all year. However, the second half of the season belonged to Rubén, with seven wins from twelve outings, as well as a crash in the US. At Misano and Imola he scored double victories, and the latter circuit also saw his first pole position. By this time, of course, the title was effectively out of reach, but there was no way his second position would come under threat. Given the 999’s strengths, this was no surprise, but his late run did a lot for his reputation, and he follows Hodgson onto a Desmosedici.

3 James Toseland - HM Plant Ducati
This was the year when James Toseland really came of age. With Hodgson off to the works team, James might just have slipped into the shadow of experienced new team-mate Chris Walker. Instead he rose to the challenge, and was only beaten by ‘the Stalker’ three times, both in qualifying and the races. On top of that, James was the first man to overcome Hodgson when he fought his way through for the second win in Germany, and he rounded out the year with his first pole. One or two technical problems could have handicapped him, but he came through to third overall, helped by seven more podium rides. He now graduates to the works Ducati team, and must be considered a potential champion.

4 Gregorio Lavilla - Team Alstare Suzuki
Gregorio Lavilla provided Ducati’s only consistent opposition in 2004, but even he could not defeat the mighty 999 steamroller, and came out of the season without a victory. In the first year of competition for the 1000cc Suzuki, Gregorio came close on a few occasions, notably at Monza, and he was second or third in seven races. On other occasions, the pace was not quite there, but he looked to be trying hard at all times. His sliding form round Monza’s Parabolica was testament to this, as were a couple of costly falls - at Silverstone, Laguna and, particularly, Assen. He still ended the year fifth, amongst nine Ducatis, but his future is uncertain, as the team will not contest the 2004 series.

5 Pier-Francesco Chili - Team PSG-1
39-year-old Frankie Chili may have been the veteran of WSB in 2003, but his pace did not reflect his age. Indeed, in qualifying he was second only to Hodgson. His biggest problem, though, was a staggering run of bad luck, which kept him out of the points on nine occasions. Mostly, this took the form of mechanical failures, but his strike rate, when his bike made the finish, worked out at fourth place on average. This could have taken him to P3 overall, instead of his eventual P7. If proof of his abilities were needed, Chili took his sixteenth career victory in the United States, as well as a fighting second in Germany, and he looks likely to be a continuing force in the series.

6 Régis Laconi - Team Caracchi NCR Nortel Networks
Pushed out of the Aprilia MotoGP squad, Régis Laconi returned for a second crack at WSB, this time on a customer Ducati. Immediately on the pace, Laconi qualified on the front row seven times, and converted this form to second place finishes as early as races five and seven. He often looked threatening, but at times seemed unable to sustain a consistent race pace. Podium visits came on only five occasions, but a string of fourths kept him third in the points right to the last race. Unfortunately, the second race at Magny-Cours did not go his way, and rear tyre problems served to drop him just four points behind Toseland. However, he moves onto a works bike next.

7 Chris Walker - HM Plant Ducati
More used to four-cylinder machines in recent times, Chris Walker returned to the seat of a Ducati for the first time since 1996. His year was perhaps disappointing, given expectations, but on balance he still put together a decent campaign. However, any perceived lack of form can surely be put down to an unfortunate run of injuries, and he particularly suffered in this regard at Sugo. Despite this, ‘the Stalker’ started out with a third and a fourth, and was mostly in the top six throughout the season. A hint of what he might have done came in the final event. Now fully fit, Chris was third in both French races. He takes over the second Foggy FP1 for 2004.

8 Steve Martin - D.F.X. Racing Team
Steve Martin’s team ran three of the ubiquitous Ducati 998s in 2003, but these were the only bikes mounted on Pirelli tyres. This inevitably proved disadvantageous at times, but Steve maintained a consistent record that led him to eighth place overall, and included a handful of top six finishes. In qualifying, he out-paced team-mates Juan Borja and Marco Borciani, and even made it onto the second row four times. And in the early races he was sometimes in front of Lavilla or Laconi, on more favoured Dunlop rubber. With Pirelli across the board from now on, it will be interesting to see how he gets on.

9 Troy Corser - Foggy Petronas Racing
In its début season, Carl Fogarty’s three-cylinder Petronas bike would have done well to threaten for victories, but it did look promising at times. Troy Corser started out the right way, qualifying fourth first time out, but he then struggled to match that form. Nevertheless, he kept at it, and was rewarded with a fifth, a sixth and several sevenths and eighths. On a bike that threw team-mate James Haydon with regularity, this was good going, and the Australian seemed to outclass his young team-mate. Troy continues to lead the team as it looks to move forward in 2004.

10 Mauro Sanchini - Team Kawasaki Bertocchi
With the 750cc Kawasaki ZX-7RR model dating back to the 1996 World Championship, and giving away 250cc to the opposition, it was never a likely race winner. One thing it did have going for it was reliability, though. In qualifying, there wasn’t much to choose between Ivan Clementi and Mauro Sanchini, but the latter scored in every race bar the first one, and was good for eleventh overall. Indeed, he wound up ahead of both Foggy riders, the second NCR Ducati and the third D.F.X. Ducati through sheer persistence. Next year’s green bikes will finally be up to the 1000cc limit, and their chances should improve accordingly.

The remainder of the field
In World Superbikes you can usually rely on a competitive bunch of wildcard runners, primarily in Japan, Britain and the US. 2003 was no different, and six ‘outsiders’ got their bikes onto the front row at one round or another. Of these, Mat Mladin and John Reynolds (both Suzuki) sat on pole position at their respective local tracks. One or two of the wildcards had erratic race performances, but several of them maintained the challenge to the flag, picking up sizeble points finishes.

The best results by far went to UK champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne, who impressively won both races at Brands Hatch. Reynolds followed him home in race two, and added other results elsewhere. Mladin’s efforts yielded a fourth at Laguna Seca, with team-mate Aaron Yates two places back. Other men to show their skills included Atsushi Watanabe, Hitoyasu Izutsu, Yukio Kagayama, Leon Haslam, Michael Rutter and Sean Emmett.

Meanwhile, Alstare Suzuki fielded a customer-spec GSX-R for Vittorio Iannuzzo in five rounds. The reigning European Superstock champion showed plenty of promise, qualifying in the top nine three times. He also made some impressive starts, but was unable to maintain his early race pace. Given time, and the right equipment, he looks to be a bright prospect.

A number of changes come into effect for 2004, but the ‘merry-go-round’ will still mean a good batch of riders on show. Don’t rule out a Ducati World Champion, even if it could be one of several men...

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