Editor's Note: We asked Ducati Austin rider Ben Bostrom to preview the '06 WSBK season for us and he set down his dirt bike long enough to file this story.

After racing the WSBK series for a lot of years of my career I have a lot of affection for the championship, the great people who make up the paddock and the fans.

People, there's going to be some racing, I know it.

I think the 2006 season is going to be a really good one for WSBK. While some might think that the series is going to be a two-man duel, I sort of differ. Troy Bayliss and Troy Corser might fight it out for the title, because they'll be two very consistent guys. Here's my prediction: Bayliss and Corser are the two favorites. I've got to believe that those two guys are going to be in it for the long run. But I think the series is going to be good, I think at every race - there might be one or two where one guy gets away, or those two guys in particular get away. Hopefully somebody else gets away. But in general, I think if we're talking ten races, eight of them there's going to be a good battle.

I think there's enough guys out there that realize "I'm not going to win the title, but I can hang this thing out for a race." Everyone knows how Haga rides. He's a wild man. He's great to watch. But there's other names up there. Toseland, Lanzi, Walker—all these guys have a chance. Don't count out Muggeridge, either.

People, there's going to be some racing, I know it.

In the end, I believe there's going to be two guys fighting for the title, but I believe that the majority of the races are going to be quite good. Quite good, with different names at the front. Maybe the Kawasaki's working good at one track, and a Honda's working good at another track, Yamaha's working good at another track, and they're going to be up there battling. But in the end, it's probably the Suzuki and the Ducati that the overall package is going to be good at every track.

There's always a chance that Bayliss might just run away with it. He's done it in the past. It's tough to come back into a series. It takes a year before you really get back on your feet. Bayliss is a real talented guy. He's going to have "his" tracks. But the boys have been there for a few years on the Pirellis, and they're going to ramp it up. We worry about the series being good--it's going to be a great series.

What Troy Bayliss will be dealing with initially, I think, is a lack of grip, which is pretty standard in WSBK now. Fortunately everybody's on the same tire. He's got that wild style anyway. It's not going to be a problem for him because that guy can adapt. I'm pretty sure, if you just stick him on one race setup, and they completely change his bike and say, "Okay, race two you've got to race this setup," he'll adapt, because he's not a finicky rider. He doesn't go out there and pick the bike apart. He's not going to pick the tires apart. He's just going to ride the livin' hell out of what they give him.

I'll go through some other riders for you from my perspective.

Nitro Nori Haga. Oh, man. Great rider - hot and cold. Haga's a little more finicky. I believe he's got to nail the setup down a bit. The guy runs the oldest forks I've ever seen on a motorcycle. But he's one of the best racers there. When it comes down to racing, Haga and Duhamel--those two guys, it's really like racing the same guy. They're just ready to attack you. And a lot of times they get the best of you. Haga will be there for several of the events.

Troy Corser. Another great rider, real smooth. Maybe not the best racer but definitely one of the best riders out there. If you let the guy go, he's gone. It's really important you keep Corser in check, so that's going to be the job of everyone else on the grid. He's the guy with the target on his back. He's got a great package but I just think the boys need to keep him in check. If they race him, it'll be a race. If they let him go, he can just take off.

Yukio Kagayama. There's a wild card. Really hot and cold. When he's hot, he's definitely not unbeatable, but he's fast. Persistent and fast. And the next weekend, he could be racing for 12th. He's one of the guys that's going to be up there every now and then to cause trouble. Maybe he's only up there two or three times out of the season, but there'll be another guy who's up there two or three times, and a whole different guy up there two or three times, so in the end you have several really great races with many different brands and different riders. Which is good, because you get all the different styles up there.

James Toseland. Super persistent, that guy. I believe he's going to try 110% at every single race. He's got a lot to prove. He's proven it in the past; he can have a really bad day, and on his bad day he's charging 110%. He's not out there going, "This is a terrible weekend, I'm going to run in 17th and just put up with it." He may be running seventeenth, but he's giving it everything he has. He's just off sometimes. But the majority of times, he's on. He's one of those guys that just keeps charging.

I think that's the more interesting stories right now is Toseland's switch to Honda. He's had a lot of success at Ducati. When you switch brands, it's not easy. You can go out there and you can put in a real fast lap. But can you do 25 of those? I don't know. Certain riders, they adapt to the bike and you just kind of grow into the thing. The Honda, that's a bike that you can ride fairly easily for 25 laps, and put in decent times, and hang it out there for a couple of laps. The next guy can't ride that bike, can hang it out there for a lap or two, and if he keeps trying to hang it out there he's probably going to fall, but he does the same lap times. So it's going to be interesting.

I think everyone wants to see Toseland riding the Honda and see how he does. Vermeulen's been up there. Mugg's been up there on several occasions on the Honda. The bike's very capable. Now we'll see what Toseland can do with it. He's a good guy and a good rider, with a big heart.

Norick Abe. There's another one that, I think, last year struggled to adapt to the whole World Superbike series. He's got another year under him. I want to see the guy do well - I've been friends with him since we were kids. He's never been hot consistently. Most of the time he's off just a little bit, and he nails it every now and then, but he always tries hard. I had a lot of races with him last year, and he keeps his head down the whole time. He goes out in practice and he's running race distance constantly. I think the only guy to go out there and every practice put in 20 laps on a tire.

Lorenzo Lanzi. Hoo-boy, look out. He's willing to hang it out there. The boy can ride a bike, and when he's on, he's on. Everyone's seen the lap times the guy can put in consistently. But you know how it is his rookie season—more or less rookie season. It's going to be hit or miss; he's going to be one of those guy's that's going to be up there every now and then putting up a fight, and then look for the following year to try and win the title.

Chris Walker. Another hard-charging guy. It'll be interesting to see what Kawasaki puts under him. That's the real question there. They've got a new bike that's come out. Walker always gives 100%. He's one of those guys that's going to be up there. Everybody saw him at Brno last year, and places where—he can ride the bike. He didn't have the best situation last year. Let's hope with more support from Kawasaki. If the Kawasakis are up there, Walker will definitely be one of the guys.

Frankie Chili. Is Chili still racing!? The guy is the man. He's younger than I am, I think. He's a great rider. There's a lot of young guys in it right now that are really hungry. Chili's less hungry. He's going to have some great rides, just because it comes to him naturally. He can nail the bike setup where it absolutely loves the track. Or he just got out of bed on the right side of bed. The young guys are going to be up there fighting more often than not, and Chili will have a few days, I'm sure of it. He's a fantastic rider, he's really good for the sport. I've never seen someone put in a career the length of his. I want to see him do well. If he does win I'll bet they retire his number.

Ruben Xaus. Now there's the biggest question mark in the whole thing. Honestly, I have no clue what's going to happen with the guy. He's been in GP for a couple years, now he's back on a privateer Ducati team. He's real hot and cold. Everyone's seen him when he's unbeatable in World Superbike, at a few events, and then they've seen the guy fall apart, or more than not, pick himself up off the ground. So I don't know. I'm crossing my fingers. I hope the guy does really well. I'm a really good friend of his and I want to see him do well. I know how tough it is to come right back into the series, and this year could make or break the guy, because now everyone's looking at him, "Hey, this is one of your last chances." He's got to give it 100%. Let's just hope he doesn't pick himself up as often as he has in the past.

Alex Barros. While he wasn't setting the world on fire at the end of the '05 season, he's had his day at speed, too. The guy's definitely put in some amazing rides. Honestly, I think WSBK going to be a little bit tough on him, adapting to a whole different scene. He's been in GP so long, and the Superbike is a different bike, the tracks are a little bit different, the whole scene is different.

He's not used to racing these guys. You get used to racing certain guys, you understand when to shove it in, or who to follow. This season he's got to race all new guys. He doesn't know how their riding style is. I think it's going to confuse him. He's had a long, great career. I'd like to see the guy have some great rides, but I'm a little bit with the naysayers on him. I think he's going to be mid-pack most of the time. Let's just hope that he can put it up there every now and then. I'm sure a lot of these GP guys would like to see that, too, and say, "Hey, we can cross over."

It's going to be an interesting season, undoubtedly. Good luck, guys.