If I had to forecast the results of the 2013 World Superbike Championship this very day, without seeing the teams grid up for their first race at Phillip Island, my money would be on the BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team. The consolidation of the factory BMW Motorrad team and BMW Motorrad Italia team into one unit, the German brand has compiled all its racing resources into one stout package.

Retaining the formidable services of Marco Melandri, who was in the hunt for the 2012 WSBK title to the very end of the season despite injuries, BMW Motorrad’s number-two rider, Chaz Davies, is no slouch either. With both BMW-men showing the prowess of the WSBK-spec S1000RR earlier this year at Jerez, it was Melandri who topped the time sheets on the test’s dry second day. Sending a clear message of things to come this season.

While I still expect to see strong competition from Tom Sykes and the factory Kawasaki team, and I also don’t think you can count out the Aprilia riders or even Ducati’s Carlos Checa, there is however a tremendous amount of expectation, preparation, and money behind BMW’s World Superbike entry. This year I think we will finally see the team’s hard work payoff in the championship points.