Aprilia claim it was to double the service life of the cylinder head from 900km to 1800km. I'm inclined to believe them.
I think Haslam, Rea, Fabrizio, and Checa are going to be battling towards the front. The rest of the factory riders either show poorly or have never ridden Miller on an SBK before. It will be interesting to see what Biaggi does. He was at the front of the midpack last season. Maybe he can improve.
I think Biaggi is riding a bit harder this season now that he got last year's new everything out of the way....he rode well last year and was able to get data to build on each round and for the this current season. He would race hard when he felt he could push the bike more, but was wise enough to ride it out when the win/podium just was not there. Plus he was the tester most of the season...Nakano was either not up to speed or busted up from his many crashes.
I also think with Camier being fast out of the gate and looking better each round, Biaggi has turned it up a bit to play the "stay ahead of the teammate" game. I just wish Haga was in the mix a bit more...he is great to watch when pushing for the lead!!
Haga in 2000 on the Yamaha R7 I love the R7....it looks sexy standing still and is precise weapon in the track.