The original track was first used car racing fanatics of the RAC as long ago as 1948. A year later, the basic outline of the more recent Silverstone circuit was set and remained almost unchanged for decades, with its geometric straights and ultra-fast corners making it one of the fastest purpose-built tracks in regular use.

The long-term host venue for the British Motorcycle Grand Prix (after the loss of GP status for the Isle of Man TT races) Silverstone fell out of favour as a regular motorcycle racing circuit until the late nineties, when the rejuvenated British Superbike Championship utilised the shorter International layout.

The much altered full F1 track has yet to be used for International bike competition, but with the World Endurance Championship running one weekend before the SBK race, the full track is set to be the scene of double two-wheeled drama before the month of May is out.

Some of the fast corners that characterised the ‘old’ Silverstone are still in use, although a brace of tortuous complexes make hard cornering just as important as straight-line speed. As is the case with all new SBK circuits, a special test day was scheduled for May 22, to allow all-comers to familiarise themselves with the track layout before qualifying starts for real on Friday.

The story of the 2002 SBK season so far has been inextricably linked to the exploits of one man, the reigning World Champion Troy Bayliss. The class master thus far, Bayliss and his blood red Infostrada Ducati have been rampant in the early rounds, winning the first six races of the year. Colin Edwards (Castrol Honda), Bayliss’ main early season rival, was the man who ended his winning run at Sugo in Japan, before Bayliss re-asserted his dominance by taking a double at Monza in the round preceding Silverstone.

Eight out of ten is, if anything, too low an appraisal of man and machine, because even in the Sugo race, where his winning run came to an end, Bayliss’ results were a vast improvement on his 2001 performances in Japan.

Sugo wild-card rider Makoto Tamada has been the only other insurmountable barrier separating Bayliss from his quest for perfection this season, but Edwards has proved to be Bayliss’ most consistent challenger so far.

The proximity of Edwards’ Lincolnshire team headquarters may be no psychological advantage to the American, because only Bayliss and one or two other competitors have at least partial experience of the current Silverstone circuit, having raced around the International track during British Superbike races. Bayliss even lived not too far away up the M1, in Coventry, until his recent departure to the warmer climes of Monaco.

Another man with valuable half-circuit experience is local hero Neil Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati). Hodgson, like Bayliss, is a former British Champion, and has competed at Silverstone in recent memory.

With a test day at the ‘new’ circuit before qualifying starts, maybe all the other competitors will find themselves in with an equal chance of success in any case. The ultra-fast FGF Playstation2 Aprilia RSV of Noriyuki Haga will be a potent threat as always, as will the remaining brace of factory Ducatis, ridden by Ben Bostrom (L&M Ducati) and Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada).

In the official four-cylinder Kawasaki Racing Team, local demi-god Chris Walker is once more teamed up with the other Bostrom, Eric, who’s has been riding as super-sub for the injured Japanese regular Hitoyasu Izutsu, out since his home race at Sugo in mid-April.

Gregorio Lavilla flies the lone Alstare Suzuki flag in this category, and had two heartening performances at Monza, including a fine fifth place.

Crowd favourite in any country Pierfrancesco Chili will be back on his NCR Ducati, and having narrowly missed out on his first podium of the season, the granddaddy of the series will be desperate to finish top three in front of his adoring British fans.

Only two mishaps for Bayliss at Silverstone can allow Colin Edwards to gain some significant ground on the high-flying Aussie, who enjoys a 38 point lead after five of the 13 rounds that make up the 2002 SBK series.

Being a new track for SBK, the previous Silverstone formbook is an entirely theoretical piece of work. The circuit itself, basically flat and devoid of cambers, features seven left and eight right-handers with the lefts generally tight and slow and the rights quicker and more open. The long 5,094 metre track will place great emphasis on securing a good compromise set-up for each machine, but most of all an exact tyre choice and engine tune, to maximise the available traction and thus straight-line speed for each machine.

The fastest part of the track is expected to be the Hangar Straight, where – conditions allowing – the factory riders may reach a top speed approaching 200mph, after a fast exit from the left-hand exit of Chapel.