Not bad at the very beginning of WSBK's 23rd season, and considering how many riders have multiple race wins to their credit. Giants of the class such as Carl Fogarty (59) and Troy Bayliss (52) are the class leaders in this field, but no fewer than 20 riders have at least ten wins to their credit.

With Haslam joining the winners' club, there are 15 full time 2010 WSBK riders who have won at least one race, from 'new boy' Haslam to Haga. The 'active' winners are, Noriyuki Haga (41), Troy Corser (33), James Toseland (16), Ruben Xaus (11), Chris Vermeulen (10), Max Biaggi (4), Makoto Tamada (3), Lorenzo Lanzi (3), Michel Fabrizio (3), Carlos Checa (3), Shane Byrne (2), Max Neukirchner (2), Jonathan Rea (2), Andrew Pitt (1), and Leon Haslam (1).

The permanent entry list is dominated - in impressive form - by a seven-strong contingent of British riders and a look at what they are riding in 2010 confirms that there is no reason at all why all of them cannot dream of podiums and more before the last race of the year, at Magny-Cours in October.

So who headlines this panoply of British entrants? So far Phillip Island race winner Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) but any one of them could join him on the podium this year.

The next most populous bunch of riders come from another traditional world power of racing in all forms, Italy. Six riders, from factory to fully private, hail from somewhere in Italy. The recent announcement of Lorenzo Lanzi in the DFX team and Luca Scassa in the Supersonic Ducati squad takes the Mediterranean country to much more than a full hand of aces.

Australia has given us some astounding WSB talent over the years, and this year there are four riders flying the Southern Cross, three of whom have won World Championship in one category or another - Troy Corser, Chris Vermeulen and Andrew Pitt.

Spain has two representatives in 2010, Carlos Checa and Ruben Xaus, and Carlos has already opened his account in 2010.

In some years the WSB paddock has had more than two top level riders from Japan, but in Noriyuki Haga and Makoto Tamada there are another two for whom top level wins have been taken. In Haga's case, he is one of the hot favourites for the title itself. They will be joined by Yoshimura Suzuki wild cards at some events in 2010 as well.

German as a language will also be spoken in the SBK paddock, as top rider Max Neukirchner represents Germany itself, while Austrian Roland Resch provides a different accent and level of experience, in his second SBK season.

The USA, France and the Czech Republic all field one SBK competitor each - which makes for a total of ten nations represented by at least one rider, from a permanent entry of 26. If you want cosmopolitan, you've got it with SBK.

"Pirelli's opening race weekend saw spectacular racing with new faces on all accounts, starting from a Superpole led by Haslam, Fabrizio and Crutchlow on three different machines. Race 1 finished 7 seconds faster than previous year, a race so close between Suzuki and Ducati that it demanded a photo finish. New to Superbike, Sylvain Guintoli led Race 2 for many laps and set the Pirelli Best Lap on his first race on the Suzuki. Race time dropped by 4 seconds over 2009, and Checa impressively took his new bike and new team Althea straight to the top of the podium. The Supersport race, 5 seconds faster as well, Laverty lead a very precise race from start to finish on his Honda from Parkalgar. It's fantastic to see such diverse results from all the manufacturers, especially at the start of the season." Giorgio Barbier, Racing Director, Pirelli Moto.

Race 1

It took a close look at the photo finish images to split Leon Haslam from his race long rival Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox), but by only 0.004 seconds the Alstare Suzuki rider was given the win. It was the closest ever finish in the WSBK class, as Leon took his first career win in the Superbike World Championship. Fabrizio was originally awarded the victory but before the slow down lap had been completed, Haslam was confirmed as the winner. Noriyuki Haga took his Ducati Xerox machine to third, being part of the leading battle throughout.

Jonathan Rea, Max Biaggi, Sylvain Guintoli and Carlos Checa battled it out over fourth place, with Jakub Smrz, Troy Corser and Lorenzo Lanzi completing the first race top ten.

Haslam: "It's not sunk in just yet, especially as it was such a close finish and not knowing if I had won for a while. That definitely added to the anticipation. I can't thank my team enough they have been solid since day one and to repay them with this is great. I'm a little speechless now. I changed my style towards the end and I rode as smoothly as possible. It worked, but it was close at the end."

Michel Fabrizio: "I thought I had won the race. When I saw the big screen after the finish I saw my family and the crew chief celebrating, so I thought I had it."

Noriyuki Haga: "I did not have any big injury after my crash in morning warm-up but some swelling in my right arm. My personal trainer made a good massage before the race and I took some painkilling injections. The race was tough and I had arm pump, so that made me make some mistakes under braking. But it was fun to race with them at the front."

Race 2

Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati) won a thrilling race two at Phillip Island, by only 0.307 from Leon Haslam, whom he passed on the final section of the track, in convincing style. Third went to Michel Fabrizio, but a great ride from new SBK rider Sylvain Guintoli put him fourth on his Suzuki Alstare machine in only his fourth ever SBK event. Noriyuki Haga was fifth, Jonathan Rea heading up a busy and exciting midfield battle in sixth, after losing ten seconds by running wide on lap one, and then fighting through the pack. Troy Corser took his BMW to seventh in race two.

Carlos Checa: "The plan was to start the second race well and we chose a softer tyre. We changed the bike and we improved in the braking points, so I could overtake people. When you are close to four other riders it is not easy to overtake and make it permanent but I passed in the right time and at the right places. This was one of the best races in my life, so thanks to my new team."

Leon Haslam: "I had a few laps behind Sylvain my team-mate and in some corners I could not stay with him given the grip he had out of the corners. But I got the lead again and it was all going to plan until Carlos managed to come along and nip up the inside to win."

Michel Fabrizio: "We didn't make any changes to the bike between race one and race two. I think it would have been very difficult for me to win, but if Carlos had not been in the mix I may have been able to push in the last three or four laps. I was having some problems by that time so it was very difficult to try and win."

World Supersport - Laverty wins by clear margin

Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) won the opening race of the year by 4.359 seconds with a masterful display of front running, heading up the official Kawasaki of pole man Joan Lascorz and the Honda of Kenan Sofuoglu.

Laverty also set the race fastest lap, 1'35.204, on lap six.

The first attempt at the race was first stopped and finally abandoned due to oil being dropped on the track, and a complete-restart was called.

The subsequent 21-lap race saw Laverty lead from the early stages again. Behind Laverty, Lascorz and Sofuoglu, Triumph rider David Salom was fourth, and the privateer Kawasaki of Fabien Foret made it onto the top five also.

Pirelli Performance Awards:

SBK Race 1 - Pirelli BEST LAP
Leon Haslam (Team Suzuki Alstare) 1'32.193 (Lap 2)

SBK Race 2 - Pirelli BEST LAP
Sylvain Guintoli (Team Suzuki Alstare) 1'32.236 (Lap 3)

WSS - Pirelli BEST LAP
Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) 1'35.204 (Lap 6)

Third went to seasoned rider Michel Fabrizio, but a great ride from new SBK rider Sylvain Guintoli put him fourth on his Suzuki in only his fourth ever SBK event - 0.837 from a win. Noriyuki Haga was fifth, Jonathan Rea heading up a busy and exciting midfield battle in sixth.