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Leon Haslam’s return to WorldSBK in Qatar next weekend will see the former race winner riding for a Kawasaki ZX-10R for Pedercini Racing.

What will happen if he finds himself involved in a fight between title rivals Rea and Sykes? He reveals all to WorldSBK.com

Leon, how long has this comeback been in the pipeline?
Honestly, Kawasaki has been asking me to ride all year. They wanted me to do Assen and Donington as well, but basically my team in Britain put a stop to it because of my commitments in Britain and Japan. I’m no longer under contract in the British Championship, so it was an easy decision to come back. This outing in Qatar has been put together by Kawasaki Europe and Pedercini.

So you will be with Pedercini Racing but hired by Kawasaki directly. Will you have the same equipment as Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes?
I will be on Pedercini’s bike and I won’t have anything extra added on to what they’ve had all year, but I’ve been told by Kawasaki that Pedercini has the same engine, electronics and suspension as the Kawasaki Racing Team bikes. Obviously a few bits and bobs are different, but I will have the same Pedercini have had all year. I’m hoping we can at least have two solid races and I’m interested to see where I will be with the WorldSBK-spec Kawasaki.

What are the main differences in terms of components?
The main difference is that I will have a full Magneti Marelli electronics system, which is quite different to having no electronic aids which has been the case when I’ve raced in Britain this year. So that includes traction control, anti-wheelie and very different engine braking. The suspension and chassis is the same, but there is a slightly different swingarm and some different other components.

You are the last guy to have won a World Superbike race in Qatar. How quick are you going to be when you return?
Who knows! It’s really going to be down to what the bike is. If it is something close to where Tom and Johnny are, I want to be close or, if possible, to try and beat them. But this is a very, very different bike to what I’ve been used to and it won’t be the exact same as theirs. We need to wait and see where it is compared to them and basically to see where that puts us. There have been a lot of riders on that bike throughout the year and Westie (Anthony West) had the best result with a fifth place at Sepang, in damp conditions – that is the ballpark. If it is a full dry race we will have to see where we are, but it’s going to be nice to go back to the track where I last won. We’ll see what we can do.

Let us imagine that you find yourself in the middle of a battle between Rea and Sykes. What are you going to do?
[Laughs] I’m riding for Kawasaki! That would be a dream situation to think that the bike and I could be competitive enough to be there. It is a race at the end of the day, but I think Jonathan has got it wrapped up – he should have it after Race 1! Obviously you never want to take anyone out of the race and you’re always a bit cautious with your fellow employees! But I am out there for myself and for Kawasaki; they are putting me on that bike as a ‘thank you’ for this year and I’m doing some testing for them throughout the winter as well, so it is more about that than anything else.

Have you missed the WorldSBK paddock?
I have been seeing the lap times they are putting in this year and I know that, if I had competitive machinery, I would be there and battling at the pointy end, but you do need the package and the team. In my opinion, Kawasaki and Ducati are at the moment a step ahead of the rest and anything that was available to me for this year or next year was not really going to challenge those two teams; then you are only fighting for a fifth place, which doesn’t come as so appealing to me. That is where I am with that situation, but I am still really excited to do as well as I can for Kawasaki.

Are you looking to come back to WorldSBK in the future?
I would love to come back. If there was an opportunity, a bike and a team with which I could win the world title, I would jump at the opportunity. The only reason I have left at the moment is because the opportunity was not there for me to win the championship. For me, at where I am in my career, that is the be all and end all. If I have a chance to win, I will be back.

Leon Haslam was speaking exclusively with WorldSBK.com