Round One of the FIM World Superbike Championship, the pinnacle of production bike racing, is underway at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia.

Motorcycles of all the major Japanese as well as European manufacturers like Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Ducati, Aprilia and BMW Motorrad are raced in this series and they’re almost as fast as the MotoGP protypes.

The 2013 season of the championship is the most significant year of the series so far from the Indian perspective. 2013 marks the entry of the Indian round on the WSBK calendar. The Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida will host the last round of the championship in November this year. What’s more, Kawasaki factory team in the Supersport category of the championship is owned by none other than Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain of the Indian cricket team. Read the most comprehensive coverage of the championship in Bike India magazine.

Click here to view the timesheets of the first qualifying session in their original resolution.