Superbike riders are, by and large a superstitions lot. Stories I can tell include Pascal Picotte wearing the same pair of 'lucky underwear' on race weekends for years. These underwear are older than some of Doug Chandler's children.

This just in from Castrol Honda:

Revelations, led by newly-crowned World Superbike champion Colin Edwards, have exposed how the Castrol Honda team relied on superstitions in the second half of this yearıs thrilling season.

Edwards has admitted that, by chance, he had a beer on the eve of his Laguna Seca win in July. "From that moment on I made sure I had a beer on the Saturday night of every round ­ and I've never been superstitious or had a beer the night before," admitted Edwards.

Other Castrol Honda team superstitions include:

Tatia Weston ­ Marketing co-ordinator:
"I bought a pair of shoes while I was at Laguna Seca, had them on for the Laguna races, and every race since ­ I didnıt dare wear anything else on raceday."

Neil Tuxworth ­ team manager:
"Since Laguna I've used the same pen, even though it spills ink all over my hands ­ I don't know whether or not to throw it away now"

Adrian Gorst ­ chief mechanic:
"The cowboy hat I got for Laguna Seca has never left my head, I've had it on every day of every round since."

Craig Burton ­ chassis mechanic:
"At Laguna Seca I watched the second race on the big screen in pitlane and Colin won. Since then I've either watched in the Supersport garage next door or on the pitwall but never in the Superbike garage."

Simon Stubbs ­ mechanic:
"I became obsessed with checking the tiny screws on the machine's screen. One came loose around Laguna Seca time and it's been praying on my mind ever since."

Mark Lloyd ­ engine builder:
"Since Laguna I've become paranoid about Colin giving me a wink before he leaves pitlane for the races. I hold the front of the machine and wonıt let him go until I get the wink."

Lindsay Pike ­ sponsorship co-ordinator:
"I bought some stars and stripes knickers at Laguna and have worn them every raceday since."

Chris Pike ­ data-logging technician:
"At Laguna Seca I stopped wishing Colin 'good luck.' Every time I wished him good luck he seemed to finish second."

Chris Herring ­ PR & Marketing manager:
"I made sure I received a text message wishing Colin 'good luck' from my mate Gaz who owns the local Indian restaurant back home. He's not even superstitious but he got wrapped up Colin's winning run."

Edwards added: "It's amazing that all the team had their own quirky little things going on - and nobody spoke about them until the season was over."