Nori Haga is dismissing talk of winning the FIM Superbike World Championship ahead of his 'home' round in Italy.

The Ducati Xerox rider, who lives in Milan, leads the championship standings by 60 points after a consistent start to the season which has seen him win four races and finish second four times in eight starts.

Haga said: "I am not thinking about the possibility of winning the championship, I just think about each race, taking one weekend at a time."

Haga is confident his team will have resolved problems which were highlighted during a recent official test session at the Monza circuit.

"We did some testing at Monza recently and it was my first chance to rider the 1198 there," said Haga.

"Although we had a few problems, I know these will be resolved for the race weekend.

"I am already really excited about the Monza race. Of course at Monza I hope to win again, especially because it is my home circuit!"

Haga's 60-point lead has grown due to the inconsistency of title rival Ben Spies.

The American has been fast but has also parted company with his Yamaha World Superbike machine on more than one occasion this term.

With Spies failing to show the sort of form needed to put early-season pressure on Haga, the rider in third place in the standings - Leon Haslam - is well placed to make the most of any further slip-ups.

Haslam has proved to be the best Honda rider in the championship so far this season and the Stiggy Racing team member is keen to improve on his fine start to the current campaign.

Haslam finished third and second in the two races at Assen in Holland during the previous round when Spies followed up a race one win with a crash second time out.

And the British rider hopes to continue to perform well at Monza to keep his own title aspirations on track.

Haslam said: "I'm really looking forward to the Monza round, especially after setting such a good result at Assen.

"I think it might be a little bit more difficult this time because of the fast nature of the track and the fact that most of the top teams have tested in Monza before the race, but I like a challenge and I hope we can have a similar result if not better."