The last day of World Superbike Championship official testing at Portimao was once again affected by adverse weather conditions, and thus the absolute best times of the entire test were largely set on the second day, leaving Shane Byrne as the new track best pace setter on his private Sterilgarda Ducati. “I didn’t expect to be fastest in the test to be honest but I’m not surprised” declared ‘Shakey’. “The bike’s working really well and the relationship and feedback with the team and my engineer is great. This Superpole formula is not new for me, we tried something similar in the last few BSB races. It’s really exciting and spectacular and I’m sure it’ll look good on TV as well”. Only two top riders improved their weekend times today, Troy Corser, who was finally ranked an impressive 11th on the all-new BMW four-cylinder, and Max Biaggi on the vee four Aprilia, who went 18th. With new rules in place for both Superpole qualifying and flag-to-flag races each was given a trial run today. In Superpole there will now be 20 riders in the qualifying group, which then drops to 16, then eight in the final 12-minute session, which determines the pole setter. The top 20 riders from this weekend’s sessions went forward to practice this discipline today, with great success, and the new format of final grid qualifying is anticipated with relish by all. The flag-to-flag practice was included in the very last practice session of all three days, with riders coming in to change to their spare bikes when the signal was given, without any interruption of the simulated race session. Many of the top teams now leave Portimao to get to Phillip Island well in advance of the race, to undergo their own private test sessions before the start of the season, in just over one month’s time. Superbike – Overall Best Times 1. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’43.294; 2. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’43.484; 3. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’43.487; 4. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’43.546; 5. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’43.657; 6. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’43.674; 7. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’43.767; 8. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’43.951; 9. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’44.115; 10. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’44.170; 11. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’44.261; 12. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’44.425; 13. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’44.546; 14. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1’44.610; 15. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’44.704; 16. Polita A. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’45.108; 17. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 1’45.179; 18. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1’45.199; 19. Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 1’45.278; 20. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’45.393; 21. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’45.446; 22. Lavilla G. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’45.672; 23. Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’45.679; 24. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’45.820; 25. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’46.128; 26. Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’46.916; 27. Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’46.971 Supersport After less than ideal weather conditions intervened on the final day of Supersport testing the best times for all 29 riders were set on the second day, leaving Spaniard Joan Lascorz (Provec Motocard Kawasaki) the fastest rider of all. The all-new Kawasaki ZX-6R was followed home by the Yamaha R6 of class rookie Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha World Supersport Team), then 2007 World Champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) who was fastest today, but third quickest overall. Miguel Praia (Parkalgar Honda) was half a second from the quickest testing time in fourth, while 2008 champion Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) rounded out the top five. The first ranked Suzuki was the Pioneer Hoegee GSX-R600 of Barry Veneman, seventh, while the top Triumph 675 was Gianluca Nannelli’s BE1 triple, ninth but third in today’s changeable sessions. High winds were also a feature, with riders having to allow for their changes of direction and intensity, which also held down lap times today. The highest lap count, over all three weather affected days, was 114 for Patrick Vostarek’s Czech Intermoto Honda. Supersport Overall Best Times 1. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’45.214; 2. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’45.264; 3. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1’45.397; 4. Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 1’45.757; 5. Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’45.817; 6. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1’45.960; 7. Veneman B. (NED) Suzuki GSX-R600 1’45.971; 8. Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’46.018; 9. Nannelli G. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 1’46.024; 10. Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’46.036; 11. McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1’46.220; 12. Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1’46.561; 13. Vizziello G. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’46.633; 14. Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’46.712; 15. Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’46.911; 16. Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 1’47.041; 17. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’47.095; 18. West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’47.270; 19. Günther J. (GER) Honda CBR600RR 1’47.508; 20. Vostárek P. (CZE) Honda CBR600RR 1’48.131; 21. Holland R. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’48.311; 22. Szkopek P. (POL) Triumph Daytona 675 1’48.331; 23. Smrz M. (CZE) Triumph Daytona 675 1’48.364; 24. Vos A. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 1’48.459; 25. Dell’Omo D. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’48.849; 26. Lai F. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’49.149; 27. Pradita Doni T. (INA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’51.338; 28. Guerra Y. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 1’51.480; 29. Morillas Cuenca J. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 1’53.407 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda World Supersport championship team was in action this weekend in a three-day test at the 4.5km Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal. The team, which boasts both the current (Andrew Pitt) and previous (Kenan Sofuoglu) World Supersport champions, was testing for the first time this year before heading to Phillip Island in Australia for the opening round of the 2009 championship on 1 March. Because of mixed weather over the weekend, the team was not able to test as many tyres and components as had been planned, but is confident in the planned defence of the World Supersport title, which it has claimed every year since 2002. Andrew Pitt best time 1m45.817s It was good to get back on the bike after a few weeks of rest back home in Australia. We’ve had pretty mixed conditions here but managed to get a reasonable session in the dry on Saturday. We’ve tried some slightly improved electronics but haven’t been able to test any new tyres properly, but the CBR600RR is feeling pretty good it’s been especially well-balanced in the wet sessions. I’m looking forward to getting back to Phillip Island with a test and the first round, and we’ll go from there. Kenan Sofuoglu best time 1m45.397s We didn’t get much chance to test anything on Friday because it was wet then dry, and even the dry conditions on Saturday were not perfect to test everything properly. But I’m really happy to be back on my bike and looking forward to another test in Australia before the first race to try a few more things. The important thing is that both the bike and the rider are ready for the season ahead. Ronald ten Kate team manager Well, the weather conditions have made this weekend a little frustrating. We had a few new parts that we wanted to try but it’s really been quite difficult without any extended period of dry weather. Still, we have two world champions in our team on a machine that has proved itself to be a winner again and again, so I am quite confident that we can have a good start to the season at Phillip Island. More, from another press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: The Ten Kate Honda World Superbike team today completed a three-day pre-season test at Portimao in Portugal. In spite of mixed weather conditions over the weekend, all three riders were able to gain valuable track time in preparation for the 14-round championship which kicks off at Phillip Island on 1st March. Running in Hannspree colours once again, Carlos Checa and WSBK rookie, Jonathan Rea, were not able to test as many new components and tyres as the team had planned. However, both riders were on the pace with their 2009 rivals during the only fully dry day of the test on Saturday. Ryuichi Kiyonari sported new colours for the season replicating the paint scheme of Honda’s Suzuka-8 hour CBR1000RR Fireblade, which he took to victory with team-mate Carlos Checa last season. Carlos Checa best time 1m43.657s We can’t do anything about the conditions but we always look for a way forward to find something positive from the testing time available. We got a good feeling for the wet conditions but, of course, we had more things to try if it had stayed dry. Then we also lost the morning session on Sunday because another team put oil all round the circuit. Luckily, Phillip Island is a good place to start the season and we have a test there the week before the race , so we hope for some more positive developments then. Jonathan Rea best time 1m44.115s It was really good to get back on the bike again with so many other teams here as well. Unfortunately, the base setting we found at the Kyalami test before Christmas didn’t work so well here, but we’re happy with the direction we’ve found in the time available. The weather’s been bad but we found something in the dry on Saturday that wasn’t too far off. We’ll finish our winter testing in Phillip Island in three weeks and then start racing there, so I can’t wait. Ryuichi Kiyonari best time 1m44.610s Friday was wet, so not so good. On Saturday we checked some settings and changed the riding position slightly and tried some new things. But the weather was really not very helpful for us and we couldn’t do as much as we wanted to. I think the feeling from our base setting is definitely getting better after the Kyalami test, so I am looking forward to the season. Ronald ten Kate team manager The bad weather has clearly affected this test a lot and, to be really honest, it has minimised the usefulness of any information we have found. Although we didn’t have such a long list of new things we wanted to try, we could still have benefited from some better conditions. So, we still have some more work to carry out at the Phillip Island test, but I’m already quite positive for a strong start to the season there. More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: THE Parkalgar Honda team completed the third and final day of the official World Supersport test at Parkalgar Algarve Motor Park circuit near Portimao in Portugal on a high, knowing that it is in excellent shape for the challenging season ahead. The final day of the test was hampered by wet weather in the morning and difficult damp conditions in the afternoon which stopped the Parkalgar Honda riders from improving on their impressive lap times set yesterday afternoon. During that dry session, Miguel Praia scorched to fourth place and Eugene Laverty upped his game to claim sixth position. Parkalgar Honda and Ten Kate Honda are the only teams to have two riders in the top six. The Ten Kate team already has seven World Supersport titles to its name and is the team to beat, so Parkalgar Honda is starting the season off in a strong position. Miguel Praia said: “I’m really pleased with how all of our testing has gone. My CBR600RR has felt good from the start and now it is set-up how I like it, I’m able to make a lot of progress. I think testing on my home track has helped too and I have improved my lap times so much even since we last raced here. I can’t wait to get to the first round and see what we can do. I feel confident in my new 2009 bike and in myself. I’m looking forward to getting back to racing.” Eugene Laverty said: “We have made a huge amount of progress during this test. We made a big breakthrough on Friday evening and on Saturday we got the bike working more how I like it and we started going in the right direction. We have finished up in sixth place just a fraction behind World Champion Andrew Pitt so I feel happy and ready to go racing. My bike is really fast and we are on a power with the opposition which was our aim. I’m looking forward to the first round at Phillip Island I know the track well and my bike is working, it is great to be leaving the test on such a high.” Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager said: “This test has been extremely positive for us. Both our Parkalgar Honda riders are in much better shape than at the start of the test. I’m pleased with the progress with the 2009 bike all our technicians have done a fantastic job. Also our technical partners Motech and Ohlins have helped to give us a very competitive package to start the season. “I’ve seen a massive improvement in Miguel and that is good for everyone. Eugene made more changes and now the bike is starting to react how he wants it to, he has found a good setting which is really working for him. Eugene has gone from two seasons of racing two-strokes to running top six in a very competitive four-stroke championship. We are going to Australia in a very positive frame of mind and intend to be challenging for the 2009 title from the moment the lights go out.” The World Supersport season kicks off on the 1st March in Phillip Island. For further information on Parkalgar Honda’s progress please visit www.parkalgar-honda.com. Saturday Second Timed Session 1 26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’45.214 2 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’45.264 3 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1’45.397 4 117 Praia M. (POR) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1’45.757 5 1 Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’45.817 6 50 Laverty E. (IRL) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1’45.960. More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: THE DUCATI XEROX TEAM CONCLUDES THREE-DAY PORTIMAO TEST Portimao (Portugal): Sunday 25th January 2009: Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) have today concluded the Pirelli tyre development tests taking place at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. The morning session was red-flagged early on and subsequently cancelled due to oil on the track. In the afternoon, and on a drier surface, Superbike teams took part in a mock-up of what will be the Saturday afternoon track schedule on race weekends, completing a half-hour free practice session before trying out the new-look Superpole. Superpole will now consist of three 12-minute sessions, with the fastest 20 riders competing in Superpole 1, the fastest 16 at the end of Superpole 1 progressing to Superpole 2 and the fastest 8 at the end of Superpole 2 continuing on to Superpole 3, thus establishing the race grid. This was followed by a simulation of the “flag-to-flag” scenario that would be implemented during in a race in case of rain. Both Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio have found the three-day test of benefit and both look forward to travelling to Phillip Island for the opening round of the 2009 championship. Michel Fabrizio “The new-look Superpole seems great, it was just a shame that today’s weather was as it was but this test of the new format was definitely useful. It’s clear that the riders now have to work well with the team, it’s more about strategy with this new Superpole but it’s good that changes are made to the regulations. Overall this has been a strange weekend, I feel like I only found feeling with the bike this afternoon. Of course the weather hasn’t helped us but I finally found a good tyre today and worked a lot on the race setting, running the tyres for a lot of laps and choosing not to take riskes just to record the fastest time. Now I am looking forward to Phillip Island, a track that I love and where the weather will surely be better!” Noriyuki Haga “Unfortunately we have not had good weather over these three days. I am however very happy with the work we’ve done, we’ve found the direction to take with the settings and I’ve enjoyed every exit I’ve made. The new Superpole is strange, and when the weather is like it was today, with rain coming on during the three Superpoles, it complicates things. We can have a plan but we cannot plan the weather! Now I’m looking forward to Phillip Island, and feel nearly ready to race. The Phillip Island tests, just a week before the race, will be useful too of course.” OVERALL TIMES: Byrne (Ducati) 1m43.2s; Spies (Yamaha) 1m43.4s; Haga (Ducati Xerox) 1m43.4s; Sykes (Yamaha) 1m43.5s; Checa (Honda) 1m43.6s; Neukirchner (Suzuki) 1m43.6s; Smrz (Ducati) 1m43.7s; Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1m43.9s “¦..