Shane Byrne (Sterilgarda Ducati) led the time sheets for much of the first day of testing at Portimao, both in the morning session when it was wet in many places then in the afternoon as track conditions dried almost completely. His impressive pace took him to a day one overall best of 1’44.265, less than one second from the absolute track best, set by outgoing champion Troy Bayliss last year. Byrne had to put in an effort later in the session, as first Michel Fabrizio and then Ben Spies passed him, but after his 47 laps, Byrne held the upper hand on his private 1098R. Max Neukirchner pushed the new Suzuki to fourth fastest time, still inside the 1’44 bracket, as was the following Noriyuki Haga, getting used to his factory Ducati at a quick pace. Every one of the 27 riders on show went quicker in the afternoon sessions, leaving Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Ducati) sixth fastest as he put in a strong challenge throughout. The top Honda was the privateer Stiggy Motorsports machine of Leon Haslam, leading a three rider running flush of CBR machinery ahead of team-mates Jonathan Rea and Carlos Checa. The top ten was rounded out by Yukio Kagayama’s Suzuki, with Broc Parkes the leading Kawasaki runner in 14th. The all-new BMW and Aprilia machines were out in full force at this test, with Troy Corser 15th on the S1000RR and Max Biaggi 16th on the vee-four Aprilia. In the Supersport class, the new combination of Joan Lascorz and his Kawasaki ZX-6R proved to be the quickest overall, albeit on a slightly wetter track than the Superbike riders finally got to ride on. Second was class rookie Cal Crutchlow, on a Yamaha, with Honda rider Kenan Sofuoglu third, Suzuki man Barry Veneman fourth, making for four different types of machine inside the top four. Two more days of testing remain. 1. Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1’44.265 2. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’44.468 3. Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’44.652 4. Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’44.931 5. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’44.976 6. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1’45.266 7. Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’45.323 8. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’45.329 9. Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’45.373 10. Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1’45.448 11. Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’45.558 12. Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1’45.914 13. Polita A. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’46.110 14. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’46.121 15. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1’46.261 16. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1’46.440 17. Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1’46.586 18. Lavilla G. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1’46.948 19. Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’46.957 20. Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1’47.340 21. Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1’47.639 22. Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 1’47.699 23. Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 1’48.269 24. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’48.274 25. Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1’49.800 26. Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’50.187 27. Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1’53.550 More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: PARKALGAR HONDA racer Miguel Praia posted the sixth fastest time on the opening day of the official three-day World Supersport test at the team’s home track in Portugal. Following on from his good form at the two-day test at Almeria in Spain earlier this week, Portuguese ace Praia lapped the picturesque 4.592km Parkalgar Algarve Motor Park in the sixth fastest time of the day and was less than a second from fastest rider Juan Lascorz on a Kawasaki. With rain in the morning and a damp track in the afternoon, conditions were less than ideal for Praia but he used his knowledge of the circuit and the improved performance of his Parkalgar Honda 2009 Supersport bike to show what he is capable of. Parkalgar Honda rider Eugene Laverty took a steady approach building his confidence and finished the day 16th. The Irish rider made progress and took a minimum of risks. Parkalgar Honda Team Manager Simon Buckmaster said: “It has been wetter than we would have liked but that didn’t dampen Miguel’s performance, he was riding very well and on the pace with the front runners. “Eugene would have preferred a dry track but he applied himself professionally and made good set-up progress which will benefit him over the next two days. There is plenty more to come from both our riders and the new 2009 Parkalgar Honda – and hopefully we will have dry weather tomorrow.” For day-by-day reports on the Parkalgar Honda test, visit www.parkalgar-honda.com. Supersport session two times: 1 26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’49.046 2 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’49.166 3 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1’49.366 4 77 Veneman B. (NED) Suzuki GSX-R600 1’49.407 5 1 Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1’49.592 6 117 Praia M. (POR) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1’49.941 7 105 Vizziello G. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’50.276 8 51 Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’50.496 9 69 Nannelli G. (ITA) Triumph 675 1’50.499 10 24 McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph 675 1’51.067 16 50 Laverty E. (IRL) PARKALGAR HONDA CBR600RR 1’53.098. More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group/Infront Motor Sports: 2009 Superbike World Championship launched in Portugal The 2009 HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship, the 22nd edition of which gets underway on March 1st with the opening round at Phillip Island in Australia, received its season launch today at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao, southern Portugal. This year’s edition of the world’s leading production-based racing championship was presented by Paolo Flammini, CEO of Infront Motor Sports, the series organisers, together with Guglielmo Fiocchi, Managing Director Business Unit Moto of Pirelli, the one-make tyre supplier for the FIM Superbike World Championship, the FIM Supersport World Championship, the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup and the European 600 Superstock Championship, and Melanie Oborski, spokesperson for HANNspree. During the press conference the 2009 racing programmes of the 7 manufacturer teams present in WSBK, an unprecedented number in world motor sport, were illustrated by their respective manufacturer representatives: Giampiero Sacchi (Director of Racing Activities Piaggio Group), Berti Hauser (BMW Motorrad General Manager Motorsport Motorcycle), Davide Tardozzi (Ducati Corse Superbike Director), Ronald Ten Kate (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team manager), Steve Guttridge (Kawasaki Europe Race Planning Manager), Yann Ladouche (Suzuki Alstare Team Coordinator) and Massimo Meregalli (Yamaha WSB Team Manager). This year’s calendar can count on 14 rounds in five continents, including a return to South Africa for the first time since 2002, at the Kyalami circuit. The championship kicks off in Australia at the start of March and concludes on October 25th here at the Portimao track. The main changes in Superbike this year include a switch to ‘flag-to-flag’ (a change of bike is allowed in case of rain during the race) and the new elimination Superpole format for the top 20 riders in qualifying. More, from a press release issued by Xerox Ducati: DUCATI XEROX TEAM RETURNS TO PORTIMAO TO CONTINUE WINTER TESTING; FABRIZIO AND HAGA IMMEDIATELY FAST. Portimao (Portugal), Friday 23rd January 2009: The Ducati Xerox Team today commenced a three-day Pirelli tyre test session at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal. Having played host to the final World Superbike round of 2008, the very recently completed Portimao-based circuit this week welcomes back most of the World Superbike and Supersport teams who are on track until Sunday. On this, day one of testing, Ducati factory riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio both got off to a positive start, despite the mixed conditions. After yesterday’s rain, the track was still very wet for the duration of today’s sessions which inevitably prevented the riders from lapping at very high speeds. Nonetheless Michel and Noriyuki continued to work with their teams and finished day one in good spirits, having registered the second and fifth fastest times respectively. Both riders hope for a drier day on track tomorrow. The official presentation of the 2009 World Superbike championship was hosted this evening at the circuit by championship organisers Infront Sports (formerly FGSport), with all seven manufacturers taking part. The Ducati 1198 F09 was on display and factory riders Noriyuki and Michel participated in a press conference and subsequent interviews. Michel Fabrizio “It’s nice to be back here in Portugal. We’ve made a good start and even though I was hoping to make the fastest time of the day I’m happy with the results anyway. We’ll see if the track dries out a bit in time for tomorrow’s sessions, if it does I’ll be able to get a lot more laps under my belt.” Noriyuki Haga “It’s gone well today. This morning we couldn’t do so much because the track was still very wet but the afternoon was more productive. I’m feeling pretty relaxed and comfortable with the bike and the team. I’ve had no real problems so far.” TIMES: Day 1 Byrne (Ducati) 1m44.2s; Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1m44.4s; Spies (Yamaha) 1m44.6s; Neukirchner (Suzuki) 1m44.9s; Haga (Ducati Xerox) 1m44.9s; Smrz (Ducati) 1m45.2s; Haslam (Honda) 1m45.3s; Rea (Honda) 1m45.3s”¦