Sterilgarda set for exciting debut of the 2009 Superbike World Championship Sterilgarda Racing Team is set for the new 2009 season. As expected, the squad managed by Marco Borciani aims to shine once again. On Friday, at 10.30 a.m. local time, the stars of the World Superbike will take to the Australian Phillip Island circuit, for the first testing session. This year’s WSBK will be the most prestigious ever and will see 7 manufacturers line up at the start. The new-comers Aprilia and BMW will join Ducati, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki for a grid of 31 permanently registered riders. The upcoming championship will have great media coverage as the Italian La7 tv network and Eurosport will air both races and Superpole live. Moreover, other regional and national tv stations will air programmes for in-depth analysis before and after the race. There are some new regulations as far as the Superpole is concerned: the first twenty riders who qualify after the first test, will progressively become eight and those will fight for the pole position. In an ever-changing scenario, team Sterilgarda aims to establish itself and have the same level of performance of last season. The team’s main rider will be the English SBK champion Shane “Shakey” Byrne who has proven at the Portimao testing that he is definitely one of the most valuable riders out there. Marco Borciani – team manager:” We are very confident ahead of the first round. In fact, Shane has been the fastest rider at the official testing in Portimao last month and we hope he will be out there fighting for the top spot in Australia as well. He is very comfortable with the bike and the Ducatis have proven to be very competitive. The only regret is we couldn’t have Alex Polita compete in the first round.” Shane Byrne: “I know the Phillip Island circuit as I did a test in 2004 while I was still competing for Aprilia in the MotoGP and I have to say I really like it. As far as I’m concerned, I will be the underdog because other riders have recently had the opportunity to test on this particular track. Nevertheless, I have confidence in my team who have done a great job setting up the bike during the Portimao tests and I rely on the very fast Ducati 1098. Besides, my goal for the new season is to fight for the top spot.” WSBK 2009 calendar: March 1 Phillip Island Australia March 14 Losail Qatar April 5 Valencia Spain April 26 Assen Holland May 10 Monza Italy May 17 Kyalami South Africa May 31 Salt Lake City USA June 21 Misano Republic of San Marino June 28 Donington Park Europe July 26 Brno Czech Republic September 6 Nurburgring Germany September 27 Imola Italy October 4 Magny Cours France October 25 Portimao Portugal TV Schedule: La7 Saturday 04:50 Superpole first round – live Sunday 01:35 race 1 – live Sunday 05:10 race 2 – live Eurosport Saturday 22:15 Superpole first round – pre-recorded Sunday 0:45 Superpole second round – pre-recorded Sunday 02:00 race 1 – live Sunday 05:30 race 2 – live