The 2008 British Superbike Championship was won by Shane Byrne on a 1098R prepared by Airwaves Ducati/GSE Racing, but Ducati UK will not field a team to defend its title in 2009, according to a posting on the Ducati UK website. “The 1098R has proven to be a winning machine and this makes it all the more frustrating not to be in BSB next year,” Tim Maccabee, Managing Director of Ducati UK, was quoted as saying in the posting, “but we owe it to Ducati and to race fans to put together as strong a team as possible. Unfortunately due to a number of factors we have been unable find a team solution that will allow us to compete at the highest level. We do however expect to be back in 2010.” At the end of the 2008 season, GSE Racing announced that it was switching to Yamaha. Byrne will race in the 2009 Superbike World Championship with Sterilgarda Ducati. Ducati UK plans to support riders in the 2009 British Superstock Championship on 1198S equipment.