Parkalgar Honda is go PARKALGAR HONDA racers Miguel Praia and Sam Lowes start their assault on the 2011 World Supersport Championship tomorrow (Wednesday, 26th January) when they take part in the opening official test at their home track of Parkalgar in Portugal. There are three days of testing at Parkalgar before the team moves on to the new to the calendar Aragon circuit in Spain on 31st January and 1st February for further tests and to get to know the track. Brief updates will be available daily from www.parkalgarhonda.com. Miguel: “It will be important to get off to a quick start at this test and I am coming into it after the most thorough winter season preparation I have ever had. It is great to be starting at our home track here at Parkalgar and that means I can concentrate on getting up to speed. The team has worked hard over the winter and there are improvements to the Parkalgar Honda race bikes so I am looking forward to testing them. With the top three riders from last year moving on I feel there is a big opportunity to perform this season and go for podium finishes. I need to work on my speed and I aim to be a front runner this year.” Sam: “I just want to get started and riding my Parkalgar Honda. This is a shakedown test for us as I don’t know the circuit that well but it is nice that I am starting my official WSS career at the team’s home. It feels good and it is a big step up for me to be here. I hope the weather is good for the test and now I just want to get onit.” Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “Parkalgar is our home track and it is very good to be here after a productive winter developing the Honda CBR600RR on the dyno and in our workshops. The team has worked hard and we have made performance gains. Obviously it is Miguel’s home track and we are expecting him to step up firmly into the top 10 this year and this is the start of fulfilling that ambition. Sam is new to the team and Championship so it is a fast learning curve for him but he is equal to it and we look forward to seeing what he can achieve with his incredible talent on our bike.” More, from another press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: Bogdanka PTR Honda ready to test THE Bogdanka PTR Honda duo of James Ellison and Pawel Szkopek get into gear on Wednesday for the team’s first ever on track outing – the three day official test at Portimao. With the World Supersport Championship starting in Australia in just a month’s time, the Bogdanka PTR Honda riders are eager to get testing started with seven days planned in total before the lights go out at Phillip Island. A three day, official test at Portimao in Portugal, where the 2011 season will conclude on the 16’th of October, will be followed by a two day visit at MotorLand Aragon, a Spanish venue making its debut in the series as round seven on the 19’th of June. After a return to the team’s workshop, the bikes will then be sent to Australia, where the final two day test will take place a week before the first round. Both riders will be on familiar ground at Portimao but will also be new to Aragon. James: “What we expect from the Portimao test is to find a good feeling with the bike, gel with the team and get used to my new crew chief. To leave Portimao up in the sharp end for sure would be perfect but the main aim is to get comfortable on the bike. The plan is to ride the Bogdanka PTR Honda as it is now on the first day and then start looking at making some small changes.” Pawel: “These two tests will be my first opportunity to get to know the bike and the team. I won’t be focusing on the lap times but on understanding the bike and finding a working relationship with the crew that will allow us to understand each other during the season. I need to find the right position on the bike, the right setup and balance so it will be a busy test for us and I hope that the weather won’t get in our way.” Simon Buckmaster, Bogdanka PTR Team Manager: “The first test will be for the team to gel together and work on the best base setup for both riders. We have done some work with James already while with Pawel we have a lot of experience with the CBR600RR and I am very confident we will get him up to speed quickly and we are all looking forward to the challenge. Of course we are always looking at where we are compared with the opposition but with three days in Portimao followed by two at Aragon and two more at Phillip Island before the race we will be in very good shape when the lights go out for round one.” Michael Piasecki, Bogdanka Racing Director: “We are very excited about the first test together with such a professional crew and I am really interested to see how Pawel will measure against James but we’ve got a lot of work to do and will be taking it one step at a time. The main thing is to get to know the bikes.” For more information on Bogdanka PTR Honda visit www.bogdankaracing.com or www.performancetechnicalracing.co.uk . You can also follow the team’s progress through Live Timing at www.worldsbk.com , Twitter at BogdankaPTR – and Facebook, where you’ll be able to find trackside updates from the tests and short Q&A sessions with both the riders and key personnel.