Shane Byrne and team Sterilgarda are all set to take to the track for the eleventh round of WSBK held at the German circuit of Nürburgring starting Friday. The historic 5148 metres long track is a piece of history in motorsports and despite having suffered several changes since 1927, it has never lost its charm. It is a new track for “Shakey” Byrne who has been in top form in the last few rounds. The Brit is eager to come to grips with the circuit and fight for the top spots once again. His goal is to confirm his good form in this final part of the season and hopefully score another podium after the Misano exploit. MARCO BORCIANI – team manager: “We hope to do well in these last few rounds. Shakey is in great form and I’m confident he can score a good result in Germany despite the fact that the circuit doesn’t really adapt to the Ducati features. We’ll try our best to provide him with last season’s data for the bike setup and hopefully we’ll get a good starting position”. More, from a press release issued by ParkinGO Triumph BE1 Racing: Team ParkinGO Triumph BE1 Racing is back after the summer break. Garry McCoy and Gianluca Nannelli will take to the track for the eleventh round of 2009 World Supersport at Nürburgring on Friday afternoon. The team is determined to confirm the latest results, especially the historic first podium for Triumph in the 600 Supersport class. Last year, the team was not very lucky on the 5184 metres long German track as both Mark Aitchinson and Ivan Clementi had to retire from the race, although the former had displayed a brilliant performance in practice for the team owned by Giuliano Rovelli. McCoy and Nannelli will try getting the best setup for their machines using last season’s data, while their goal will once again be fighting for the top 5. GIULIANO ROVELLI – TEAM OWNER: “The summer break was very useful to relieve the tension. We’ll give it our best in this final part of the season and I’m confident the bike’s features can adapt well to the German track given the fact that Mark Aitchison was the fifth fastest in practice last year. We carried on with the development process and I reckon the Daytona 675 is already at the same level of the Japanese bikes. We hope to score a good result with our riders and hopefully both will fight for the podium”. More, from a press release issued by Parkalgar Honda: Parkalgar Honda ready to race Parkalgar Honda’s Eugene Laverty is determined to continue with his World Supersport title challenge this weekend at the Nurburgring in Germany. The talented Irishman is just 17 points behind Cal Crutchlow, the Championship leader, and he is determined to pull as many points back on him as possible. Miguel Praia, team-mate to Laverty, raced to 13th place last year at the Nurburgring. This time around he is determined to finish inside the top ten at the challenging 5.137km track. The race takes place at 1325CET on Sunday 6th September and can be viewed on Eurosport. Eugene: “It’s been a long lay-off but it was good to do a track day at the Nurburgring. It was beneficial as I can now go out and be on the pace. It’s an important round for us as I got an opportunity at Brno to get back some points and I’ve now got to make the most of it and start reeling Crutchlow back in. It’s a fun track to ride but it is very bumpy for a world championship circuit. I’ll be going out for the win as that is what we need.” Miguel: “There has been a big gap in the season which has been good for me as I’ve not been fully fit at the last few rounds thanks to some small injuries from my crashes. The team has been working on developing the bike so I should see the benefit of their hard work. I finished 13th at the Nurburgring last year so this time round my aim is top ten for sure. It is a hard track so it will take a couple of laps to get into it but it is good fun.” Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager: “We have been working hard on further development of our Parkalgar Hondas which I’m sure will pay off. We are now coming into the last four rounds and there are just 17 points in it. If we can beat Cal here then it will be game on. Miguel has already competed at the Nurburgring last year and got a good result, this year he wants to go a few places better and finish well inside the top ten. As for Eugene, he needs a win to continue his title challenge.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Team Suzuki Alstare Brux rider Yukio Kagayama will be joined at this weekend’s World Superbike round at the Nurburgring in Germany by former Supersport team rider Karl Muggeridge after Max Neukirchner has been advised not to ride by his doctors. Neukirchner underwent two operations a few weeks ago and his doctors have advised him to give the race miss and continue his rehabilitation. It is a particular blow for the German, for not only as it is it his home race, but last year he took two podiums at the event and has been looking forward to repeating the feat. Yukio Kagayama: “Last year I missed the race because I broke a bone in my hand after crashing in the Saturday free practice session, so this year I hope that I will be able to do both races at the very least! We have had a long break since the last race and I am itching to get back on my bike again and hungry for some good results. It is a shame that Max will not be racing this weekend and I would like to wish him a speedy recovery. Nurburgring is not an easy circuit because there are many changes of elevation and some slow corners, but I hope we can find a good bike set-up early on, have a good Superpole; and then a good day on Sunday.” Karl Muggeridge: “Firstly I would like to wish Max all the best and say ‘get well soon mate.’ This coming weekend is a nice opportunity to work with Alstare again. The last time was when I raced Supersport for them in 2001 and it’s good to see that many of the mechanics are the same ones I knew then. That will make my life easier when we start working with the bike on Friday for sure. The team is not putting any pressure on me at all and have told me to just ride the bike and do the best I can. I have spent some time with the Alstare mechanics and have seen the differences between the bike and the Suzuki I raced earlier this year. I think that the biggest difference will be the handling and the electronics: These days it takes quite a lot of time to understand the electronics and the changes that can be made and the quicker I can understand them, the better it’ll be. I’m really looking forward to the weekend, even though I know it’s not going to be an easy one, but whatever happens I will give it my best shot.” Max Neukirchner: “Firstly I would like to wish Yukio and Karl all the best for this weekend and hope the results will be good. I will be at the Nurburgring and supporting the team, even though it’s going to be a bit frustrating just watching. A few weeks ago I went to my specialist and then had two operations – one on my back and one on my side. The operations went very successfully and now I am able to carry on my rehabilitation with static cycling and swimming again. I had some screws put in my back and a metal plate in my side and now I do not have to wear a body cast anymore, which makes life more comfortable. It has been a bit frustrating at times, but now I am much happier because I can train again and can look forward to getting back on my bike. I will come to the Nurburgring and discuss everything with Francis about the next couple of months and I hope to also meet a lot of my fans.” 2008 results: Race 1: Haga (J-Yamaha), 2 Bayliss (Aus-Ducati), 3 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Suzuki), 4 Corser (Aus-Yamaha), 5 Checa (E-Honda), 6 Xaus (E-Ducati), 8 Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki Alstare), 10 Karl Muggeridge (Aus-Honda). Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare) DNS. Race 2: 1 Haga, 2 Corser, 3 Max Neukirchner (D-Alstare Suzuki), 4 Bayliss, 5 Checa, 6 Fabrizio (I-Ducati), 9 Fonsi Nieto (Suzuki Alstare), 12 Karl Muggeridge. Yukio Kagayama (J-Suzuki Alstare) DNS.