Phillip Island (Australia), Saturday 21st February 2009: The Ducati Xerox Team have travelled to the Australian circuit of Phillip Island a week ahead of the race weekend in order to benefit from a final two days of testing before the start of the 2009 Superbike season. Various teams were on track today as the Superbike riders and their technicians make final modifications and carry out the last tests ahead of next weekend’s opening round. In overcast and blustery conditions, Ducati Xerox factory riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio worked hard with their teams and, despite both having a fall, both felt that progress was made during this, the first of the two days. Michel Fabrizio “Everything considered it’s been a positive day. I didn’t complete so many laps which was a shame because unfortunately I fell in the early afternoon, a silly mistake as a tried to take the corner in second rather than in first, and as a result I did a lot of damage to one bike while the second wasn’t totally ready. I went back out towards the end of the session and I was able to complete a few fast laps. I’ve not had any particular problems today so I hope we can make more progress tomorrow.” Noriyuki Haga “We have tried various front settings today and are working to find a good balance. I had a fall earlier but nothing serious. Although we had a bit of trouble to find the right direction today, we have ideas as to what we can try tomorrow so I am confident that day two will go much better.” TIMES: Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1m32.7s; Haga (Ducati Xerox) 1m33.0s More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group/InFront Motor Sports: Max Neukirchner set quickest time on his Suzuki GSX-R K9 on the fourth day of this week’s testing taking place at Phillip Island, the Australian circuit that will host the opening round of the 2009 SBK World Championship in seven days time. The teams present were Ducati Xerox, Hannspree Honda Ten Kate, Alstare Suzuki, Bmw and Yamaha World Superbike, while Aprilia and Kawasaki World Superbike Racing Team concluded their pre-season shake-down on Wednesday. Weather conditions today saw a few clouds with 22°C air and 32°C track temperatures, slightly lower than the scorching heat earlier in the week. Neukirchner lapped in a time of 1 minute 32.5 seconds, the same as the mark recorded by Max Biaggi on Wednesday on his Aprilia RSV4. The new Suzuki K9 looks to have enormous potential, but Alstare have already tested at Phillip Island for three days back in January, so could have a slight advantage over the others. The Japanese four-cylinder machine also went well in the hands of Yukio Kagayama, who posted a 1’32″7. The day saw a number of riders go down. The most serious incident involved Carlos Checa, who crashed at the hairpin, banging his head. Ten Kate Honda’s Spanish rider was unable to recall anything and was taken by ambulance to the nearby Dandenong hospital for a check-up. A few hours later his condition improved but only tomorrow will an eventual OK be given for him to continue testing. The two Ducati riders also had crashes: Michel Fabrizio, in second place with a time of 1’32″7, slid off at Honda while Noriyuki Haga crashed at Turn 2, both without any serious consequences. BMW’s Troy Corser was another rider to crash out on day 1. Over at Yamaha their two new riders Ben Spies and Tom Sykes, who have never even seen Phillip Island, both took time to learn the track, and they ended up seventh and sixth respectively. Pre-season testing concludes tomorrow Sunday. Unofficial times: 1. Neukirchner (Suzuki) 1’32″5; 2. Fabrizio (Ducati) 1’32″7; 3. Kagayama (Suzuki) 1’32″7; 4. Rea (Honda) 1’32″9; 5. Haga (Ducati) 1’33″0; 6. Sykes (Yamaha) 1’33″2; 7. Spies (Yamaha) 1’33″3; 8. Checa (Honda) 1’33″3; 9. Corser (BMW) 1’33″8; 10. Kiyonari (Honda) 1’34″0; 11. Xaus (BMW) 1’34″3. Supersport Triumph ahead of Yamaha and Honda was the big surprise on the first day of Supersport testing as Garry McCoy powered to a time of 1 minute 35.6 seconds on his home track. Yamaha’s new signing Cal Crutchlow from Britain, making his first appearance at the difficult Australian circuit, was second, after a crash during the day. The Ten Kate Honda squad, undefeated in Supersport since 2002, for the moment only have reigning champion Andrew Pitt in fourth, just ahead of team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu. With the times of the top riders being so close, all signs point to a hard-fought Supersport season ahead. Unofficial times: 1. McCoy (Triumph) 1’35″6; 2. Crutchlow (Yamaha) 1’35″7; 3. Foret (Yamaha) 1’35″8; 4. Pitt (Honda) 1’35″8; 5. Sofuoglu (Honda) 1’36″0; 6. Nannelli (Triumph) 1’36″8; 7. Pradita (Yamaha) 1’38″3.