World Superbike and Supersport head to Portugal

January 22, 2009

The official pre-season test for 2009's world Superbike and Supersport riders will be staged from January 23-25 at the spectacular Portuguese circuit of Portimao, before the bikes are air-freighted across the globe for the season kick-off at Australia's Phillip Island on March 1.

The three-day Portugal test is of vital importance for the year's record entry - in Superbikes, 32 riders across seven manufacturers and in Supersport, 30 riders - as it represents the last remaining opportunity for major testing and development work.

But above all, it will be the first direct clash between all contenders before the season opener. At the Kyalami test in Africa last December, the top riders were separated by just over one second, so expectations are high for Portimao and for an exceptionally close WSBK battle in 2009.

The Portimao test will also be the first chance for riders to try out the new Superpole knock out format, which will be tested on the Sunday afternoon.

The number of Aussies on the grid is another record, with nine Australians competing across both categories: four in Superbike and five in Supersport.

In Superbike, Aprilia and BMW are the new marques in 2009, with Aussie dual world champion Troy Corser to pilot the all-new German S1000 RR four-cylinder machine alongside Spaniard Ruben Xaus.

Corser expects to ride a completely different BMW at Portimao to the one he tested at Kyalami - but it's not causing him any concern.

Corser admits there was an information vacuum at Kyalami as time conspired against his team.

"The bikes had just been built when we went to South Africa, and everything was just a huge rush," said Corser. "Considering the difficulties, to come away from the first big test with a huge amount of information to analyse was very pleasing.

"We found some stuff at the test that we weren't even aware of, so looking back it was a vital step into building a really competitive machine before the opening round at Philip Island.

"I was particularly impressed with the power it produces, although Kyalami isn't a real good indicator of power with such a high altitude.

"However, the most important thing was that we continued to work hard as a team, and I also have a great chief engineer and electronics guru helping me out.

"I'm confident we'll be really competitive by the time Phillip Island comes around, as it's going to be a momentous occasion for BMW."

The second Australian factory rider in Superbike will be Newcastle's Broc Parkes on a Kawasaki, while Gold Coast's Karl Muggeridge (Suzuki) and Adelaide's Brendan Roberts (Ducati) will be on privateer machinery.

Roberts is one of the new arrivals in 2009, alongside three-time American Superbike champion Ben Spies (Yamaha), Italian Superbike champion Luca Scassa (Kawasaki) and an all-star cast from the UK: Shane Byrne (Ducati), Tom Sykes (Yamaha) and Leon Haslam (Honda).

Byrne won last year's British Superbike title, and has wasted no time in getting down to business in WSBK. He'll undoubtedly be the privateer to watch in 2009, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he was the fastest man on track in Portugal.

Meanwhile, after a disastrous 2008, Kawasaki made sweeping changes to its world Superbike and Supersport structure, with the end result that Parkes - due to get married later this month - is returning to the bigger production-based class for the first time since 2002.

And the Aussie's timing is impeccable, as Kawasaki is likely to up its assistance to his British-based team now that the Japanese manufacturer has officially pulled out of MotoGP.

The dual Aussie road racing champion and former world Supersport runner-up will be determined to make some huge inroads at Portimao as the build-up to Phillip Island begins in earnest.

The three-day test at Portimao will be fascinating to watch on a number of fronts, including the form of Spies on the all-new Yamaha YZF-R1.

Japanese enforcer Noriyuki Haga will also continue his courtship with the factory Ducati after replacing Troy Bayliss, and Aprilia pairing Max Biaggi and Shinya Nakano will be putting in the hard yards on their all-new RSV4, which showed enormous potential in South Africa.

Yukio Kagayama and last year's revelation Max Neukirchner also have an updated Suzuki GSX-R1000 to get up to speed, and the Honda trio of Carlos Checa, Jonathan Rea and Ryuichi Kiyonari will be in fine-tune mode on a CBR1000RR that is already race-ready.

In Supersport, Aussie world champion Andrew Pitt (Honda) will really begin to crank up his title defence, which he will have to with teammate and 2007 No. 1 Kenan Sofouglu eager to re-assert his authority on a class he once dominated.

Honda-riding Aussies Anthony West, Mark Aitchison and Russell Holland will also be out in force in Portugal, as will Garry McCoy on his updated Triumph.

Yamaha factory rider Cal Crutchlow will be one rider Sofouglu and the Aussies will have to keep their eye on, while Kawasaki has signed the impressive Spaniard Joan Lascorz, who was a star in the first part of 2008, to pilot its all-new ZX-6R.

For more information on the 2009 HANNspree Superbike World Championship, click here.

For more information on the local Yamaha-sponsored round, including ticketing and transport, click here.

For an event schedule for Phillip Island, click here.

Photo: Corser