Superbike – Phillip Island Test Day 1 – Checa in the lead, Biaggi 4th

First day of the Infront collective tests which anticipate the start of the season which will take place next Sunday on the Australian circuit of Phillip Island and best time by Carlos Checa - winner of race 2 last year - aboard the Althea Racing team's Ducati. The Spaniard preceded the two Ducatis of the newly formed Czech team Effenbert – Liberty Racing, driven by Sylvain Guintoli and Jakub Smrz.

Carlos Checa: “Phillip Island is a track that I really like and the Ducati has always been strong here so far. We haven't tested here during the winter, but from the start of the day I felt comfortable with the bike. We started with last year's race setup, changing some things to find the right path and have an optimal set-up. Finally, we worked on the choice of tires – I had three available – to identify the right one for the race. Tomorrow we will do a race simulation and I am confident of achieving excellent times.”

Fourth time for Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) who, after having missed the first session of the morning due to the damp track, immediately found his rhythm, setting the fourth fastest time overall, albeit one second behind Checa. Behind him Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki Alstare), just over half a tenth behind the world champion.

Kawasaki's positive streak continues with Sykes setting the sixth fastest time ahead of Marco Melandri (Yamaha), who is quickly improving with his shoulder. Jonathan Rea (Castrol Honda), Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad) and Eugene Laverty (Yamaha) follow, while the Australian 'wild-card' Joshua Waters did well with the Yoshimura team's Suzuki.

An unexpected event occurred in the last stages of the second session: some large geese approached the edges of the circuit, forcing the management to display the red flag three times, fearing that they could enter the track, with consequent danger for the drivers.

Tomorrow from 9am local time (23pm Italian time) third session for the Superbike.

Times: 1. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'31.383; 2. Guintoli S. (FRA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.303; 3. Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'32.316; 4. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'32.383; 5. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'32.453; 6. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'32.466; 7. Melandri M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'32.474; 8. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.532; 9. Haslam L. (GBR) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.578; 10. Laverty E. (IRL) Yamaha YZF R1 1'32.600; 11. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-10R 1'32.940; 12. Waters J. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1'33.140; 13. Xaus R. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'33.165; 14. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'33.255; 15. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'33.560; 16. Haga N. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'33.786; etc.

Supersport World Championship

Former world champion Fabien Foret (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda), taking advantage of the dry track, set the best time on the first day of Supersport testing. The Frenchman preceded the Spaniard David Salom and the Australian Broc Parkes, both on Team Motocard.com Kawasakis, by almost a second.

The young British Sam Lowes took the Honda Parkalgar to fourth place ahead of the two Italians Luca Scassa (Yamaha ParkinGO) and Danilo Dell'Omo (Triumph Suriano), the latter making his first outing with the English three-cylinder.

In the top ten we find two other Italians, Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha Bike Service), eighth, and Massimo Roccoli (Kawasaki Lorenzini by Leoni), tenth.

Times: 1. Foret F. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1'34.117; 2. Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'35.042; 3. Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'35.195; 4. Lowes S. (GBR) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.110; 5. Scassa L. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'36.358; 6. Dell'Omo D. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 1'36.497; 7. Szkopek P. (POL) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.624; 8. Tamburini R. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'36.705; etc.

SBK Press Office