Today was the last day of two-day test session for Althea racing team at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia.

A wet track was present in the Superbike morning sessions due to showers in the early morning. The asphalt had completely dried out by mid-morning so Checa and Byrne started their first session an hour later than scheduled. In today’s first session both Althea team riders confirmed yesterday’s excellent results. Byrne improved yesterday’s best lap time scoring a remarkable 1,31,662 reaching the first position. Only few minutes before the end of the session Michel Fabrizio scored a better lap time (for only 12 hundredths) and so Shakey ended in second position. Checa followed his teammate in third place with a time of 1,32,195. During the last session, due strong winds, Althea team riders did not improve their lap time and in the combined results of the last two test days, Byrne came in second while Checa ended up in fourth position. The second day was mainly focused on extensive testing of the electronic settings. Both riders were able to continue working on what they had planned to do in addition to concentrating on testing tires in view of the first two races of the championship.

First session : 1) Fabrizio (Ducati) – 2) Byrne (Ducati) – 3) Checa (Ducati) – 4) Haga (Ducati) – Haslam (Suzuki) – 6) Smrz (Ducati)
Aggregate results : 1) Fabrizio (Ducati) – 2) Byrne (Ducati) – 3) Smrz (Ducati) - 4) Checa (Ducati) – 5) Rea (Honda) – 6) Haga (Ducati)

Carlos Checa :”I’m pretty satisfied with this second day of testing. This morning I worked hard with my technicians thinking about the subsequent races. In the afternoon, we tested some new components and I was not able to improve my best lap time also because to the strong wind. We used two types of tire, but for the race next week we’ll also use some other different tires already tested by official riders. I’m happy because we almost terminated our planned work schedule and I’m feeling quiet confident for the next two races of the championship”.

Shane Byrne :”In general, I’m very happy with this second day of testing even though unfortunately, this afternoon we had some small problems with the bike, and I was forced to use the second one. During the second session we lost time trying to fix the problems and I was able to run only few laps. The guys did a very good job this morning and I’m really satisfied with my first bike. I completed a very fast lap time in the first session, finding a very good pace. The only thing we can do now is rest and wait for the races next weekend“.

Genesio Bevilacqua – General Manager :” We are quite pleased with the final results of these two test days. Both our riders were consistently fast, they worked very hard and the results speak for themselves. I want to thank all our technical staff for the great job done during these two days and also Ducati who put our team in the condition to reach these excellent results. Following these tests we now know we have a very competitive package and we’re definitely looking forward to the season”.