DAY 1

Michel Fabrizio was quickest on his factory Ducati 1098F09 on day one of the Pirelli tyre testing at Kyalami. The European winter tests are done by most factory teams in preparation for the 2009 FIM Superbike World Championship, which kicks off in Australia at Philip Island on 1 March, 2009. At this point in time, it looks like the Losail round in Qatar has been dropped from the calendar.

Rookie Texan Ben Spies was a surprise second on the day, riding the new 'big bang' Yamaha R1. Considering that Spies is a newcomer to WSB and has never ridden Kyalami before, the result is even more impressive.

Max Neukirchner was an uneventful third on the day.

Nori Haga was less impressive with 3 crashes and a fourth best time on the factory Ducati, after leaving Yamaha last year.

Fifth fastest was Yukio Kagayama on the Suzuki GSX-R, with Shinya Nakano on the new V4 Aprilia less than a tenth behind him in sixth.

Max Biaggi only arrived at the track 4 hours after the first riders started testing, blaming delayed flights. Max is also on the new Aprilia V4 for 2009 and managed to lap seventh fastest on Day 1, albeit behind Nakano.

Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus were very competitive as well on the new BMW S1000RR, Corser in ninth place and Xaus in tenth.

Day 1 times: 1. Fabrizio (Ita-Ducati) 1'41"204 (66 laps); 2. Spies (Usa-Yamaha) 1'41"599 (46); 3. Neukirchner (Ger-Suzuki) 1'41"713 (69); 4. Haga (Jpn-Ducati) 1'41"730 (31); 5. Kagayama (Jpn-Suzuki) 1'41"755 (39); 6. Nakano (Jpn-Aprilia) 1'41"846 (51); 7. Biaggi (Ita-Aprilia) 1'42"446 (29); 8. Kiyonari (Jpn-Honda) 1'42"744 (62); 9. Corser (Aus-Bmw) 1'42"975 (33); 10. Xaus (Spa-Bmw) 1'43"274 (41); 11. Checa (Spa-Honda) 1'43"418 (10); 12. Rea (GB-Honda) 1'44"496 (16); 13. Sykes (GB-Yamaha) 1'46"780 (16).

DAY 2

Michel Fabrizio was again quickest on day two of testing with a best time of 1'40"256, almost a full second beneath his day one time. This is also below the existing 2002 circuit record held by Colin Edwards on the Honda SP-2.

Neukirchner improved from third to second, and haga improved to third, which meant that Ben Spies had to give up his impressive second place from day one. Spies had to settle for a low 8th place in the timesheet, after crashing the new R1. He was unable to rejoin proceedings due to damage to the bike, and would no doubt have improved his lapt time with more track time.

Day 2 times: 1. Fabrizio (Ita-Ducati) 1'40"256 (44 laps); 2. Neukirchner (Ger-Suzuki) 1'40"688 (50); 3. Haga (Jpn-Ducati) 1'40"709 (53); 4. Rea (GB-Honda) 1'40"842 (40); 5. Kagayama (Jpn-Suzuki) 1'40"959 (52); 6. Nakano (Jpn-Aprilia) 1'40"968 (42); 7. Checa (Spa-Honda) 1'40"995 (31); 8. Spies (Usa-Yamaha) 1'41"049 (38); 9.  Biaggi (Ita-Aprilia) 1'41"077 (56); 10. Kiyonari (Jpn-Honda) 1'41"412 (84); 11. Corser (Aus-Bmw) 1'41"986 (34); 12. Xaus (Spa-Bmw) 1'42"438 (40); 13. Sykes (GB-Yamaha) 1'42"933 (18).

DAY 3

Michel Fabrizio was again quickest on day three of testing with a best time of 1'39"714, which is now the new unofficial lap record at the circuit.

With the top three riders in the 1 minute 39 seconds range, we must all agree that the sport has moved forward in the time that it has been absent from Kyalami. This bodes well for the South African round in May 2009, which should prove to be a spectacular event --> dont miss it, visit our events calendar today to set up an automatic outlook reminder.

Day 3 times: 1. Fabrizio (Ita-Ducati) 1'39"714; 2. Spies (Usa-Yamaha) 1'39"978; 3. Haga (Jpn-Ducati) 1'39"984; 4. Rea (GB-Honda) 1'40"035; 5. Checa (Spa-Honda) 1'40"170; 6. Neukirchner (Ger-Suzuki) 1'40"394; 7. Kagayama (Jpn-Suzuki) 1'40"657; 8. Biaggi (Ita-Aprilia) 1'40"768; 9. Nakano (Jpn-Aprilia) 1'40"968; 10. Kiyonari (Jpn-Honda) 1'41"067; 11. Corser (Aus-Bmw) 1'41"102; 12. Sykes (GB-Yamaha) 1'41"562; 13. Xaus (Spa-Bmw) 1'41"996.