All World Superbike teams are traveling to Portugal for this weekend’s last SBK round at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.
We will watch this race with mixed feelings as Troy Bayliss, the winning rider of the British Superbike title in 1999 and 3 World Superbike Championship titles (2001, 2006, 2008), will ride his last round.
The Portimao racing track is situated close to the city and is brand new.
The SBK race will be the first international event at this new “Autodrome” which is 4,658 km long, including six left and nine right corners.
Length of the race will be 22 laps which means a total of 101,024 kilometers.
Ducati RG Team rider Lorenzo Lanzi will not ride this weekend, as revealed by the Family Gianfardoni in a small press release, though they would like to thank Lorenzo Lanzi, the entire team and FGSport and sponsors for the support and in 2008.
The Ducati Xerox team went to the track for a two-day test session last weekend and finished with a positive result.
Michel Fabrizio, 8th in the championship with 203 points said: “We saw last week that the circuit is really beautiful, like a roller coaster ride! Even though the track is not especially fast there are some very fast sections.
I like the layout a lot and am looking forward to the racing.
Earlier in the year at Miller, a track I hadn’t raced at before, I finished up on the podium; who knows, maybe I can do the same at Portimao, it would be a great finish to the season.
”Troy Bayliss, the newly crowned 2008 World champion,leading with 410 points is looking for another win: “I am a lot more relaxed now that I know that we have done what we set out to do.
We’ve won the riders and constructors titles and can tick that off the list.
Now I can go to Portimao knowing that a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
I’m looking forward to racing there, as what we saw during the recent test days was a very impressive track! It’s been a long and stressful year and I’m tired, I feel I have just enough energy left to complete these last two races…I would love to finish the season, and my career, with a win so that’s my goal this weekend, to ride with no pressure and just enjoy what will be my final two Superbike races!”
