"The champion Spies did not take part as he is moving on to MotoGP, but a number of new faces with new teams put in their laps at the Portimao Circuit in Portugal Oct. 27-28.
Riding Spies’ R1 was the man he’s replacing in the Tech 3 Yamaha MotoGP team, James Toseland. A two-time WSBK champion with Ducati (2004) and Honda (2007), Toseland is trying to be the first man to win three titles with three different teams in 2010. In his first test on the R1, Toseland was in the middle of the pack with the eighth best time out of 14 riders. It was a fair effort for his Superbike return after two seasons in MotoGP.
“I like the bike, it’s so much different to what I’m used to though so it’s taking some time to tame the beast!” says Toseland. “When you ride a heavier bike you have to take your time to find its limits. One thing I didn’t want to do was crash as I’ve got another GP to race next week. I’m really pleased with the team, and looking forward to testing again as soon as possible.”
Toseland was a second off the pace of his new teammate, 2009 World Supersport Champion Cal Crutchlow who also made his debut on the R1.
“I think we’ve worked hard looking at a few different things with the shocks,” says Crutchlow who recorded the third best time. “We haven’t changed that much yet so we’ve got some work to do. We’ve changed a couple of things and had a play around with the electronics which has been good. Hopefully we’ll keep working hard, the team has done a good job and I’m pleased with the first test.”
One team that isn’t changing its riders for 2010 is Ducati Xerox. Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio helped Ducati capture its 16th manufacturers’ title but Haga once again fell short of his first riders’ title. Despite the disappointment of losing the title on the final round, Haga was back at work preparing for next season. Haga tested a new clutch but found a new fork to be lacking."
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