THE Parkalgar Honda team has spent the winter preparing the new 2009 CBR600RR Hondas and on the 19th 20th January Eugene Laverty and Miguel Praia will get to try out their new machines at Almeria in Spain during the team’s first test of the year. The 4.3Km track will see the first initial shake down for the bikes as the riders dial their CBR600RRs and themselves back into the racing groove. The Championship contending team tested at Almeria last year and is already equipped with a plethora of data which will ease the transition between the 2008 and 2009 bikes. The newly signed Eugene Laverty settled into the team during a test at the end of 2008, his team-mate Miguel Praia already has one season under his belt with the team and is looking forward to the season ahead. Praia said: “I’m very motivated and just want to get back on my Parkalgar Honda. The team has done a fantastic job on preparing the 2009 bikes – the dyno results have been great so far and I’m looking forward to putting the bike through its paces. We are doing the same testing as last year so I know the Almeria track and we already have good settings for there. We can compare the 2008 bike to the new 2009 bike and as there will be lots of other teams there we can see how we compare to them. It will tell us who worked best in the winter.” Simon Buckmaster, Parkalgar Honda Team Manager said: “Everyone has worked really hard over the winter and we are ready to get out there. We know we have some work to do fine tuning the bikes and making sure the riders are happy with their basic settings. The team as a whole is buzzing, there is a really good vibe and I think we have a big year ahead that hopefully will see us finish with a Championship.” Once finished in Almeria the Parkalgar Honda team will return to its home circuit in Portugal for the official World Superbike test on the 23rd-25th January. Praia said: “I am looking forward to returning to our own circuit Parkalgar as I scored my best result of the season there in 2008 and want to follow that up with a good test in front of my home crowd. There have been further developments to the circuit facilities over the winter and hard as it is to believe, I think it has improved again and is a truly world-leading circuit.” The World Supersport season kicks off on the 1st March in Phillip Island. For further information on Parkalgar Honda’s progress please visit www.parkalgar-honda.com.You have been sent this e-mail as a registered contact of the www.parkalgar-honda.com fan club or press list. If you do not wish to receive these e-mails in the future, please visit our web site, log in using your user name and password and update your profile.