Airwaves Ducati will commence its 2008 testing schedule with a three-day test at Almeria, starting on Monday 25th February.
Before the new season gets underway at Brands Hatch on April 6th, the Airwaves Ducati team is due to test at Calafat and the official BSB test at Snetterton on 22nd – 24th March. However, the 4km long Almeria circuit in southern Spain will be the first outing for the Airwaves Ducati team on the new Ducati 1098R’s.
Leon Camier, who has been recuperating and training in Australia for the past few months, is looking forward to getting back on a race bike. “It is a long road to recovery; body wise I need to build up my hip muscles more and I still have a bit of a limp but I have been working hard on my general fitness. I am not 100% fit yet but it shouldn’t affect me too much on the race bike. It has been a long, frustrating wait but I am looking forward to getting 2008 off to a good start. It will be good to get to know the team and try out the new 1098R; I am hoping to post some good times in Almeria but to start with I want to work on getting comfortable with the new machinery. I am feeling really confident for the season, its going to be a steep learning curve but I am excited about the challenge.”
Shane Byrne is also looking forward to getting aboard the Ducati 1098R. “It’s been a long winter and I have been chomping at the bit to get going! I have been training hard over the break and I am looking forward to getting on the new machinery. We need to get in as many miles as we can in order for us to be as good as we know we can be come the start of the season.”
Team manager Colin Wright added; “We are all very eager to start testing, it has been a long time coming and it will be very exciting. There is a massive amount of work to do as we need to familiarise ourselves with new riders, bikes and tyres. We are not expecting lap record times at Almeria, the most important thing at this stage is to establish a good working relationship with Shane & Leon, allowing them sufficient time getting to know the Ducati 1098R and Pirelli tyres.”
He added, “I am delighted at the news that MSV will be organising and promoting the BSB Championship for the next ten years. It is a case of professionals working with professionals!”
