Sam Lowes from the Parkalgar Honda team promoted himself straight into the upper echelons of the Supersport Word Championship rankings at Phillip Island, going third in qualifying and then repeating that performance in the race. Had the start/finish line in Australia been a bit closer to the final corner, the 20-year-old would actually have won the race, such was his position as race leader as he entered the long turn 11. He lost out on his debut win in this class by only 0.033 seconds, in only his seventh career WSS race.

He was naturally elated to have taken his first podium, after some traumatic happenings in testing and qualifying, and for a rider crowned British Supersport Champion in 2010 a return to WSS as a regular rider has already proved a great career move. "It was a really good race for me - my first time in the Championship with Parkalgar Honda," said Sam after the race. "I was a bit nervous but I got a decent start and then made some moves on the riders around me. I knew it was a long race and was thinking about tyre wear. I passed eventual winner Luca on the last lap but did not get a mega run on to the start/finish straight. Third in my first race is great; I am loving my team and my bike, I am enjoying myself." Lowes had fallen in Australia more than once before the race on Sunday, and even bashed his head quite hard in pre-race testing, making his recovery as well as his sheer pace and fearlessness all the more impressive.

His team-manager, Simon Buckmaster, was simply delighted that his number one pick for the 2011 season has already shown his true colours. "What a superb ride by Sam to finish third on his debut for the Parkalgar Honda team. He went into the last corner a little too hot in the lead and lost some drive and the other two were able to get past him on the run to the line - but that takes nothing away from his achievement; this is his first time at the track and in our team. Sam's bike was strong everywhere, the package was good and no one can be disappointed with the result."

For Lowes life in the WSS paddock is simply a return in many ways, as he has been a European Superstock 600 rider in 2008, and a WSS competitor for a few races in 2009.

url: http://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/5-news/6743-new-star-sam-is-born.html

The Permanent Bureau, composed of Vito Ippolito (FIM President) and Maurizio Flammini (IMS Chairman), nominated the following permanent officials for the 2011 FIM Superbike World Championship:

• Race Director: Gian Franco Carloia
• FIM Safety Officer: Igor Eskinja
• Starter: Giulio Bardi
• Medical Director: Ruggero Mattioli
• Technical Director: Fabio Fazi
• Race Direction Committee: Igor Eskinja (FIM Representative), Paolo Ciabatti (IMS Representative), Giulio Bardi (SBK Teams Representative).

url: http://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/5-news/6738-officials-for-the-2011-fim-wsbk-championship.html

Ernesto Marinelli, Ducati Corse Superbike technical director, has been giving his thoughts on Carlos Checa's double win at the opening WSBK round in Australia. The 38-year-old Catalan rider's results for the Althea Racing Team at Phillip Island propelled Ducati to the top of the championship table, a position they have not held since Magny-Cours in October 2009.

Ernesto Marinelli, Ducati couldn't have had a better start to the season. Did you expect that?

"Phillip Island is a circuit that adapts well to the characteristics of our 1198. The developments made in the last couple of years have led to very good grip in the early and mid acceleration phase and in the long fast curves of Phillip Island this helps a lot. But the job done by Carlos and the entire Althea team was also fundamental. Checa's strategy was good, the bike was perfect and they made the right choice of tyres. We struggled a bit on the straight because our twin-cylinder doesn't have the same acceleration as the fours but Carlos was very quick at the start and managed to pull out a slight advantage that proved to be decisive."

Checa had two outstanding races. What are his most important qualities from a technical point of view?

"Carlos interpreted to perfection the characteristics of Phillip Island, it's a very technical track where it's not enough just to be quick. You have to race with your head in order not to put undue stress on the left side of the tyre. If you always push to the limit the tyre deteriorates rapidly and you end up going slower due to little grip, but if you put on a harder tyre the performance level goes down".

Ducati are back at the top of the standings once again. What are the prospects for the next few races?

"Checa and the other Ducati riders suffer on the faster tracks. If we want to win the title we have to attack on the twisty circuits. Unfortunately this year we don't have Valencia, which was another ideal track for us, it's been replaced by Aragon which has a long straight... "

Commenting on Checa's win, your MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi said that in a few years time he wouldn't mind coming to Superbike. Can you tell him that we are waiting for him impatiently...

"As soon as I meet him, I'll tell him!"

url: http://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/5-news/6732-marinelli-sums-up-checas-island-wins.html

Reigning Australian Superbike Champion Bryan Staring arrives in Italy today to begin his international road-racing career. The 23-year-old, three-time Australian Champion, is relocating to Italy to be near his team, Team Pedercini Kawasaki, and train for his Superstock 1000 season.

Bryan Staring declared: "I'm moving into an apartment at the base of the Alps, a fantastic place for cycling and training and only 15-minutes from the team headquarters. I'll be undertaking Italian lessons daily and I have access to a motocross track just five kilometers from my home, so I will be there most days training. I'm very excited about this opportunity and will begin training tomorrow. The area is fantastic, nice and quiet, and there is plenty of good cycling in the Alps".

Bryan impressed the Team Pedercini members with his outstanding display of pace, set-up skills and professionalism at round one of the World Superbike Championships, where he was entered as a wildcard. Staring was consistently fast and finished with a championship point in his debut race.

"The Phillip Island weekend was a steep learning curve - he said - but I did not feel out of place out there at all. What was a surprise was the pace of the front-runners. Those few seconds are hard to find and in many ways it was like learning all over again. In terms of gaining experience, it was a brilliant opportunity to spend some competitive time on the 2011 ZX-10R and I've learned a lot about the bike, which will be invaluable in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup championship this year."

url: http://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/5-news/6726-staring-begins-international-career.html

Noriyuki Haga, who celebrated his 36th birthday a few days ago on March 2nd, confirmed that he wants to be one of the protagonists of the season, following two gutsy top 10 performances at Phillip Island. Making his debut on the Aprilia RSV4 of the revamped Pata Racing Team, which has come about following a merger of Borciani and DFX, "Nitronori" was able to put together a couple of convincing races after a disappointing Superpole performance.

Back on a four-cylinder machine after a couple of years on the big Ducati L-twin, the three-times WSBK runner-up finished the two races in Australia in ninth and seventh, laying the basis for a positive 2011 season. Currently lying seventh in the standings with 16 points, Haga is looking to the future with confidence.

"I'm happy with the result of these two races," he said. "We constantly improved and we can keep on doing so, thanks to an excellent technical package. Unfortunately we were damaged during the second part of both the races by some tyre problems that didn't allow us to get a better result. After some adjustments that the team did on the bike between race 1 and 2, the tyre duration got better and I could fight for the leading places almost until the chequered flag. I'm sure that the experience gained will turn out to be useful and we will be even stronger at the second round of the season."

url: http://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/5-news/6721-haga-gets-to-grips-with-pata-aprilia.html