Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam took his first ever Superpole victory at Phillip Island today after consistently being in the top two or three throughout practice and qualifying.

The young Briton stormed to a lap of 1:31.229, over half a second inside the lap record, in Superpole 3, ahead of Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) and fellow Briton Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha). For a while it looked Leon’s team mate Sylvain would be joining him on the front row of the grid, but a late surge by Crutchlow, relegated the Frenchman to fifth place and row two.

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam didn’t chase lap times in today’s first qualifying session but still ended with the third fastest lap of the day. The young Briton worked all day trying to find a good race set-up and did not even use any soft tyres during the timed session this afternoon, when his best lap was set on race rubber.
His team mate Sylvain continued to improve his understanding of his GSX-R 1000 Suzuki and finished qualifying with the eighth quickest time. Spaniard Carlos Checa (Ducati) posted the fastest time in qualifying, with Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) second.

Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli continued to work on finding the best set-up for their GSX-R 1000 K10 Suzukis instead of chasing lap times and ended the two day test 7th and 15th respectively. Strong winds buffeted the 4.445 kilometre circuit today and most riders took things cautiously, especially in the afternoon. Ducatis filled the top four places at the finish, with Michel Fabrizio the fastest, with a time of 1:31.650. Second was Shane Byrne, with Jakub Smrz third and Carlos Checa fourth.

Briton Leon Haslam ended the first day of the Phillip Island tests with the third fastest lap, just behind Carlos Checa (Ducati) and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati). Despite missing his flight, due to a snowbound Birmingham airport, and only arriving in the early hours of this morning, Sylvain managed to stay awake all day and finished a very creditable 12th.

Team Suzuki Alstare are happy to announce that they have signed an agreement with a new sponsor, Viru, for 2010. Viru is an Estonian beer and is distributed by the Italian company Biscaldi Group, with whom Alstare has worked with on many SBK operations in recent years.

Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain made a very positive start to the 2010 season, finishing the 3-day official tests in Portimao in second and tenth places respectively. Leon had led the first day and was second in day two’s damp conditions before finishing just behind fellow countryman Jonathan Rea (Honda) today.

The two day test in Portimao ended successfully for Team Suzuki Alstare, with both riders happy and positively looking forward to their next time on the bikes. Both Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli put in a large number of laps and tried a variety of parts and settings and were able to give a lot of valuable feedback to the team.

The first day of the Portimao tests saw new signings Sylvain and Leon Haslam together in Suzuki Alstare colours for the very first time. Sylvain had raced the bike during the recent World Superbike race here last weekend and continued to get more familiar with the GSX-R1000 K9. Despite a sore left elbow and ankle, caused by the crash last Sunday in the warm-up, Leon soon got on the pace and started to understand his new bike.

Suzuki Alstare has opened up their two day tests in Portimao this week and most of the top teams will now be in attendance.
It will be a chance to see many, if not all, the new riders working with their new teams for the first time in the first of pre-2010 season tests and so far, 22 riders have signed up for the two days.

The last round of this year’s Superbike Championship at Portimao, did not go exactly to plan for Yukio Kagayama or new boy Sylvain Guintoli. Neither finished the first race, but Sylvain did manage a tenth place in race two, with Yukio just behind in eleventh. But it was encouraging to see how quickly and easily Sylvain has become part of the team and that bodes well for the tests on Tuesday and Wednesday this week and the future.

Suzuki Alstare new boy Sylvain Guintoli continued his steeping learn curve today at Portimao and managed to secure a superb third row grid position after posting the fifth fastest time in Superpole 1. Although he couldn’t progress any further than Superpole 2, Sylvain showed that he has quickly come to grips with his GSX-R1000 K9 and will undoubtedly go even faster once he has become more familiar with the bike.

Team Suzuki Alstare riders Yukio Kagayama and new boy Sylvain Guintoli ended the first day of practice and qualifying with the 11th and 22nd fastest laps respectively. Yukio suffered rear suspension problems, but is confident that he and the team will improve the bike tomorrow so that he can attack Superpole and be in a good position for Sunday’s races.