Shane Byrne has shrugged off rumours linking him a move to Ducati's factory World Superbike team in 2009, the British Superbike leader claiming he has not yet been in contact with anyone from Ducati Xerox.
Speculation has been rife as to who will replace the soon-to-retire
Troy Bayliss at Xerox next season, with Sterilgarda's Max Biaggi and Ducati test rider Niccolò Canepa amongst the names to be mooted closer to home.
However, Byrne's dominant performance for Airwaves Ducati in BSB this season, which has seen him win eight of the twelve races so far, is sure to have caught the attention of the Italian factory.
Improving his stock further in the latest BSB round at
Mallory Park with a win and a second place finish, Byrne was remaining cool about the rumours, admitting to
Crash.net that he has not been approached yet.
"My immediate future lies with Airwaves Ducati and I am trying to win the championship with them," he said. "Rumours with Xerox Ducati won't do my profile any harm at all, so it is flattering that I am in line for that ride, but I haven't had any contact from anyone with Xerox."
Byrne did, however, admit he would be willing to make the step up, claiming he thinks he could prove competitive on the World Superbike stage.
"I am an ambitious guy and I'm 31 years-old, so I have a few good years left to give," said the former
MotoGP rider. "The last time I did some World Superbike races [as a wild-card, at
Brands Hatch in 2003], I won both of them and while I'm not saying that I could go into the world championship and dominate it, I think we could so a good job."
Furthermore, Byrne did hint at a possible switch to the world championship in more familiar surroundings, adding that he is waiting for Airwaves Ducati, which has had a tumultuous relationship with BSB organisers recently, to make a decision about its future.
