Biaggi, who hasn't ridden a Superbike since splitting from Alstare Suzuki shortly after the end of the 2007 season, will join most of the leading WSBK and WSS teams in testing at the challenging Australian race track from January 8-10.
However, unlike the 'factory' WSBK teams present, the satellite Sterilgarda Go Eleven squad of Biaggi and
Ruben Xaus will be running standard Pirelli race tyres, since only one team per manufacturer is supplied development tyres for testing.
In Ducati's case, the factory Xerox team of
Troy Bayliss and
Michel Fabrizio will again shoulder tyre development - and both riders have already had their first public outing on the new 1098R, during December's Qatar test.
Bayliss was fastest of all at that test, with his new team-mate in the Ducati set-up also proving potent for his first time on an all-new machine. At PI, Bayliss' home track, a considerable amount of local interest will be generated, in readiness for the second round of the 2008 championship on Sunday 2 March - just over one week after the season opener at Qatar on Saturday 23 February.
Also present at Phillip Island will be Yamaha Motor Italia's 2007 title runner-up
Noriyuki Haga and team-mate
Troy Corser. Had it not been for a couple of falls at the previous Qatar test, Corser would possibly have been fastest of all, such was his prowess on the first and second days. Corser, a two-time world champion, lists Phillip Island as not just his own favourite circuit on the calendar, but the best development track in the world.
In the Kawasaki camp, Phillip Island will allow
Regis Laconi and new-signing
Makoto Tamada to get their first real impression of how well the all-new 2008 ZX-10R will perform against its rivals. So far they have only tested in an unofficial session in Spain, when both riders claimed to be impressed by the '08 racer.
