The Bogdanka PTR Honda duo of James Ellison and Pawel Szkopek get into gear on Wednesday for the team’s first ever on track outing - the three day official test at Portimao.

With the World Supersport Championship starting in Australia in just a month’s time, the Bogdanka PTR Honda riders are eager to get testing started with seven days planned in total before the lights go out at Phillip Island.

A three day, official test at Portimao in Portugal, where the 2011 season will conclude on the 16’th of October, will be followed by a two day visit at MotorLand Aragon, a Spanish venue making its debut in the series as round seven on the 19’th of June. After a return to the team’s workshop, the bikes will then be sent to Australia, where the final two day test will take place a week before the first round. Both riders will be on familiar ground at Portimao but will also be new to Aragon.

James:

“What we expect from the Portimao test is to find a good feeling with the bike, gel with the team and get used to my new crew chief. To leave Portimao up in the sharp end for sure would be perfect but the main aim is to get comfortable on the bike. The plan is to ride the Bogdanka PTR Honda as it is now on the first day and then start looking at making some small changes.”

Pawel:

“These two tests will be my first opportunity to get to know the bike and the team. I won’t be focusing on the lap times but on understanding the bike and finding a working relationship with the crew that will allow us to understand each other during the season. I need to find the right position on the bike, the right setup and balance so it will be a busy test for us and I hope that the weather won’t get in our way.”

Simon Buckmaster, Bogdanka PTR Team Manager:

“The first test will be for the team to gel together and work on the best base setup for both riders. We have done some work with James already while with Pawel we have a lot of experience with the CBR600RR and I am very confident we will get him up to speed quickly and we are all looking forward to the challenge. Of course we are always looking at where we are compared with the opposition but with three days in Portimao followed by two at Aragon and two more at Phillip Island before the race we will be in very good shape when the lights go out for round one.”

Michael Piasecki, Bogdanka Racing Director:

“We are very excited about the first test together with such a professional crew and I am really interested to see how Pawel will measure against James but we’ve got a lot of work to do and will be taking it one step at a time. The main thing is to get to know the bikes.”