World SuperSport 2001 - Round 6 - Lausitzring - Preview
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A runaway victory in the last round of the World Supersport championship at Donington Park has left Paolo Casoli with a 26-point cushion at the head of the unpredictable series which takes in round six at the Lausitzring. Behind Casoli are five riders separated by just four points in the chase for the Italian's leader-board top spot. Joint third is BKM Honda's Kevin Curtain and the Australian will be looking to use a new circuit to his advantage. "We have a good team which is capable of finding the right setting for the new track with the CBR600F Sport and I'm optimistic about my chances of adding to the win I had in round two," says Curtain. Ten Kate Honda team rider Pere Riba is sixth in the standings and looking for his second win of the year after taking a comfortable victory in the opening Spanish round. Riba reckons: "I feel like we've struggled through the last couple of rounds and, if I'm to win this championship, now is the time to start winning again. We're heading into the second half of the championship and the next two rounds, in Germany and San Marino, are crucial." Team Suzuki Alstare riders Karl Muggeridge and Katsuaki Fujiwara go into the second half of the season confident of continuing their recent run of good form. Both riders are now feeling at home on their new for 2001 GSX-R600 race machinery and feel that they will be able to attack part two of the season with extra confidence. Karl Muggeridge - "Lausitzring will be new territory for all of us, so it's good that we all have a special extra day's practice on Wednesday before the race weekend. Nobody has been there before, so we don't really know what to expect until we start. It looks very modern and maybe more for cars then bikes, but we'll have to see how it is. The place is huge, so we'll need a load of spectators to get a good atmosphere. After a third and a second in the last two rounds, I guess the only way I can improve is by winning! First I have to make sure I qualify well, so I don't have to do all the work in the race." Katsuaki Fujiwara - "I'm happy to go to a new track, because it means that nobody will have any advantage over me - we all begin the same. I'm very happy riding the GSX-R600 Suzuki and am enjoying my racing. The only thing that is missing at the moment for me is some good luck. I should've been on pole already and also won a race. I feel that it is so close, I can almost touch it. It's a little frustrating because I know I can do it. Maybe a new track is the place where I can get some new luck. I'll try." Castrol Honda's Chris Vermeulen is hoping Sunday's sixth round of the World Supersport championship at the Lausitzring circuit in Germany will herald a change in fortunes for the determined youngster. Vermeulen, 18, has suffered a
catalogue of trouble in the opening rounds but remains optimistic about his
chances as the 11-round championship moves into its second half at the
spectacular $300 million venue. He adds: "This is a spectacular circuit and brand new so it's a novelty racing here but the track is good and I'm sure I can get the CBR600 machine dialed in and, fingers crossed, finally get the sort of result we've been looking for all season." Shannon Johnson
races for 'Team Moto 1' in the SuperSport Championship after defecting from the
Ten Kate SuperStock outfit where things had not turned out to be as green as the
young Australian had first thought. He runs with a little help from the
BKM Team which runs Kevin Curtain. Shannon believed he had some new parts
coming for this race which should let him get a little more on the pace. |
