Preview - HRC

The most recent race in the World Supersport Championship, the rain disrupted Assen contest played its part in Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) losing his leading status for the first time in the 2006 season, but despite recent reversals in fortune the 2005 champion is still fully in the title fight with three rounds to go.

He is now seven points behind Kevin Curtain, winner of the Lausitz round in 2005, but back to virtual fill fitness, Charpentier fully expects to be at his very best for Lausitz.

Charpentier can count on great support from his team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) who scored an impressive debut win in challenging wet conditions at Assen. Sofuoglu’s 25-points from his Assen triumph pushed him to fifth in the championship and at a circuit he knows well, thanks to his early career in the German national racing scene and a recent test session, Lausitz may well be another happy hunting ground for the young Turk.

After a crash at Assen, Yoann Tiberio (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) slipped one place to seventh on the championship fight, on an unchanged 67 points. He set the pole record at Lausitz during his European Superstock 600 championship campaign last year, and is thus no stranger to the nuances of the tortuous circuit layout.

Katsuaki Fujiwara (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) got through the Assen weekend without any great problems to his injured hand, but will be out to improve on his finish outside the points, before pushing for more in the final two rounds in early October.

Charpentier is set to put the niggling problems of Assen behind him and now knows exactly what he has to do to retain his champion’s status.

“I just had a problem with the small muscle on my back at Assen,” said Charpentier, “but I can say that I am definitely ready for the last three rounds. I’m clear in my head, motivated and I’m in the championship to win it. I am only seven points down and the championship is not finished. Last weekend was not easy for anyone but I am OK; I feel no pressure because I have a very well sorted bike. I know everyone in the series and I know what we can all do. I am very motivated to win the championship.”

Sofuoglu, buoyed by his winning form at Assen, is relishing the prospect of a return to where he first came to global notice.

“I’m very happy to be going back to race at Lausitzring,” said Sofuoglu.
“We had a good test there just a short time ago and I made very good times on the Honda. I know the track very well because I raced in the German Supersport Championship there in 2003. I have great motivation from my Assen race win and I hope to make another good race weekend in Germany.”

For Tiberio, Lausitz holds no fears and indeed he marks it down as one of his better tracks.

"Assen was another bad race for me, but I feel good for Lausitz,” stated Tiberio. “In Assen the rain didn’t help me to get a better result but I hope for much more from the German round, because I like the track very much. The bike is good and we have a good starting set-up, so I’m not expecting it to be a difficult weekend for me."

After a tentative weekend in Holland, Fujiwara is looking for more from the Lausitz weekend, especially if the rain stays away.

"Last weekend it was important for me to get lots of laps in and gain more confidence with the bike,” quoted Fujiwara “I didn’t expect a big result, especially on Sunday morning when I saw the rain. In Lausitz I will be a lot more ready than I was for the Assen weekend. I just hope it stays sunny."

World Superbike Round 10 of 12

TOSELAND READY FOR THE FINAL PUSH

James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) approaches the Eurospeedway Lausitz race with only one goal in mind, clawing back as many points of Troy Bayliss’ championship lead as possible, so he can keep his hopes of overhauling him in the final two rounds alive, and thus put some distance between himself and those riders behind him in the championship fight.

Having promoted himself to overall second after an often-challenging pair of Assen races last week, he will be out to keep Noriyuki Haga at arm’s length in both Lausitz races, to protect his slender two-point advantage in the championship table while hunting the championship leader. Bayliss is currently on 332 points, with Toseland on 232 and Haga on 230.

Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR) is in the novel position of having actually tested at a 2006 season circuit before first practice begins on Friday, having attended a test at Lausitz earlier in the summer. As talented as they come, Barros is hoping that his usually strong pre-race form will be translated into results at Lausitz, after qualifying fifth in Superpole at Assen, yet having only a retirement and a seventh to show for his weekend’s work. He is now sixth overall.

Michel Fabrizio (DFX Honda CBR1000RR) has been showing the rest of the SBK rookies how to do it this year, having scored three podiums in the last six races, two at Brno and one in the wet at Assen last week. Currently just outside the top ten, he could realistically move up at least two places after the Lausitz weekend, with only six points separating him from Lorenzo Lanzi, in ninth.

Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) is once more attempting to marry his often fully competitive pre-race lap speeds to strong race results, as he goes for his first podium finish of his SBK career. 15th overall is his current championship placing.

Pierfrancesco Chili (DFX Honda CBR1000RR) has struggled in the last few races, and is thus just outside the top 20. His pride and determination to sign off the season on the highest possible note augur well for two penetrating rides in Germany, before he heads back to Imola for another home round in October.

With Bayliss 100 points ahead and only an absolute maximum of 150 points to be gathered by any one single rider before the season finishes, Toseland is realistic about the arithmetic involved in his ultimate championship challenge. But his irrepressible racer’s spirit means he’s always out to win in any case.

“The only positive thing I can say about the outcome of Assen is that I moved up to second position in the championship,” said Toseland. “The main thing to concentrate on at Lausitz will maybe have to be consolidation of my second place in the championship, because Troy is possibly just too far away to catch now. I will keep trying though, and I’ll never give up the chase until it’s over.”

Barros knows that he is at less of a disadvantage at Lausitz than he might be at many other SBK tracks he has never competed at before, simply because of an encouraging mid-season test session.

“The next race is at Lausitz,” said Barros, “and I hope it goes as well for me as it did the last time I was there. I hope I can be as competitive as I was at the tests earlier in the season.”

Fabrizio’s most fervent wish is for consistent weather conditions throughout the weekend as his podium excellence in race one at Assen was followed by a tenth place, partly because of gearbox issues but also machine set-up variables.

“To finish on the podium in the wet race one was fantastic for us at Assen,” said Fabrizio, “but in Lausitz I hope to find better conditions in order to practice and race without everything being dependant on the changing weather. Lausitz isn’t my favourite circuit but I hope to finish in the top five.”

Muggeridge acknowledges that his 2006 season has not worked out as he desired so far, but points to recent testing as a reason why Lausitz may help to turn things around.

“For whatever reason our races haven’t turned out as planned this year,” said Muggeridge, “but we have tested at Lausitz this year, which should help us out. For the three days of the test I spent most of my time working on the traction control aspects of the bike, so there may still be some work to do to find a real race setting. But I’m familiar with the place, so it should be OK."

After several consecutive weekends of unforeseen problems, which have held back his search for points, Chili is out for two solid finishes at Lausitz.

“Assen was an ugly day,” said Chili, “and one which I hope to forget quite quickly. In Lausitz we will feel the absence of traction control but the team will work hard to resolve this problem. I won’t be in Germany without a desire to race.”

The final two World Supersport and Superbike rounds will take place in early October, at Imola on October 1 and Magny-Cours on October 8.