Preview - FG Sport

UNMISSABLE BRANDS NEXT IN LINE FOR WORLD SUPERBIKE - THRILLERS EXPECTED AT THE AMPHITHEATRE With the pitlane and main straight surrounded by gently rolling hills, Brands Hatch is arguably the greatest naturally formed Motorsports amphitheatre in the world. The fact that Brands is also the biggest event on the World Superbike calendar is subject of little argument, with the enthusiastic and knowledgeable local crowd helping to make Brands the highlight of the 12-round championship trail.

The magnificent 4.197km circuit, first used for cycle races in the 1920s, is stunning mix of undulations and variety of corners. From the up and down hairpin at Druids, to the high speed sections in the woodlands towards Hawthorn and Westfield, Brands offers a unique challenge to every level of rider, in this its 14th appearance on the SBK calendar. Such is the importance of this meeting that when an additional venue had to be found to complete the scheduled 2000 season, Brands got the nod, and therefore hosted two SBK events in the same season - one in August and the other in October.

CHAMPIONSHIP OPENS UP AS BRANDS APPROACHES Despite championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) having blasting his way to an impressive mid-season lead after the sixth round at Misano (including an eight-race unbeaten record only one short of the all-time best) the fates have now skewed the plot - in favour of everyone outside the official Ducati Xerox pit garage. Bayliss still enjoys a more than useful 73-point lead, but compared to the previous run of events, the last two rounds have certainly shuffled the face cards in the SBK pack.

Seldom is the World Superbike series predictable for any length of time, and the surprise beneficiary at the most recent round at Brno proved to be the mercurial Japanese Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). Robbed of a chance of an early season win at Qatar, Kagayama hit the bull's-eye not once but twice at Brno, scoring his first SBK double ahead of a host of more fancied riders, including his own team-mate Troy Corser, the 2005 season race winner, who now sits fourth overall.

HAGA COMING ON SONG AT THE RIGHT TIME Of the riders still active in World Superbike, none can challenge the recent Brands Hatch record of Yamaha Motor Italia rider, Noriyuki Haga. Winner of the three of the last four SBK races at Brands (two on Ducatis in 2004 and one on a 2005 Yamaha) Haga was pole man at Brno, and still sits second in this year's championship fight overall. His team-mate Andrew Pitt has gone one better than Haga in race trim thus far, and despite sitting sixth overall, was a race winner at the second Misano leg, in late June. Two Brno retirements, from strong front-running spots, have merely fed his hunger for more wins and podiums, on what is a spectacularly resurgent Yamaha R1.

TOSELAND GOING FOR GOLD AT HOME James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) enters his home round with the knowledge that he has returned to podium-scoring form, and that his much-desired improvement in qualifying has already paid dividends in terms of recent points scores. The 2004 champion has proven already that he can win in 2006, and alongside the ever-improving Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) he will be a force to be reckoned with in front of a partisan home crowd.


BARROS DETERMINED AT ANOTHER NEW TRACK World Superbike may be a long-term dance partner with Brands, but for the hugely experienced ex-MotoGP rider, Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda), it is a step into the latest unknown during his rookie SBK season. Having never raced at Brands Hatch, he will possibly find it the steepest of all his learning curves this year, but after two disappointing races at Brno, plagued by technical problems, he and his determined team are sure to bounce back into podium contention. Another top rider without a win so far, Barros is certain to show why he is such a highly rated player in SBK, irrespective of the obstacles he may have to overcome on the way.

FABBY FABRIZIO THE LASTEST DISCOVERY IN SBK™ Having amassed experience in many forms of racing over the past three years, 2003 European Superstock Champion Michel Fabrizio (DFX Honda) scored not just his first but a pair of podium finishes at Brno, setting himself up for two more strong showings at the rigorously-challenging Brands Hatch circuit. His first two podiums since his move up from World Supersport were audacious in the extreme, proof that being partnered with the vastly experienced Pierfrancesco Chili (DFX Honda) is now paying dividends for Fabrizio and his entire Honda team.

LANZI LOOKING TO GET BACK INTO CONTENTION After a breathtaking debut SBK season, Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) has had to summon up every splinter of self-belief in 2006, and has occasionally approached the heights of his two wins in 2005. His pair of third places at Valencia were notable highlights, and Brands offers him two more chances to display his unquestioned abilities on the factory 999F06 Ducati.

NIETO AND WALKER LEAD KAWASAKI PSG-1 PUSH Only two points separate the PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse pairing of Fonsi Nieto and Chris Walker (in 10th and 11th places respectively) as Brands approaches, with third team-member Regis Laconi (16th) having suffered greater misfortune in races, despite his obvious speed. Some brilliant qualifying and early race performances from each rider have yet to be turned into podium consistency, but at Brands, where Walker scored fourth place in race two last season, anything could be possible for the PSG-1 triumvirate. Kawasaki Bertocchi rider Josh Brookes is approaching Brands with the intention of scoring his first points since his move to Superbike from what was scheduled to be a rookie season in World Supersport.

LAST BRITISH HURRAH FOR ANGLO-MALAYSIAN FP-1 The unique three-cylinder Malaysian Petronas FP-1, run from a British base by the Foggy Petronas Racing Team, will bow out from British track action in front of the same Brands Hatch banking that witnessed its first public track outing in 2002. Riders Steve Martin and SBK rookie Craig Jones will be out to make the race a memorable one for both team and fans, despite the machine's 100cc disadvantage to all other competing machinery.

MIDFIELD BOLSTERED BY KURTIS ROBERTS The list of strong talent in the midfield of any SBK race this season is impressive to behold, but the likes of Ruben Xaus (Berik Sterilgarda Ducati, Roberto Rolfo (Ducati SC Caracchi), Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) et al will be strengthened by former AMA Supersport Champion and MotoGP rider Kurtis Roberts, who has joined the Pedercini Ducati squad to replace the outgoing Max Neukirchner.

TOMMY HILL BACK FOR MORE SBK GLORY
Regular British Championship runner Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha) proved that the wildcard concept is far from over in World Superbike when he scored a remarkable pole position during the first British SBK round of 2006, at Silverstone. Out to repeat that feat and then build on it at Brands, Hill is back in SBK action once more, ready to make the regulars take note.

SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP After a series of dramatic changes in fortune, and the re-emergence of some early season talents, the World Supersport championship is once more completely wide open as Brands Hatch approaches. 2005 Champion Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) could only finish 11th at Brno in the most recent round, having also missed the previous Misano outing after suffering pelvic and collarbone injuries in testing. Despite his misfortune he still leads the championship, thanks to his four previous race wins and a third at Monza, but he now heads Brno race winner Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) by only ten points. A run of three successive podium finishes for Curtain's team-mate Broc Parkes has pushed him to a relatively comfortable third, ahead of top Honda privateer Robbin Harms (Stiggy Motorsports). In a good year for rookie riders, Misano race winner Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) is in fifth place overall, with another WSS race winner in his inaugural season in the category, Yoann Tiberio (Megabike Honda) sixth. After a difficult period of late, another full season newcomer, Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda) scored his second podium of the year at Brno.
The most recent formbook at Brands makes comforting reading for Charpentier, who won the race in 2005.

SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP Alessandro Polita (Celani Suzuki Italia) saw his previously impressive championship lead slashed to a mere two points after Brno, where his main rival Ayrton Badovini (Biassono Unionbike MV Agusta) scored his first win and Polita scored zero. With Luca Scassa (EVR Corse Ormeni Racing) second at Brno, and now only 24 points from the championship lead, the top three riders will have much more than the other 35 riders to consider when action starts this coming weekend.
Richard Cooper (MS Racing Honda) will be out to show his home crowd that his recent third place at Brno was no isolated incident, as he goes for another podium.

SUPERSTOCK 600 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Xavier Simeon (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) has shone brightest in the junior Superstock class this season, taking three wins and two seconds so far, with another five races to go. His main competitors in the points table are also the only other riders to have taken a race win so far, second placed rider Niccolo Canepa (Ducati Xerox) and Davide Giugliano (Lightspeed Kawasaki).

SBK™ MARKS DOUBLE TIME AFTER BRANDS
With Brands marking the two-thirds distance in the championship, the ninth round of 12 will take place at the newly remodelled Circuit van Drenthe in Assen, between 1 and 3 September. One weekend later EuroSpeedway Lausitz hosts the German round between 8 and 10 September.