Ducati preview German WSBK
World Superbike takes up again after the summer break with the eleventh round of 13 at the ultra-modern and impressive Eurospeedway circuit in the eastern part of Germany
World Superbike takes up again after the summer break with the eleventh round of 13 at the ultra-modern and impressive Eurospeedway circuit in the eastern part of Germany. Following the previous round at Brands Hatch, Troy Bayliss’s hopes of winning a third WSBK title are all but over as current leader James Toseland (Honda) now has a 97 point advantage over the Australian with just three rounds remaining.
Both third and second place are within striking distance however and Troy will be aiming to get ahead of Max Biaggi (Suzuki) and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) before the season’s end.
Troy Bayliss, 4th in championship (258 points)
This year’s event will be the fourth time the 38-year-old Australian has competed at Lausitz. He won three of the four races there in 2001 and 2002 but failed to take the top spot in his title-winning season in 2006. "I’ve always done OK at Lausitz, I enjoy riding there and I’ve had some good races, even though last year was not good. I crashed out on lap 5 of race 1 while leading, recovering from 23rd to finish seventh, and then finished third in race 2" he remembers.
"Ducati don’t really have any advantage at Lausitz, it’s one of the harder circuits for us. Even though I’ve won races there, we do tend to struggle a bit, probably because of the short, smaller corners. Lausitz could go either way, good or bad, but the weather being cooler than Brands could work in our favour now that the summer is over. Brands Hatch was a big disappointment for us and the title is out of reach now so I’m just going to try and win races and finish runner-up in the championship".
Lorenzo Lanzi, 7th in championship (161 points)
Lanzi remembers the Eurospeedway well as he shocked the WSBK regulars with a sensational win in his first race for the factory Ducati Xerox team in 2005. Last year things went less well, with an eighth and a sixth place. "I have really good memories of Lausitzring but you can’t live on what you did in the past. Last year didn’t go very well for me, so hopefully I can get off to a good start in first practice tomorrow. Despite my win here in 2005, I don’t really like this track very much and it becomes very tricky when it rains, but the cooler temperatures at this time of the year should help us a bit. In the first part of the track it’s difficult to overtake, but there are two passing points that really make the difference. In the championship I’m fighting with Ruben for sixth place. It’s tough because Ruben has a similar bike to ours so it’s obvious that he’s up there fighting at the front, but I aim to finish as high up as possible in the championship."
Championship Points (after 10 of 13 rounds): Riders –
1. Toseland (Honda) 355;
2. Haga (Yamaha) 289;
3. Biaggi (Suzuki) 286;
4. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 258;
5. Corser (Yamaha) 227;
6. Xaus (Ducati) 163;
7. Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 161;
Manufacturers –
1. Honda 369;
2. Yamaha 343;
3. Ducati 325;
4. Suzuki 305;
5. Kawasaki 130;
6. MV Agusta 1.
The Circuit : Eurospeedway Lausitz Length: 4.265 km
Race distance: 2 x 24 laps / 102.360 km
Statistics : Best lap: Bayliss (Ducati) 1m37.623s (2006).
Lap record: Bayliss (Ducati) 1m38.635s (2006).
Superpole: Bayliss (Ducati) 1m37.923s (2006).
2006 Results :
Race 1: 1. Kagayama (Suzuki); 2. Haga (Yamaha); 3. Corser (Suzuki).
Race 2: 1. Toseland (Honda); 2. Haga; 3. Bayliss (Ducati Xerox).
