Just seven days on from a
splendid Assen World Superbike race weekend, the championship roars back
into action in the former East Germany, the venue for the tenth round being
the spectacular Eurospeedway tri-oval close to Dresden.
Reigning champion James Toseland showed a great turn of form on the
Dutch track with some extraordinarily aggressive racing and two podium
finishes that move him up one place in the championship standings to fifth.
His team-mate for this weekend will be the 23 year-old Italian Lorenzo
Lanzi, who steps off his Scuderia Caracchi Ducati 999RS and onto the Ducati
Xerox Team 999 F05 after Régis Laconi was declared unfit to race following
medical checks in France this week.
"I was really happy with the whole Assen weekend, unfortunately I didn
't win the races but I was consistently fast and it was nice to ride the
bike aggressively how I like to ride it and battle with the other guys"
declared James. "Two podiums and I moved up one place in the championship.
After a disappointing season like this one, if I can finish in the top 3 it
will have been a great second-half of the season effort and that's my main
aim.
"I've raced here before at the Lausitzring but it's nearly always
rained!" he continued. "The July testing, both in the dry and the wet, went
quite well and we also have a good wet setting if it does rain. I'm looking
forward to the race here, now I just have to do what I did at Assen!".
Lorenzo Lanzi sees his temporary promotion to the factory Ducati Xerox
Team as an opportunity to bring home another positive result in his debut
World Superbike season. After a difficult start, his performances on the
satellite team 999RS have taken an upturn in the last eight races, in which
he has never placed outside the top 10. His best result this year is fifth
in race 1 at Misano Adriatico.
"I am happy to return to the factory Ducati team after a year"
declared Lorenzo, "and for that I have to thank sponsor GA who have allowed
me to race in the colours of the Ducati Xerox Team and obviously Ducati
Corse for selecting me to replace the unfortunate Régis Laconi. They are
expecting me to do well and this is something that gives me great pleasure.
"In my opinion the Lausitzring is not really suitable for bikes"
continued Lanzi, "but I'm happy with the fact that I went well on the
circuit in the July tests, when I set third-quickest time, and I hope to
improve now I am on a factory bike. There shouldn't be that many differences
between the 999RS and the F05 because even the RS has enabled me to do some
good races. My results have improved over the last few rounds even though I
still have to learn how to do Superpole because at Assen I missed a great
opportunity to start further up the grid. However I need to learn, it's my
first year in World Superbike and this race will also help me to do that".
The Circuit:
World Superbike will mainly race on the tight and twisty
infield section of the Eurospeedway, but the circuit also uses two of the
tri-oval's straights in its overall length of 4.265 km. Built over an
open-cast coal mine, the circuit can hold up to 130,000 spectators in the
massive grandstands. This year's race will mark the third time the World
Superbike Championship has been to the Eurospeedway. The previous rounds
were held in 2001 and 2002 and the four races saw just two winners - Troy
Bayliss (three times for Ducati) and Colin Edwards (one for Honda). The pole
positions both times went to Ducati, Neil Hodgson in 2001 and Bayliss the
following year, while Ducati is the only manufacturer to have recorded a
fastest lap on the German track.
Statistics:
- Lap record: Xaus (Ducati) 1m39.679s (2002)
- Qualifying record: Corser (Aprilia) 1m40.212s (2001)
- Superpole: Bayliss (Ducati) 1m39.395s (2002)
- Race distance: 2 x 24 laps/102.360 km/h
