Superbike World Championship preview - round 10: EuroSpeedway Lausitz

7/9/2005

Race date: 11 September 2005
Track length: 4265m
Year opened: 2000
2004 winner: N/A
Lap record: 1'39.679 Ruben Xaus (Ducati)
Fastest lap ever: 1'39.395 Troy Bayliss (Ducati)

The Superbike World Championship returns to the EuroSpeedway Lausitz after an
absence of two years this weekend.

Situated in the former East Germany, EuroSpeedway was opened in 2000 and has
twice played host to the series, in 2001 and 2002. The venue comprises of a
high-speed oval circuit with an inner road course which is used for the
superbikes. The circuit itself consists of several slow speed corners linked by
long straights. Previous experiences of the circuit suggest that qualifying will
be important as overtaking is difficult due to the layout and 'single-line'
nature of the track.

For the Yamaha Motor Italia team, the visit to Germany is a chance to build on
their recent good form. Having spent the opening half of the series developing
their machines, the YZF-R1 has been ever present on the podium in the last three
rounds, a trend they hope to continue in the final quarter of the year.

Noriyuki Haga moved up to fourth in the championship with a pair of podium
finishes in Assen last weekend and, with two wins and three other podiums in his
last five starts, the Japanese ace is the form man of the moment. With three
rounds and six races remaining, Haga can realistically target third in the
championship in this, the YZF-R1's development year in the championship. He
said: "Assen was a difficult race. We never found a really good suspension
setting and the weather was very hot. We had two very big battles with Chris
(Vermeulen) and James (Toseland) and I think it was a good show for the fans. I
have one experience of Lausitz, from 2002, but we have never been there with the
Yamaha, so it is only in first practice that we can see our performance here."

Team-mate Andrew Pitt gave one of his best performances of the year in Assen
with two fine fifth places. The Australian too, is looking to climb from his
ninth place in the championship at Lausitz, but more importantly he wants to
climb onto the podium. He said: "Lausitz is a great, modern facility and an ok
track, nice for testing and riding around by yourself on - but a difficult track
to race on because it's so tough to overtake on. Qualifying and a good start
will be important here and I'm looking forward to it. I was pleased with how
things went in Assen - a little disappointed not to make the podium but happy
that we were able to be consistently up there and battling for the podium. Now I
really want to get up there on the rostrum in the last six races."

Supersport World Championship - Yamaha Germany on home turf

Lausitzring is the second home race of the year for Yamaha Motor Germany riders
Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes (the other being the riders' home race at Phillip
Island). With the championship decided in favour of Honda rider Sebastien
Charpentier in Assen, the battle is on for second - with Curtain just five
points behind current second placed man Katsuaki Fujiwara (Honda). Ironically,
in the two races held at the EuroSpeedway, Curtain won the first (in 2001) with
Fujiwara taking the honours one year later. Expect this to be one of the battles
of the day on Sunday.

New YZF-R6 unveiled

With the first official photographs of the 2006 YZF-R6 already released, the
Yamaha Motor Germany squad could be forgiven for having one eye on next season.
The new machine has been designed with the objective of winning the Supersport
World Championship, a prospect that puts a smile on Curtain's face. "I've seen
the bike, touched it, sat on it, kicked the tyres, polished the paint - the only
thing I haven't done is ridden it yet! It really is an awesome looking thing and
I really hope to continue with Yamaha Germany and ride the R6 next year."

FIM Superstock 1000 Cup - Yamaha back to the top three

Assen proved a strange race for the superstock 1000 boys. A last lap crash for
Craig Coxhell (Suzuki) split the pack and cost Yamaha Motor Germany's Kenan
Sofuoglu the chance of victory at the Dutch circuit. The Turkish rider was
actually a winner in terms of the championship, as Coxhell's crash saw him slip
back from second to fourth, with Sofuoglu's championship lead extending to 24
points over fellow Yamaha rider Massimo Roccoli, with Yamaha Motor Germany's
Didier van Keymeulen occupying third place, just one more point behind. Lausitz
will be a new circuit for Roccoli, while the two Yamaha Motor Germany riders
have racing experience around their team's home circuit.

Yamaha's superstock riders will also be catered for in 2006, with the
announcement of the limited edition YZF-R1 SP, which features high-specification
suspension and lightweight wheels to benefit racers in this class.