TOSELAND (DUCATI XEROX TEAM) TAKES ASSEN FORM TO EUROSPEEDWAY – LANZI
STEPS IN FOR INJURED LACONI

Lausitz (Germany), Thursday 8 September: 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.

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after 9 of 12 rounds):

Riders
 1. Corser (Suzuki)   370
 2. Vermeulen (Honda) 284
 3. Laconi            214 (Ducati Xerox)
 4. Haga (Yamaha)     203
 5. Toseland          197 (Ducati Xerox)
 6. Kagayama (Suzuki) 187

Manufacturers
 1. Suzuki   379
 2. Honda    300
 3. Ducati   293
 4. Yamaha   244
 5. Kawasaki 145
 6. Petronas  25

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.