8 Horas Nocturnas of Albacete Rendez-vous in Spain, Saturday 21 May The “8 Horas Nocturnas of Albacete”, second round of the 2011 Qtel FIM Endurance World Championship, will take place on Saturday 21 May in Spain on the circuit of Albacete located about 300 km southeast of Madrid and 170 km west of Valencia. After its Bol d’Or victory in Magny-Cours, mid-April, the current World Champion Suzuki Endurance Racing Team is obviously getting there as the favourite. However, the path to the highest podium spot won’t be an easy one, as the BMW Motorrad France 99, third at the Bol d’Or, is stronger than ever and the two official Yamaha teams will have a thirst for revenge as the Monster Yamaha YART had to retire after their engine broke down at the Bol d’Or, and the team Yamaha Racing France GMT 94 Ipone was very much delayed after a crash in that first race. The private but yet highly experienced Bolliger Team Switzerland, fourth at the Bol d’Or and second at the 8 Hours of Albacete in 2010 is still able to give the official bikes a run for their money. Let’s not also forget the very new Honda TT Legends team who made a noticeable entrance at the Bol d’Or. Another challenger to look out for is the Spanish Yamaha team from YMES Folch Endurance who often does very well when playing at home. In the Superstock class, the competition will also be very keen. The Team Motor Events Bodyguard AMT (Suzuki) took the best place at the Bol d’Or but a handful of teams can dispute the class victory in Albacete. Atomic MotoSport (Suzuki) and Van Zon Boenig Motorsportschool Penz13 RT (BMW) finished on the Superstock podium in Magny-Cours. We’ll also have to count with AM Moto Racing Competition (Suzuki), eliminated from the Bol d’Or after a crash, the Qatar Endurance Racing Team (Suzuki), the Team DG Sport (Yamaha) and the Spanish team BMW MAS. The first free practices will take place on the Albacete racetrack on Friday 20 May, in the morning. The first qualifying session is scheduled from 2pm, and the second on the Saturday morning. The start of these “8 Horas Nocturnas of Albacete” will be given on Saturday at 6pm for an arrival scheduled at 2am the following day.