2006 SBK CORONA EXTRA SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP® BRNO 7th ROUND 21, 22 and 23 JULY PREVIEW CLASH OF THE SUPERBIKE TITANS PROMISED AT BRNO BRNO HERALDS THE SECOND HALF OF THE SBK SEASON The seventh of 12 World Superbike events on the 2006 calendar takes place at Brno in the Czech Republic this coming weekend, with the promise of even closer racing than has been witnessed in the first half of this action-packed year. Brno is no stranger to World Superbike competition and offers one of the most majestic venues imaginable, being set in the pine forests above the Czech Republic’s second city. The ‘modern’ design of the current day Brno nonetheless offers the high speeds of the old road circuit which it replaced, and makes great use of the natural features which have virtually dictated its layout of six left and eight right hand corners. A challenge to the riders, a popular destination for the fans, Brno is a true modern classic, boasting a ‘family’ history few circuits can match. BAYLISS THE QUARRY FOR THE SBK PACK After an incident-packed Misano round in late June, in which several top contenders crashed out of contention for wins, Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) scored his first ever World Superbike victory, in race two. He joins an illustrious band of fellow SBK race winners, having previously scored the World Supersport Championship outright in 2001. In race one at Misano, this year’s most rapacious win-machine, Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) scored his eighth full-pointer in a row, to squeeze out a significant 94 point advantage over second place rider, Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia). A win is yet to be taken by Haga this year, but after a recent tyre test session at Lausitzring in Germany, Haga showed he is as fast as anyone in the championship when his machine’s set-up works to his advantage. TOSELAND SITS THIRD BUT AIMING FOR SECOND AT BRNO 2004 World Champion James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) is looking to Brno to make another push in his championship campaign. Having won the first race of the year, at Qatar, Toseland added his first pole win at Misano, before a slip in race two deprived him of a possible race win. At Brno, which should suit his Honda perfectly, he will be all out to leapfrog Haga for second, and dent the points differential to Bayliss. With a Ducati rider leading a Yamaha rider, and with a Honda rider third, Troy Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) makes it four manufacturers’ machines in the top four. The 1996 and 2005 season champion Corser had a double no score in Misano, and as such will no doubt unleash himself on the Brno circuit at full pace, from first practice to final flag. BARROS LOOKING FOR THE ELUSIVE FIRST WIN Despite some great difficulties getting off the line in race conditions in this his rookie SBK year, multiple MotoGP winner Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda) has put in some astoundingly polished and forceful rides. His first career SBK win has been tantalisingly close, but at Brno he will have a distinct advantage over his fellow SBK riders for the first time this season, such have been his frequent visits to the Czech circuit. In race two at Misano he finished only behind Pitt, and we can expect each of these class riders to shine under what is expected to be an intense Czech sun. LANZI AND XAUS WITH POINTS TO PROVE After some astonishingly impressive rides in his rookie season in 2005, Ducati Xerox rider Lorenzo Lanzi has had to settle for only two podium finishes this year, each at Valencia during round three. His form has been on the rise in recent events, and in the aforementioned Lausitz tests he was a true force once again. From a current factory Ducati rider to a former one, Ruben Xaus (Sterilgarda Berik Ducati) is burning to score his first podium this year, despite his relative lack of factory equipment. Having won nine previous SBK races, he is always one to watch. Arguably the top true privateer in the class currently, Xaus will find Brno the perfect canvas on which to impress his action-painting riding style. WALKER TOP KAWASAKI RIDER AT TURN OF THE SEASON Chris Walker and his team-mate Fonsi Nieto (both Kawasaki PSG-1 Corse) are separated by a mere three points, with Walker in ninth place and Nieto just inside the top ten. A superb fourth place at Misano is hoped to be conjured into a podium finish of some colour at Brno by Walker, with Nieto also looking for his first podium on the Kawasaki. Third rider in the PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse team, Regis Laconi, missed out on the recent Lausitz tests, and is currently 13th, with a best single race finish of sixth, in race one at Misano. Ahead of Laconi is a Japanese double act of Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France Ipone) and Corser’s Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra team-mate, Yukio Kagayama. The top 15 is completed by Toseland’s team-mate Karl Muggeridge and Italian rider Roberto Rolfo (Ducati SC Caracchi). WILD CARDS TO MAKE A SPLASH AT BRNO No fewer than six wild cards are set to take on the world at Brno, adding to an already bursting grid of almost 30 regulars. They will be aiming to make life hard for the midfield, swapping international experience for intimate circuit knowledge. SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Current championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) is still some 30 points ahead of his closest competitor, despite missing the previous Misano round through injury. His still-healing pelvis and injured collarbone prevented him from attending the recent Lausitz tests, but the world from his camp is that he will be at Brno. The Supersport season has already delivered two rookie race winners, with Monza victor Yoann Tiberio (Megabike Honda) now joined on a higher plateau of Supersport status by Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Italia), winner of the Misano race. Charpentier has won every other race so far, and sits on 116 points, after only five points scoring races. In Broc Parkes and Kevin Curtain (both Yamaha Motor Germany) Charpentier, and Charpentier’s mercurial team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu, Charpentier has contenders worthy of great respect, and each was in blistering form during the recent Supersport tests at Lausitz. Robbin Harms (Stiggy Motorsports Honda) has been a revelation this season, and currently sits fourth, while Javier Fores (SLM Racing Yamaha) has been another to write his name large as a future contender. SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP Alessandro Polita and the Celani Suzuki team have grown in stature since the opening victory at Valencia in April, to the point where Polita has only dropped five points from a possible 100. The only other rider to have dislodged Polita’s crown of perfection is class rookie Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) who scored a victory at Silverstone. Ayrton Badovini (Biassono Unionbike MV Agusta) and Luca Scassa (EVR Corse Ormeni racing MV Agusta) scored sit third and fourth in the championship thus far, but each is still looking for a breakthrough win for themselves and their machines. SUPERSTOCK 600 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Xavier Simeon (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki) has been the man on form in the smaller capacity Superstock class, but coming up on the outside is a closely following Davide Guigliano (Lightspeed Kawasaki Racing) who was the most recent winner in the class. He will have to work hard to overcome Simeon’s record of two wins and two seconds, but in this class Ducati is another real force to contend with, especially in the form of Ducati Xerox rider, Niccolo Canepa, winner of the Silverstone round. TWO WEEKS UNTIL THE BIGGIE COMES AROUND The second British-based World Superbike round of the season, and traditionally the biggest race of the year, takes place at Brands Hatch between 4 and 6 August 2006. More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Racing: After the successful tests at the Eurospeedway Lausitz, Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra has just time for a very short break before the Czech round of the championship in Brno this weekend. The team packed all their gear away on Monday evening and began the journey from the former East Germany and into the Czech Republic and will have just a day or so to prepare for Brno. Both reigning champion Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama were pleased with their Lausitz tests and felt that they had sorted out some of their recent problems. Brno is fast, flowing and, at 5.403 kilometres, one of the longest on the SBK circuit. It is a circuit much loved by riders and fans alike and last year Corser won the first race and took runner-up spot in the second. But it was not such a good day for Yukio, who could only take a pair of 11ths. Troy Corser: “I’m very happy with our tests in Lausitz and, although it is not the best track for testing things, we were able to work on some of the stuff that caused us a few problems recently. At the end of the tests I felt much happier with the clutch and I also think we made some steps forward with regards to the electronics. I never really pushed for any lap times, but we did about three simulated race distances and they went very well. I like racing at Brno – it is a proper racetrack – and had some good results there last year. I’m hoping to repeat that success this year and make up for Misano as the title race is far from over!” Yukio Kagayama: “I am happy after our test programme at Lausitz and we made some good results there. We worked on many ideas and I was particularly happy with a suspension setting we tried that made it more easy for me when I brake hard. Also, some clutch improvement and a little change to some of the electronics will be better for us I feel. Last year I did not have such a good weekend at Brno, so my goal for this year is to make a big improvement. I hope to begin that with a good grid place, two good starts and two good results – I need that and I want that!” 2005 results: Race 1: 1 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 2 Toseland (GB-Ducati), 3 Laconi (F-Ducati). 11 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). Race 2: 1 Haga (J-Yamaha), 2 Troy Corser (Aus-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 3 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda). 11 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra). More, from a press release issued by Winston Media Service: ONLY BRNO IN FOCUS FOR TOSELAND AND MUGGERIDGE The second part of the season begins at Brno in the Czech Republic, one of the most technical and spectacular circuits in the world. The Winston Ten Kate Honda Team arrives after three positive days of testing at the German Eurospeedway circuit in Lausitz, where James Toseland and Karl Muggeridge made their final preparations for the Czech round. Good progress was made in all areas, including the electronics package, with both riders convinced that they have at their disposal bikes ready to allow them to aim for the top positions on offer. It will be an important race, most of all for Toseland, determined to score as highly in the top three as possible in the overall championship battle, while his team-mate is also aiming high, ready to turn around a not so lucky first half of the season. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “The three days of testing in Germany have been really important. It wasn’t only an important test to keep us well practiced, but it has allowed us to develop the electronic parts on the bike a bit more. The step forward we made gives us positive thoughts for the second half of the season. I am also very satisfied because I have seen James and Karl very focused, most of all Karl who has helped us a lot working on the electronic parts. I am sure that both riders are ready for the weekend and they will be in top positions in both Brno races.” James Toseland Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider “At the Lausitzring I found the answers I was looking for and I was fast on both race and qualifying tyres. Physically I feel good, focused and well motivated for the coming weekend. With the bike that we are developing now I feel, day-by-day, any goal can be reached. In Brno there will be lots of riders who want to win: but none of them more than me.” Karl Muggeridge Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider “In Germany I wasn’t looking for a fast lap, what was most important for me was to develop the new electronic parts and I believe we have done a good job of that. In the previous days I was bitten by an insect which made me feel a bit sick for a few days. Now I have begun to feel much better and for the Brno race I will be at my best, ready to use the potential of our bike in the best way possible.” More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: ROUND 7 BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC RACE PREVIEW July 2006, Brno (Czech Rep.) In the run-up to the Brno round of the championship there is an even bigger degree of tension and expectation in the air than normal. This week the SBK and SS development teams have been testing in Lausitz, Germany, so there’s been little time for them to rest, and soon the leathers will come out of the packing cases once more. Looking at the standings after Misano it seems clear that Toy Bayliss is the man to be stopped, despite a ‘mere’ 12th in race two at Misano. Having scored eight consecutive race wins before that, he is the man to beat and now enjoys a significant advantage over his competitors, with half the season gone but half the season remaining. But, with three other riders having taken race wins, and at least another half dozen looking like potential winners at some stage, Bayliss will not be taking anything for granted in the Czech Republic. It is impossible to forget last year’s Brno race: It was the scene of Haga’s rebirth, and the Japanese rider has just proved in the Lausitz test that he’s ready to fight yet again this year. He lies second overall at present, with Toseland, Corser and Barros close behind. Brno is also a well-known track for Alex Barros, who used to race there in GPs. To face the difficult task ahead in the Czech Republic Pirelli will have four different front tyres and three different rear tyres, plus qualifying tyres, for the WSBK class, while the SSP riders will have at their disposal three fronts and three rears. Adding the Diablo Corsa III for the European Superstock 600 class, and counting also the WSST1000 class’s Dragon Supercorsa fitments, the total number of tyres to be moved to Brno by Pirelli is more than 6,000. Over 180 riders are expected in the paddock, for what is one of the most eagerly anticipated races of the season. More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: World Supersport and Superbike Championships 2006 Round 7 Brno Czech Republic Brno Race Preview 21 23 June 2006 World Supersport Round 7 of 12 CHARPENTIER AND CO BACK IN ACTION AT POPULAR CZECH CIRCUIT The majestic sweeps and long corners of the Brno circuit in the Czech Republic form the backdrop for the start of the second half of the World Supersport season, with reigning champion Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) returning to action after recent pelvic and collarbone injuries. Despite missing the most recent round, at Misano in late June, and the recent Lausitzring tyre tests, Charpentier will be back in action at Brno, having opted to take the extra rehabilitation time rather than risk all for a pre-Brno test outing. Brno was the scene of the accident which kept him out of the previous race, but was also the scene of one of his most clear-cut race victories in 2005. Charpentier still enjoys a 30-point lead over his nearest rival, Kevin Curtain, and 42 over the next two riders, Broc Parkes and Stiggy Motorsports Honda rider, Robbin Harms. Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) enjoyed his recent Lausitzring test, setting competitive times, which he can use as a motivating factor as he approaches Brno. Once more injury precludes Katsuaki Fujiwara (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) from running, but he will again be replaced by the Misano marvel, Simone Sanna (Megabike Honda CBR600RR). The three-time 125cc GP winner scored second in both race and qualifying stakes at Misano, and knows the Brno circuit well. Yoann Tiberio (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) victor at Monza in round four, then faller at Misano last time out, is out to recover points and poise for the run into the final rounds of the championship over the coming months. Charpentier may not be fully fit after his heavy crash at Brno when tyre testing in mid-June, but he knows that every point gained is a step closer to his ultimate desire to become champion for the second time in succession. “I would have been happy to step back on the bike even in Germany but the French doctors advised me to take another week of rest before Brno race,” said the 2005 champion. “I feel quite good and I can’t wait to be back. I will understand my real physical condition only when I will make my first few laps on the track. I don’t think I will find any sort of mental problems because I got injured on this track during the test. I will only think about last year’s victory, and I am convinced that this will give me the right motivation.” Sofuoglu, currently ninth in the championship, wants to get himself back into the front line of the fight for podiums. “To switch off the button really helped me,” said Sofuoglu. “I am now back in top condition and I am really satisfied on how the Lausitzring test went. The main progress I made is in my head, I feel much more secure and the fact that I remained concentrated for the all tree days, without making any mistakes, is really important. From Brno I hope that a new championship will begin for me, to demonstrate to the Team, the sponsor and Honda that they didn’t make a mistake betting on me. I am really happy Sebastien is back and I hope he will earn a prestigious result.” Season rookie Tiberio has already tasted both the sweet taste of champagne and the bitterness of gravel, and despite his lack of Supersport experience, he knows Brno. “In Brno I ran a good race last year with the Superstock bike but I know that with the Supersport machine it will be more difficult,” said the candid Frenchman. “I’m not sure how practice will turn out but I hope my race rhythm will be good once again.” Sanna is grateful to Honda and his adopted Megabike squad for another outing in the biggest Supersport class of all, and has recent experience of what a CBR600RR can do around the sweeps and elevation changes at Brno. “I’m happy for this second chance,” said Sanna in the run-up to Brno. “I want to thank the Megabike Team and Honda for this opportunity and I will try to make my best. I know the Brno circuit and I ran here last year with the Intermot Honda Team. It’s a wonderful track and I have confidence to my team: my target is to have another good result. I know another podium will be difficult to achieve but I want to be competitive with the leading group.” World Superbike Round 7 of 12 HONDA SUPERBIKE RUNNERS OUT TO CONQUER AT BRNO After an up and down season so far James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) is out to hit the heights once again at Brno. Scoring second in race one at the most recent round in Misano, Toseland was in the position to challenge for the second race win before a small slip dropped him back to eighth. He nonetheless sits third in the championship overall, only three points from second place. His team-mate Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) is still looking for his first SBK podium, and was faster than Toseland in recent Brno tyre tests, in June. Lying 14th at present, Muggeridge is only 11 points from an overall top ten placing, and will be out to score every single point possible at Brno, to get himself back onto a more natural position for a rider of his quality. Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR) is a big fan of Brno, and after a highly effective Misano race weekend, where he finished fourth and second, he sits fifth overall only 14 points from second. It has been a very tough year for rookie rider Michel Fabrizio (DFX Honda CBR1000RR) and the most experienced SBK competitor of them all, Pierfrancesco Chili (DFX Honda CBR1000RR) with neither rider being helped by recent injury. In readiness for Brno Toseland takes heart from his recent race performances, his Superpole win at Misano, but most of all – his positive test at Lausitz. “At the Lausitzring I found the answers I was looking for and I was fast on both race and qualifying tyres,” said Toseland. “Physically I feel good, focused and well motivated for the coming weekend. With the bike that we are developing now I feel, day-by-day, any goal can be reached. In Brno there will be lots of riders who want to win: but none of them more than me.” Bringing his MotoGP experience to bear on World Superbike has already delivered four podium finishes to Barros so far. At Brno, one of his favourite circuits, he is expected to be a force from start to finish. “Brno’s turns are very wide and it is also very smooth,” said the Brazilian rider. “Basically, it is interesting and very technical, while things like traction control are not so important there. But you need an engine with a lot of power! Nearly all the riders have been testing at Brno earlier in the year and have a good set-up for the track. So I’m sure it will be a tough race.” Muggeridge has found good fortune a fleeting companion in 2006, despite his obvious talents. With a strong body of work behind him in Lausitz, Brno holds no fears for the popular Aussie rider. “In Germany I wasn’t looking for a fast lap, what was most important for me was to develop the new electronic parts and I believe we have done a good job of that.” said Muggeridge. “In the previous days I was bitten by an insect which made me feel a bit sick for a few days. Now I have begun to feel much better and for the Brno race I will be at my best, ready to use the potential of our bike in the best way possible.” After a heavy crash at the Donington GP, when standing in for the injured Toni Elias, Fabrizio has been recovering from a collarbone injury, but hopes it will not hold back his charge at a circuit he scored second at in the Supersport race last year. “My right collar-bone will not be at 100% but I hope that the ache will be bearable,” said Fabrizio. “I have thought frequently of the crash at Donington but it was just a mistake due to my inexperience. My first objective is the World Superbike Championship, and for my DFX team, I hope to make a very good race in Brno.” Chili’s pelvic injury is not much healed, with only his injured shoulder causing him any degree of concern before the run-in to one of his favourite events of the year. “The long break from Misano to now has been good for my recovery,” said Chili. “Brno is a very beautiful circuit for me because it is driving-school for us old riders! The bike has improved after the tests there so I hope in the good result for my team.” The next round is the biggest WSS and SBK event of the season, Brands Hatch, which takes place at the English circuit between 4 and 6 August.