Oschersleben 24 Hours 13/14 August Championship Introduction The FIM World Endurance Championship is a unique and gruelling test of motorcycle and rider power and endurance – a worldwide phenomenon that’s a massive hit with race fans, riders and teams alike. The Championship is one of only three world road racing championships officially sanctioned by the FIM. World Endurance races are known for their spectacular starts, which see the riders sprint across the track to their waiting motorcycles. Race weekends are hugely popular festivals with music and all kinds of entertainment for spectators. Last year saw production based motorcycles from twelve manufacturers ridden by competitors from twenty different nations competing for overall honour. Suzuki Castrol, winners of the Assen 500 and Albacete 8 Horas races, extended their championship lead after finishing seventh at the Suzuka 8 Hours ten days ago. Yamaha Austria have moved up to second in the championship after Suzuka, and Yamaha Phase One Endurance up to third. Oschersleben Race Weekend The “24 Stunden von Oschersleben” race is the finale to German Speedweek, a festival of motorcycle racing which takes place at the circuit every year. The support races include track action for KTM Dukes, Aprilia RSV1000s, the ADAC Juniors, the European SuperMono single cylinder championship, the Yamaha Cup and classic solos and sidecars. Off-track there’s the usual mix of stunt shows and live music, as well as the chance to meet the teams and riders during the pit walks or in the paddock. 24 Hours of Racing Twenty four hours of non-stop racing is a real challenge, and one that brings a full entry to Oschersleben every year. Joining the permanent teams on the grid are many strong and experienced teams from around the world who will be content with just completing the race. Germany is particularly well represented, with some real endurance experts coming out of the woodwork for this race. A number of manufacturers will also be making one-off appearances at Oschersleben. Quite apart from the length of the race, Oschersleben presents a number of other challenges. The circuit is very demanding, with series of bends which fold back on themselves leaving riders little chance to rest and giving the bikes’ gearboxes and transmissions a hard time. The weather is also likely to make its presence felt, with a possibility of thunderstorms over the weekend and temperatures expected to range from the high twenties for the start to the low teens as night falls. For the riders and pit crew staying cool during the day and warm at night will be a real issue, but it is unlikely to bother the many thousands of spectators who will gather to watch the race. With the many attractions running alongside the main event at Oschersleben from SuperMono racing to the Bikini Bike Wash race goers are guaranteed a great weekend. For the competitors the only focus will be the 24 hours of racing, and the points and glory that will come with a good result. Quotes Gwen Giabbani, Yamaha Austria: “The Oschersleben bikes were already being prepared in Europe while we were at Suzuka. It will be the main event of the championship so we are looking forward to it. The future is good.” Russell Benney, team manager, Yamaha Phase One Endurance: “Oschersleben is a great chance for us to springboard our way up to second in the championship. The testing we did there before Suzuka will mean that we will be on the pace straight away. This is the most important race in the championship for us.” Race Curiosity Eleven manufacturers are represented in the Oschersleben 24 Hours entry list. The usual suspects from Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda, Aprilia, Ducati and MV Agusta are joined by one-off entries from BMW, KTM, Triumph and MZ. Three different models of BMW will compete a K1200R, a K1200S and an R1100S based KB35. Five MZ1000Ss have been entered by three teams; a single example of the model entered last year, finishing in a creditable 17th place overall. Last Year’s Race The Oschersleben 24 Hours was a pivotal race in last year’s season. Going into the race Suzuki Castrol held a comfortable lead in the championship standings; by the time it was over, Yamaha GMT94 had secured the World Endurance Championship title. The two teams fought for the lead from the off, but the race was over for Suzuki Castrol by the early hours of Sunday morning. Yamaha GMT94 went on to win the race by a comfortable margin, in front of second placed Yamaha Austria. Yamaha Phase One Endurance and Kawasaki Bolliger were among the many experienced teams who failed to finish the toughest race of the year. Championship Standings The current World Endurance Championship standings are shown below: Pos’n No. Team Nat. Bike Total 1 2 Suzuki-Castrol Team FRA Suzuki GSX-R1000 74 2 7 Yamaha Austria Racing Team AUT Yamaha YZF-R1 46 3 3 Yamaha Phase One Endurance GBR Yamaha YZF-R1 37 4 8 Bolliger Team Switzerland SUI Kawasaki ZX10R 36 5 7j Seven Stars Honda 7 JPN Honda CBR1000RRW 30 6 6 Shell Endurance Academy GBR Yamaha YZF-R1 28 7 666 Diablo 666 Bolliger GBR Kawasaki ZX10R 26 8 23 Folch Endurance 23 SPA Yamaha YZF-R1 24 9 11j Seven Stars Honda 11 JPN Honda CBR1000RRW 24 10 44 No Limits & RT Racing Team ITA Suzuki GSX-R1000 18 11 12j Yoshimura Suzuki Jomo Srixon JPN Suzuki GSX-R1000 13 12 112 Sapeurs Pompiers 18 FRA Suzuki GSX-R1000 12 13 57j Int Power Factory Roadway JPN Suzuki GSX-R1000 12 14 12 Team Fagersjo-el.se SWE Suzuki GSX-R1000 10 15 30 Akai Sanrinsha Racing Club JPN Honda CBR1000RR 10 16 4 Team X-One ITA Yamaha YZF-R1 8 17 68 Team Power Bike FRA Yamaha YZF-R1 8 18 21 Team RMT 21 GER Kawasaki ZX10R 7 19 51 Fabi Corse ITA Suzuki GSX-R1000 7 20 877j DRT Banana Hands JPN Yamaha YZF-R1 7 21 19 Team Suzuki Nederland NED Suzuki GSX-R1000 6 22 5 Bridgestone Bikers Profi GER Suzuki GSX-R1000 6 23 89j Team Twenty One Meister Evolve JPN Suzuki GSX-R1000 6 24 10 Ducati Spring Team ITA Ducati 999 5 25 9 Aprilia Motociclismo Test Team ITA Aprilia RSV1000R 4 26 88 Race Support Achterhoek NED Suzuki GSX-R1000 3 27 47 Bridgestone Bikers Profi II GER Suzuki GSX-R1000 2 28 11 Burger King Lust GER MV Agusta 1000 F4 2 29 27j Team Surf Suzuki JPN Suzuki GSX-R1000 2 30 76 Suzuki Austria Team 76 AUT Suzuki GSX-R1000 1 31 20 Projecteam Honda GER Honda CBR1000RR 1 32 555j HMF Verity JPN Suzuki GSX-R1000 1 8th August 2005