Albacete 8 Horas Nocturnas Race Preview The second round of the FIM World Endurance Championship takes place this weekend at Albacete. The eight hour race starts on Saturday evening and runs through the sunset and into the night, finishing in the early hours of Sunday morning. The previous round of the championship was the Assen 500, in March. The partially wet race was won by French squad Suzuki Castrol, with Swiss team Kawasaki Bolliger second and their sister team, UK based Kawasaki Diablo 666, third. The result this time could be very different. Suzuki Castrol rider Vincent Philippe broke his leg while testing just over four weeks ago, and although he has been declared fit to ride his strength and stamina may well be affected. The Kawasaki ZX10Rs of Bolliger and Diablo both benefited from a good “wet” set-up at Assen, but the weather at Albacete is expected to be the opposite; dry, with track and air temperatures even at night significantly higher than those experienced in Holland. Fourth placed Assen finishers Yamaha Phase One Endurance have tested successfully in the UK since the Assen race, and are confident of a significantly improved performance. Fifth placed Yamaha Austria suffered from a series of minor problems during the Dutch race, but with Albacete lap-record holding Gwen Giabbani riding for them this year the Austrians will be aiming for nothing less than a win. No Hondas finished in the points at Assen, but with some strong wildcard entries at Albacete they can’t be discounted. Aprilia will be aiming for Italian glory, with both Motociclismo Test Team (star rider: Marcellino Lucchi) and Marcel Motorsport Box aiming to finish in front of MV Agusta Burger King Lust and Ducati Team Spring. The weekend will also be the centre of media attention, with live broadcasts on both television (La Mancha en Vivio) and radio (Los 40 Principales) during the race and throughout the weekend.