From a press release issued by FGSport Group:

A1-Ring 6 Hour

Spielberg Spectacular for Suzuki?

The World Endurance Championship travels to Austria next week, for the fifth round of the eight race series.

The A1-Ring 6 Hour race will be held at the spectacular Spielberg A1-Ring circuit last visited by the championship in 1987. The track has been extensively re-worked since then, and is up to Formula 1 standards.

Split Six-Hour

The six hour race will be run in a split format, with three hour stages held on both Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th of July. The starting grid for Saturday’s race will be based on qualifying times as usual.

Sunday’s grid will be based on the finishing order of Saturday’s race, with the overall result decided on the aggregate time of both races.

Championship Challenge

Suzuki Zongshen No.1 are currently leading the championship by 25 points, and riders Warwick Nowland and Stephane Mertens will be hoping to consolidate this lead. Second placed Suzuki GB Phase One will field a strong line-up; Olivier Four, James Ellison and Jason Pridmore will settle for nothing less than a win.

Local Heroes

The A1-Ring 6 Hour race is the home event for the Yamaha Austria team, and they will be hoping that local knowledge will give their Superbike specification Yamaha R1 an extra edge over the leading Suzukis.

Team manager Mandy Kainz says “We want to be on the podium again. At the A1-Ring, attack is the best defence.”

Italian Interest

Ducati DRE will return to the championship, with ultra-experienced rider Mike Edwards joining Dario Marchetti and Marc Garcia; the A1-Ring circuit should suit the Ducati well. Also making a welcome return for the Austrian race is the X-One Mondial Piega, building on good results earlier in the season.

Austria shares borders with Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic; all countries represented in the championship. With strong support expected from all sides, the A1-Ring race looks set to be a classic.