Oschersleben 24 Hour 12th/13th August 2006 Championship Introduction The 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. Suzuki Castrol’s 44 point lead in the championship standings was cut to just 21 points after the last race at Suzuka, when second in the championship Yamaha Austria finished first in class and Suzuki Castrol suffered three minor crashes. Suzuki Fagersjo-el.se and Yamaha Phase One Endurance also scored well at Suzuka and with 70 points still up for grabs the championship is far from over. Race Schedule The Oschersleben race weekend starts on Thursday the 10th August, with a programme that runs from 10:30am to 10:45pm and sees the first timed qualifying sessions and night practice for the world endurance teams as well as support action for the KTM Dukes, SuperMonos, R6 Cup and sidecar racers. There’s more world endurance qualifying and support race action on Friday 11th, as well as the now legendary Buell Stunt Show, pit walk and pit lane party. The 24 Hour race starts at 3:00pm on Saturday 12th August, after more support races and track displays, and runs until 3:00pm on Sunday 13th. Exotic or Eccentric? The Oschersleben 24 Hour round of the FIM World Endurance championship has now become well know for the weird and wonderful wildcard entries that it attracts. At the time of writing there are two ‘KTM Dealer Team’ KTM Super Dukes on the provisional entry list, each one with at least one experienced endurance pilot on board. Being the German round of the championship it’s no surprise to find a BMW K1200S entered, and the Triumph Daytona 955i is an old favourite at the track, having raced every year since the event’s debut in 1999. 2006 will be the first time we’ve seen a Harley Davidson in the race, although Buells have made appearances in the past. Harley Davidson Bonn have entered a VRSC-RR, a machine sure to be popular with the spectators. Mandy Kainz, Yamaha Austria team manager: “Now we are twenty one points behind Suzuki Castrol, so the championship starts again from here. The next two races are 24 hours, and anything can happen. Suzuki had bad luck here [at Suzuka] and we had good luck, and now the championship is really close. To win one of the next races would be my dream. I’m quite happy with this result, but this is my dream.” Warwick Nowland, Yamaha Phase One Endurance: “Suzuki Castrol have everything to lose and we have everything to gain. They are fragile and Dominique Meliand won’t back down on pressuring his riders. “My team and I can’t worry about Suzuki Castrol and Yamaha Austria; we have to focus on one thing and that is winning the 24 Hour sprint race! I feel calmly confident because I know Damian and Christer will be very fast at Oschersleben. And, after our team did a fantastic job with pit stops in Japan, we have momentum. This is going to be one hell of race.” Uniquely to the World Endurance Championship, all three classes of bike – Superbike, SuperProduction and SuperStock – race for a single championship title. The points available at each race depend on the race duration; the winning team at Oschersleben will earn 35 points, for example.