2006 ENDURANCE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP New season starting for the Endurance World Championship Assen (Holland) Pirelli is approaching a new Endurance World Championship season, after the great result of last year both in the Championship and in the Master of Endurance. And the Master of Endurance represents the first news of this season, as now the thrilling 24H of LeMans and the Bol d’Or are part of the World Championship, for the Final result, instead of being apart like last years. A quick look to the entry list of this Championship shows immediately something interesting: the GMT94 Team with whom Pirelli has won the World Title and the Master of Endurance in the past seasons is again into the list, but not as Permanent Team as they won’t race all the rounds. After an endless job during the past seasons Pirelli can count on a product of outstanding performances, able to face all the different rounds and different conditions: sun and rain, day and night! More than this? As in SBK Pirelli is moving from the old concept of prototyping for racing, and this is one of the key factors that convinced many riders to choose Pirelli, so that there won’t be a “first class” and a “second class” tyres for them. This 2006 season is starting with half the grid fitting Pirelli, and there’s no better result for engineers and technicians than having riders’ trust. An interesting season for sure, with a demanding calendar (7 races with the popular 8h of Suzuka) for riders and technicians. Pirelli will bring an average 2000-2500 tyres for every race, in order to face its riders’ needs together with the wild cards’, that will be many. Last but not least, is quite interesting to notice that not everybody will use the 16.5″ tyres, but also some 17″ will be there fighting. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RACE CALENDAR: Assen 500km – 17 April (Netherlands) Le Mans 24 Hours – 22/23 April (France) Albacete 8 Hours – 20 May (Spain) Zolder 6 Hours – 18 June (Belgium) Suzuka 8 Hours – 30 July (Japan) Oschersleben 24 Hours – 12/13 August (Germany) Bol D’Or 24 Hours – 16/17 September (France) More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Racing: Team Suzuki Press Office April 14, 2006. Six-time World Endurance Champions Suzuki Castrol will start its title defence at the opening round of the 2006 series at Assen, Holland on Bank Holiday Monday. The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team – Keiichi Kitagawa, Mathieu Lagrive and Vincent Phillipe – spearhead a full field of 42 teams aboard their GSX-R1000 Suzuki for the first of seven championship rounds that will include one faraway race in Suzuka, Japan. The Le Mans, France-based squad take to the track on Saturday for a full day of free practice and qualifying on the new, redesigned circuit, before Monday’s four-hour race, which gets underway at 13.45 local time. The Assen 500km race will be the first international event to be held on the new 4.5 km circuit that features a modified northern loop at the end of the start-finish straight with the Haarbocht curve. The track now kinks right through Madjik, loops right again through Ossebroken and then rejoins the old circuit at Strubben. Event schedule: Saturday: 08.00: Free Practice. 11.00: Free Practice. 14.00: 1st Rider Qualifying. 14.30: 2nd Rider Qualifying. 15.00: 3rd Rider Qualifying. 17.20: 1st Rider 2nd Qualifying. 17.50: 2nd Rider 2nd Qualifying. 18.20: 3rd Rider 2nd Qualifying. Monday: 10.25: Warm-Up. 13.00: Start Procedure. 13.45: Start of Race (110 laps/ 501km).
Endurance World Championship Starts This Weekend At Assen
Endurance World Championship Starts This Weekend At Assen
© 2006, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
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