8 Hours of Oschersleben Endurance heads for Germany on 17 August The 8 Hours of Oschersleben, third round of the FIM Endurance World Championship, may put some daylight between the contenders for the 2013 world title. After their fourth place in the Suzuka 8 Hours at the end of June, the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team will be arriving in Germany top of the leader board by a short head. The French Suzuki, winner of the 2012 FIM Endurance World Championship, is just three points ahead of the Monster Energy Yamaha YART. The Austrian factory Yamaha team is also neck and neck with the Yamaha France GMT 94 Michelin Yamalube. The 8 Hours of Oschersleben will be held on 17 August and is already shaping up to be a pivotal round ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (France), the final round scheduled on 21 and 22 September. In Germany in mid-August, the BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent will be all out to score big points after dropping out at the Bol d’Or and Suzuka. Among the factory teams, the Honda TT Legends will also be trying to score its first points of the season after a DNF at the Bol d’Or and a disappointing result at Suzuka because of a gearbox problem. Also in the mix are the Bolliger Team Switzerland (Kawasaki), a fan of the German circuit, and Team R2CL (Suzuki). These two private teams are capable of staying with the leading pack at Oschersleben. In Superstock, the race looks like being no less intense, as Junior Team LMS Suzuki, winner of the Bol d’Or, has decided to go to Germany to defend its hopes in the FIM World Cup in competition with Penz13.com Franks Autowelt Racing Team, a German team on a BMW and FIM Superstock World Cup winner in 2012. In this category, there will be a number of teams from the Suzuki camp aiming for a podium, namely Team Motors Events April Moto, winner at Oschersleben last year, Starteam PAM Racing, AM Moto Racing Compétition and Atomic MotoSport, alongside DG Sport Herock on Yamaha and two promising Kawasakis, 3D Endurance Moto Center and Team Louit Moto 33. The first free practice will start on Thursday 15 August at Oschersleben, a 3,667 m track close to Magdeburg in Gemany.