World Supersport and Superbike Championships 2007 Round 11, Eurospeedway Lausitz German Round Race Preview 7-9 September 2007 World Supersport Round 11 of 13 SOFUOGLU BACK FOR MORE WITH CHAMPIONSHIP NOW WRAPPED UP In securing his first World Supersport title at the previous Brands Hatch round, Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) delivered a sixth consecutive Riders’ Championship to both Honda and his Dutch-based Ten Kate team, but with three races remaining in the championship, he still has unfinished business. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Honda has 226 points, some 56 more than the next closest competitor, and thus Sofuoglu and his Honda-riding peers will be out to keep the points margin of 50 or more, and thus win another prestigious title for Honda for the fifth consecutive season. Lausitz is something of a home-from-home for the Turkish rider, as his first career step after racing in his native country was in the German Supersport series. He also won the 2006 Lausitz WSS race when riding his first full season for his current Ten Kate Honda team. Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) is looking to the Lausitz race to allow him to get back to his very best in real racing situations, after a tough and sometimes injury-blighted season, punctuated by both occasional highs and extreme lows. His recent pole position at Brands Hatch demonstrated that he has never lost his legendary speed, but at Lausitz he hopes to make that speed last all race long, and take his first podium since winning his second title at the last race of the 2006 season. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR), like Sofuoglu, is a former Lausitz WSS race winner, albeit way back in 2002. Another rider with a tumultuous season behind him, he is nonetheless still third overall and enters the German race looking to start reeling in the 39 points he is adrift of the second place rider, Fabien Foret. Lorenzo Alfonsi (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) is just inside his target top ten in his first full Honda season in WSS racing, but knows that he needs to ride at his very best to secure an overall top ten position after the last race at Magny-Cours in early October. For Sofuoglu, winning the championship at Brands was the culmination of a lifetime’s ambition, but he fully intends to carry on as if he were still fighting for the crown. “I am obviously incredibly happy to have secured the title, but I still have a job to do for my team and I will be approaching the next races in the same way as I have approached every race this year,” stated the new Turkish national hero. “I am focused and my aim is, as always, to get on the podium – and hopefully get the race win. I like Lausitz and I did well there last year, so I know that this is a possibility. I will do all I can for my team and the development of the bike because I owe them a lot for all their hard work this year.” Charpentier, champion in 2005 and 2006, is determined to get strong points on the board, and is equally keen to get back into race action after a five-week break. “I am looking forward to getting back on track after the break,” said Charpentier. “It’s fair to say that this year has been difficult for me, but I am determined to finish the season on a high note if I can. Lausitz is not my best circuit – I was forced to retire from last year’s race so of course I am hoping to do better this year. The bike was feeling really good at Brands Hatch and I completed some good laps, so we will have to wait and see what happens.” Fujiwara has had an incredible run of misfortune this year, but some strong finishes when he has been in a position to make them have kept him in the top three overall. “Looking at the table so far I cannot believe I am still third, because of all the problems we have had,” said ‘Kats’. “At Lausitz we have to make the effort to get back into contention for second in the championship. I have to push for podium finishes, so I really need to work to make sure we qualify well.” Alfonsi is not a big fan of the otherwise superbly appointed Eurospeedway Lausitz’ track layout, but he is ready to race as hard there as at any other venue. “Lausitz is OK, not a fast place but I think the track is OK,” said the former European Superstock champion. “I have been there before but I can say it is not a favourite circuit, not one of the very best on the calendar for a rider. I like faster corners!” World Superbike Round 11 of 13 TOSELAND DETERMINED TO MAINTAIN THE MOMENTUM Despite a virtually washed out test session at Magny-Cours during the five-week break between the previous Brands Hatch round and the forthcoming Eurospeedway Lausitz event, James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) will be going all out to continue mining a fantastic seam of points scoring form. Toseland, the 2004 World Superbike Champion, has taken a total of eight race wins this season, three in the last four races. These points have contributed to an overall championship lead of 66 points over Noriyuki Haga, with six individual races still to run. Max Biaggi is now 69 points behind Toseland, with 2006 champion Troy Bayliss some 97 points adrift. Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) has a higher championship finish than his current eighth position in his sights, after a season of ups and downs. Still looking for his first podium finish in SBK racing solely because of ill-timed misfortune at Monza, Rolfo is understandably keen to score a top three before the season ends. Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) is more than ready for another podium push at Lausitz, after his Brno heroics earlier this year, when he finished third on his privateer machine. A recent fifth and fourth place at Brands underline his true abilities on a Superbike. Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) heads to Lausitz after a very successful test at Mugello, and with a new approach to his suspension set-up, feels that Lausitz could deliver much to him after a turbulent year in the Alto Evolution Honda squad. Muggeridge is joined at Lausitz, as he was at the Mugello test, by 20 year-old French rider Yoann Tiberio (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) a proven WSS race winner in 2006. Luca Morelli (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) returns to business after the long late summer break fully charged and ready to score more points in what is his rookie season in World Superbike racing. Toseland is fully aware that he has a lot of work still to do, but good memories of the 2006 event will be important in his approach to this weekend’s action. “We had a great result last year at Lausitz after winning a hard battle against Haga, so it’s a track we know we can do well at,” said Toseland. “If we can have a weekend similar to Brands Hatch then it will be difficult for the rivals to catch us in the championship. However, at this stage there is still all to play for and 66-points is not a big enough lead to enable us to relax. We still need to concentrate and hopefully we can do the job.” For Rolfo Lausitz means the chance to show his true colours once more, but just returning to the racetrack is a positive thing for him, especially after such a long break. “I can’t wait to get back to racing as we have had quite a break since Brands Hatch,” said Rolfo. “I am happy with the bike now and the feeling is very good. I feel like I have made good progress over the last few rounds and I am looking forward to Lausitz so I can try to get up to the front of the pack. The team is working really well together and I hope that I can bring home a good result for them this weekend.” Fabrizio’s fine podium finish in the Czech Republic and a strong ride at Brands Hatch are proof of what the CBR1000RR and the young Italian are capable of in tandem, and Fabrizio will be looking for more of the same at the tight German circuit. “Now my Honda CBR is very competitive and after the race in Brands Hatch the people have seen the real Michel Fabrizio,” said the Rome based rider. “I hope to continue in the same way in the future because for my career the races in Lausitz, Vallelunga and Magny Cours will be fundamentally important.” Muggeridge benefited greatly from his recent testing experiences, especially in one particular area of machine performance. “The test we did went quite well,” said Muggeridge in the build up to the Lausitz weekend. “We concentrated on the suspension mostly, and we made good progress with it. I’m quietly confident that it will help us at Lausitz. The track there is OK, it’s not the kind of place you can make or lose time so we have to qualify well and get good starts. We have very good brakes on our bike and that will help a lot there.” Morelli knows the challenge of Lausitz is going to be a great one, especially against riders who are more experienced than he. “The Lausitzring is an unknown circuit for me and it will be difficult,” said a realistic Morelli. “The World Superbike Championship is very complicated and I am not so experienced on a Superbike yet. My improvement is consistent, but is not yet sufficient for to compete with the leading riders. I hope to find a good set up in qualifying to help make it a good weekend for results.” Tiberio is looking forward to his first World Superbike experience, especially after enjoying a recent test session in Italy. “It was very exciting to ride the Superbike in the test, and that fact that it wheelies everywhere is a big change after my Supersport machine,” said the Monza WSS race winner for Honda in 2006. “I enjoyed the whole experience. I was impressed by the team and the set-up, so I hope for the best at Lausitz.” Back-to-back championship rounds in Vallelunga (30 September) and Magny-Cours (7 October) form the double-header denouement of the 2007 championship season, for both SBK and WSS classes.