From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI CORSE PRESS INFORMATION

HODGSON (DUCATI FILA) GOES FOR RECORD TEN WINS IN GERMANY

The 2003 World Superbike championship heads to the Oschersleben Motopark in the former East Germany near Magdeburg for round 5 this weekend, the first of three races in the space of four weeks which will surely put a definitive face on the championship. Moved from its regular September slot, the German round will be followed in a fortnight’s time by the Silverstone race in Britain and then round 7 one week later at Misano, Italy.

After taking Superbike wins #200 and #201 for Ducati at Monza, Neil Hodgson (Ducati Fila) leads the table with a maximum 200 points from 8 races and needs just one more triumph to equal last year’s record-breaking sequence of 9 wins in a row by eventual champion Colin Edwards (Honda).

“Even though I have had pole position for the last two years I didn’t like the Oschersleben track at first, it took me a bit to get used to it” explains Neil. “But last year I had two third places and rode really well so now I do! It’s a difficult track because it’s very twisty and follow-my-leader and one corner leads into the next. There are really only two places you can pass, into the first corner or the back straight so qualifying is important and the start more so. Laconi is sure to be a real threat this weekend because he was fast round here in 2001 and then there are the usual suspects, Chilli, Lavilla, the HM Plant guys and Ruben. I expect to have a tough race before every weekend and I don’t think this will be any different.”

Ducati Fila team-mate Ruben Xaus is the only current WSBK rider to have won at Oschersleben, back in 2001 when he opened up his account in race 2. He currently lies second in the table, 85 points behind Neil.

“What I wish most of all is to have a weekend without problems” declares Ruben. “We started the season well with a perfect weekend at Valencia, which is a track I don’t really like much, but since then we’ve had problems at every race. Although I usually like fast tracks, Oschersleben is one place I like a lot and my Ducati 999 should go well there, and if we have a clear weekend the rest will come. It’s not a track where you brake a lot, the corners carry a lot of speed and are very flowing. I just have to go out there and do my job, and if I do that then I know I can beat everyone and win the race.”



CIRCUIT: The flat and featureless Oschersleben circuit was opened in 1997 and is the third permanent racetrack in Germany behind Nurburgring and Hockenheim. It has hosted international car and bike racing events from nearly all categories and a round of the WSBK championship every year since 2000. The 3.667 km track has seven left and seven right corners, most of them tight, and a start-finish straight measuring 680 metres.

POINTS (after 4 of 12 rounds):
Riders
1. Hodgson 200
2. Xaus 115
3. Lavilla 111
4. Laconi 96
5. Toseland 91
6. Walker 68

Manufacturers
1. Ducati 200
2. Suzuki 111
3. Petronas 46
4. Kawasaki 37
5. Yamaha 26
6. Honda 21



STATISTICS:
Lap record: Edwards (Honda) 1:26.549 (2002)

Superpole: Hodgson (Ducati) 1:26.502 (2002)

Qualifying: Edwards (Honda) 1:26.609 (2002)

Race distance: 2 x 28 laps / 102.676 km.

2002 RESULTS:
Race 1
1. Edwards (Honda)
2. Bayliss (Ducati)
3. Hodgson (Ducati).

Race 2:
1. Edwards
2. Bayliss
3. Hodgson.


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

CBR600RR STAR VERMEULEN CHASING GERMAN BOOST

Honda¹s injured World Supersport championship leader Chris Vermeulen is hoping to repeat his victory in the last round at Monza, Italy two weeks ago in this Sunday¹s fifth round of the series at Oschersleben, Germany.

Vermeulen arrives in Germany still carrying the injury from a Friday morning practice crash at Monza ­ leaving the 20-year-old with damaged muscle and tendon in his right hand.

“The swelling¹s gone down and I’ve much more movement in the hand now so I’m hopeful that it won¹t pose a problem at Oschersleben,” reports CBR600RR ace Vermeulen. “I’m pretty confident that once Oschersleben is out of the way I should be just about back to full fitness for the rest of the season.”

Vermeulen holds a 29-point lead in the championship over Japan’s Katsuaki Fujiwara but the Australian youngster is also aware of the ambition of team-mate Karl Muggeridge in this weekend¹s tricky German event.

Muggeridge explains: “After taking pole position at Monza two weeks ago then retiring from the race I think I’ve a point to prove at Oschersleben.”

Muggeridge arrives in Germany after winning last week¹s Dutch Open race and finishing fourth in the World Endurance championship 200-miler at Assen ­ all on the same Ten Kate CBR600RR.

The “local” round for the Klaffi Honda team could hardly be better timed after rider Sebastien Charpentier popped up with a sensational sixth place at Monza and Austrian Robert Ulm continues to show promise aboard the immaculately prepared silver machines.

BKM Honda have re-built and re-grouped after a disappointing Monza round when a number of crashes for riders Christophe Cogan and Broc Parkes left them talking 12th and 15th place finishes respectively ­ disappointing by the Belgian team¹s own high standards.

And the Van Zon Honda team arrive at Oschersleben having taken a best finish of the year so far at Monza when Iain MacPherson grabbed third place on the last lap of a thrilling encounter.

“I’m hoping Monza has set me up for a bit of a run of good results,” says MacPherson. “I’ve had mixed fortunes at Oschersleben in the past but I do feel confident about the weekend.”

The Oschersleben action begins with a 45-minute free practice on Friday morning, followed by 45 minutes of qualifying on Friday afternoon. That schedule is repeated on Saturday and the race gets under way at 1.20pm on Sunday.

World Supersport championship points after three of 11 rounds:
1 Chris Vermeulen, Australia (Honda) 81
2 Katsuaki Fujiwara, Japan (Suzuki) 52
3 Jurgen Van den Goorbergh, Holland (Yamaha) 51
4 Christian Kellner, Germany (Yamaha) 46
5 Stephane Chambon, France (Suzuki) 42
6 Alessio Corradi, Italy (Yamaha) 37
7 Karl Muggeridge, Australia (Honda) 29
8 Pere Riba, Spain (Kawasaki) 27
9 Christophe Cogan, France (Honda) 25
10 Jorg Teuchert, Germany (Yamaha) 21
12 Broc Parkes, Australia (Honda) 19
14 Iain MacPherson, GB (Honda) 16
16 Werner Daemen, Belgium (Honda) 12
18 Robert Ulm, Austria (Honda) 11
19 Sebastien Charpentier, France (Honda) 10

Manufacturers points:
1 Honda 90
2 Yamaha 77
3 Suzuki 74
4 Kawasaki 31.

Oschersleben statistics:

Circuit length: 2.28 miles ­ 3.667km

Lap record: Christian Kellner (Yamaha) 1:30.591 (September 2002)

2002 pole position: Katsuaki Fujiwara (Suzuki) 1: 29.920

2002 winner: Paolo Casoli (Yamaha)


More, from a press release issued by HM Plant Ducati:

HM Plant Ducati gears up for Germany

Round five of the Superbike World Championship takes place this weekend at Oschersleben in east Germany. The 3.67km circuit is renowned as one of the safest on the WSB calendar, however that does not mean that there will be any shortage of thrilling action when the first of Sunday’s two races get under way at 12 noon, local time.

For James Toseland and Chris Walker, Friday’s first practice session cannot come quickly enough. The pair recently completed a successful test session at the Italian circuit of Misano. This proved useful in gathering data for Oschersleben as well as for races held at Misano by the tiny principality of San Marino. However, the HM Plant Ducati pairing is now eager to get back to the serious business of racing.

Toseland is hoping to leave Germany with a couple of good results that will help him in his pursuit of factory Ducati rider Ruben Xaus. Toseland’s former mentor and Xaus’ current team-mate in the Fila Ducati factory squad Neil Hodgson is currently the runaway leader of the championship, having won every race of the season so far. However, only 24 points lay between Toseland and second place in the overall standings and the 22-year-old Yorkshireman is determined to close that gap this weekend.

“A lot of people aren’t that keen on Oschersleben,” said Toseland. “But I really like the place. I enjoyed it last season and I’m riding a lot better this year, so I’ll be very disappointed if I don’t make it on to the rostrum at least once. The whole team has worked really hard and we’ve managed to close the gap on the factory boys since the start of the season, so if the HM Plant Ducati and Dunlop tyres work as well as they have been and I ride to the best of my abilities, I reckon we’re in for a really good round. It’s not easy to pass at Oschersleben, so I need to qualify well and get a good start. The bottom line is that I need to come away from here with consistent podium finishes if I want to break into the top three.”

Walker is also looking forward to racing again. The painful injuries that he sustained to both his feet at Sugo are almost healed and he is feeling a lot more confident about his chances at Oschersleben.

“I’d be lying if I said that I was 100 per cent fit,” admitted Walker. “But I am feeling pretty much back to normal. My feet were still causing me a lot of pain at Monza and it was impossible to ride as hard as I would’ve liked. I’ve had plenty of time to rest since then, my strength is much better and I’ve been able to start running again. Oschersleben isn’t my favourite track and I’ve never ridden it on the HM Plant Ducati. When I do, I might just change my opinion. We should have a good base-setting from our work at Misano and my plan is simple – to get straight on the pace tomorrow, qualify well and then back on the podium on Sunday.”


More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:


Foggy aims to get back on track in Germany

Carl Fogarty is looking for his Foggy PETRONAS Racing team to get back to basics during the
World Superbike championship’s fifth round action at the German circuit of Oschersleben this
weekend.

Following the difficulties posed by Monza’s demanding straights two weeks ago, this tight and
twisty circuit is expected to better suit the developing FP1. Situated 150km west of Berlin, the
succession of slow corners resemble the lay-out of the venue for the season’s opening round,
Valencia.

Carl said: “After Monza we need to be finishing consistently in the points again – we need to get
back on track a little bit. So we will be aiming for the top ten finishes that we were achieving
before Monza. This is a much more technical circuit and so our chassis should work well here.
We have also been working hard with our engine developers to achieve the reliability that we
will need in order to improve as the season progresses.”

Oschersleben is another new circuit for James Haydon and his team-mate, Troy Corser, has
only performed here on two occasions although, in 2001, his Superpole lap time of 1:27.442
placed him second on the grid behind current series leader Neil Hodgson.

Troy said: “This is more of a set-up track than an engine track. The set-up is crucial so we need
to use the whole sessions to maximum effect. The fact that the surface is pretty smooth makes
this easier. The similar corners also make it an easy circuit for getting into a rhythm. Tyres play
an important part here and Michelin do have a good tyre. But, as in the past, I think the races
will be fairly close.”

James is recovering from a heavy fall on the opening day of the Monza weekend, when he
broke a bone in his foot and suffered knee and shoulder ligament damage, for which he has
been undergoing intensive treatment at home in Andorra.

He said: “When you have the bike working well for you, going to a new track is not all that
difficult. But if you are struggling with set-up then it can be a bit difficult. I am probably only 80 per cent fit and this is quite a physically demanding circuit so I am going to start by treating this as a test session and try to build up some continuity.”

Circuit information: Oschersleben, Germany

Lap record: Neil Hodgson, 1:26.502 (Superpole, 2002)

Fastest lap (race): Colin Edwards, 1:26.549 (2002)

Pole position: Right

Circuit length: 3.667km

Corners: 7 left, 7 right

Corner radius: 70m maximum, 44m minimum

Maximum slope: 2.5% upwards

Race times: 1100 and 1430 hours, GMT.