Vallelunga 200 25th September 2005 Championship Introduction The FIM 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. Last year saw production based motorcycles from twelve manufacturers ridden by competitors from twenty different nations competing for overall honour. Suzuki Castrol have won three out of four races so far this season, building up an unassailable 45 point lead in the championship. However, the battle for second and third places rages on between Kawasaki Bolliger, Kawasaki Diablo and Yamaha Austria. Fifth placed Shell Endurance Academy are just one point ahead of their “senior” team mates Yamaha Phase One Endurance, and Suzuki No Limits & RT Racing Team are only one point behind Phase One. Vallelunga Race Weekend The Vallelunga 200 event has been ex-tended this year, with a packed programme of support events on track from Thursday 22nd onwards. SuperTwins, Open class, Stock, 600c and 125cc bikes will all be competing over the weekend. The main event will be the 200 mile World Endurance Championship race on Sunday, after which there will be a ceremony to mark the end of the season and the FIM World Championship prize giving. Race Curiosity The Vallelunga circuit has been redesigned and rebuilt for this years World Endurance Championship finale. The new circuit layout features a loop added to what was the back straight, bringing the length of the track up to 4.11km (2.56 miles), including the obligatory-for-bikes chicane after turn one. The circuit was inaugurated on Saturday the 27th of August, with over 500 riders sampling the new corners. The original Vallelunga circuit was first used 54 years ago, in 1951. The track was lengthened to a 1.746km “Club” circuit in 1958, and extended to the 3.228km “International” track in 1963. Moreno Codeluppi, team manager of No Limits & RT Racing Team: “The new uphill straight is splendid because you can give it full gas, and the new ‘Campagnano’ curve is well designed because you can take a fast line round the outside or the inside. The new motorcycle chicane really slows you down a lot and is very demanding, but overall it’s great fun and it’s a better lap with the longer circuit.” Warwick Nowland, Yamaha Phase One Endurance: “I’ve been fortunate enough to meet the circuit owners and they are very passionate motor racing enthusiasts. The owners have been continually improving the circuit and the latest changes are aimed at improving racing and their opportunity to stage more world championship events. I’m looking forward to the new changes when we arrive next week and as you can imagine, a race circuit situated just outside the city of Rome is a wonderful place to visit!” Mandy Kainz, team manager, Yamaha Austria: “Yamaha Austria racing team will only use one motorcycle at Vallelunga this year. Our reserve bike was so badly damaged after the crash at Oschersleben that it cannot realistically be repaired. Everyone in the team will be fully occupied with setting up the number three race bike, and with Giabbani, Jerman and Hinterreiter on board we have a good chance of winning.” Last Years Race Suzuki Castrol completely dominated the 2004 Vallelunga 200 round of the World Endurance Championship, winning the race by a comfortable 45 second margin and lapping the rest of the field up to third place. Vincent Phillipe started the race for Suzuki Castrol, and was able to quickly pull out a gap of more than half a second a lap on the chasing pack of 2004 World Endurance champions Yamaha GMT94, Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 and Yamaha Phase One. Each of these three teams held second place at some stage in the first hour, but none came close to catching Suzuki Castrol. The DRE Ducati held a place in the top four for much of the race, due to its ability to stay out on track for much longer on a single tank of fuel. However, with two compulsory pit stops having to be made the Ducati eventually slipped down to finish in sixth position. More, from a press release issued by Motorcycling Australia: Nowland and Cudlin desperate for a big finish After a 2005 FIM Endurance World Championship campaign which has rarely moved into top gear, Australians Warwick Nowland Damian Cudlin are desperate to finish on a high note at the revised Vallelunga circuit in Italy this weekend. The duo, who ride for the British-based Yamaha Phase One team on a YZF-R1, are well back in sixth spot on 37pts after four of five rounds, but can still finish as high as third in the final standings if they greet the chequered flag in the 200-mile (320km) event and some other teams falter. While the Aussies will be looking for redemption in Italy, one world endurance matter has already been resolved the French-entered Suzuki Castrol (Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Keiichi Kitagawa, GSX-R1000) holds an unassailable lead in the championship after winning three times in 2005, while the Kawasaki ZX-10R-riding Bolliger Team Switzerland (Marcel Kellenberger, David Morillon and Roman Stamm) is in a prime position to finish second. “Vallelunga will be another opportunity to halt the Castrol Suzuki charge,” said Nowland. “They may be on a high and aiming to wrap up the season with another win, but rest assured, Damian and I are also desperate to win.” With each team required to make two compulsory pit stops at the 4.11km Vallelunga layout, Nowland is hoping that Suzuki Castrol’s miserly GSX-R1000, which normally runs five or six laps more than the Aussie’s YZF-R1 on a comparable fuel load, will be brought back to the field a little. Moreover, 37-year-old Nowland is a past winner at Vallelunga, while Cudlin has two top 10 finishes to his credit during world endurance cameos in 2002-2003. “I think the new addition to the Vallelunga circuit will make racing better and it may just help us,” continued Nowland, who retired from last weekend’s non-championship but iconic – Bold d’Or 24-hour at the 19-hour mark. “Being a 200-mile race, it is possible to use a Superbike-specification engine. And, that’s what is sitting in our No. 3 Yamaha right now!” Last year’s Vallelunga race was won by Suzuki Castrol, continuing Suzuki’s domination of the race. Nowland won the inaugural hitout in 2002 on a GSX-R1000, the year he won his second world title, while another French Suzuki team won in 2003.