NEW CHAMPION CHARPENTIER LEADS IMPRESSIVE HONDA CHALLENGE Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR), crowned World Champion after finishing second in last weekend’s Assen World Supersport race, will soon be back in action at the German circuit of Lausitzring, close to the city of Dresden. The lavishly-equipped 4.265km circuit, complete with outsize grandstand seating areas, has hosted two World Supersport races in the recent past, each holding special significance for Honda riders past and present. Charpentier’s team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) scored the 2002 victory while on a Suzuki, and Kevin Curtain took his Honda CBR600FS to the win in 2001’s deluged Lausitz race. After securing his first race win of the season at Assen, 2002 World Champion for Honda, Fabien Foret (Team Italia Megabike Honda CBR600RR) has good and bad memories of Lausitz, having been disqualified from the race there in 2002, despite crossing the line first. He has, however, scored both pole positions and both fastest laps at the previous two Lausitzring races, while riding for Ten Kate Honda. The Team Italia Megabike Honda squad also features another rider with ambitions to finish closest to Charpentier this year, Michel Fabrizio (Team Italia Megabike Honda CBR600RR), who took his latest podium finish at Assen last weekend. WSS rookie Tatu Lauslehto (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) is looking to Lausitz for yet another strong points scoring ride, maintaining his record of having taken points in every single round so far. Charpentier has kept his feet on the ground since his elevation to champion status, but knows that his season is far from over. “I had a very relaxed evening on Sunday – a meal with some friends and then back to the track to celebrate a little more with my team; but it was all very calm,” said the coolest head on the Supersport grid. “I went home to France on Monday to spend some time by the pool and the feeling of winning the championship is getting better and better each day. It’s a very good feeling but I still have a job to do this weekend in Lausitz and the test we had there a few weeks ago tells me that we should be strong again this weekend. Although we have won the title, there are still three more races to win.” Fujiwara hopes to add to his winning tally in Germany, looking for win number three this season. “Even if I have lost the chance to win the championship now, I know that this race is still very important for me and my team,” said ‘Kats’ in the run up to Lausitz. “I need to keep my focus on trying to take race wins, so that I can secure second in the championship. It’s important for me and my team to make sure we finish the season first and second.” Foret did his ambition to finish second overall this year no harm at all with an outstandingly effective ride at Assen. Memories of his 2002 performance have also helped his confidence pre-race. “In 2002 at Lausitz I won a fantastic race and I hope to repeat the result this season,” said the 2002 World champ. “The bike now is very good and with the help of Showa we have taken it to a very high level. Until the last round of 2005 I want to target the podium places – and I now know that this is possible. After the race of Assen. I feel good and I’m happy for the team also, who have all worked so hard during the last few months.” Fabrizio is a new rider to Lausitz, but feels that its predominantly slow layout, with frequent corners, will suit his personal preferences. After a podium at Assen last weekend, he is only two points behind his team-mate Foret. “In Assen I had a problem with an injured foot, and without this problem, I could probably been in front at the end of the race,” said the young Roman rider. “I have never ridden at the Lausitzring before, but I know that this is a difficult track, with more slow corners than fast ones. I like this kind of circuit and I believe the result of this race will be particularly important. So I will start out looking for a win. With this bike all is possible and the help of my team, which has got better and better round-by-round, I can go far. My main target is to get second place in championship.” Lauslehto, who remains tenth overall in the championship race, will experience yet another new challenge in his short international career this coming weekend. “For me the Eurospeedway is new race track,” explained the 21-year-old Finn. “Many of my competitors like it very much. But I know also that they are afraid of it when it is wet. So we’ll wait and see what will happen. I definitely know that my Klaffi Honda CBR 600 RR is perfect now and I want achieve a top ten position in the race at Lausitzring.” Once more Lauslehto will have a temporary Klaffi Honda team-mate, this time around local rider Steve Mizera. World Superbike Round 10 of 12 HONDA MEN AIM HIGH AT RETURNING SUPERBIKE VENUE Chris Vermeulen (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) added a brace of race wins to his 2005 season total at the recent Assen World Superbike race, clawing back vital points to the championship leader, Troy Corser (Suzuki). His peerless display at Assen, and the positive experience of a recent Lausitzring test session put him firmly on course for more success this weekend. Two promising rides at Assen for Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) petered out due to fatigue from an injured hand and a lack of traction in the second race, but the 2005 season SBK rookie is determined to make the progression to a podium finish sooner rather than later. Assen was a meeting to forget for SBK legend Pierfrancesco Chili (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR) but his indomitable spirit will see him out to make amends at Lausitzring. Max Neukirchner (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR) has more reasons than most to look forward to Lausitz, as it his only chance to shine in front of a home audience in 2005. Recent injury and subsequent illness did not stop Ben Bostrom (Renegade Honda Koji CBR1000RR) from posting a top ten finish at Brands, and with more time to heal, he may even improve on his top 15 placing in the championship series, before the final two races in Italy and France. The recent wet and dry track experience of Laustiz will stand Vermeulen in good stead as he aims for a perfect finish to his 2005 season. “We had a two-day test at Lausitzring in July and, although it rained on the second day, the test was good,” he stated. “The bike was working pretty well but there are a lot of areas where we can try to make the bike better so we’ve got a few things to try this weekend. One thing about Lausitzring is that, if it rains, it’s like an ice rink; but I’ve heard the forecast for the weekend is supposed to be OK. I said before Assen that I saw no reason why we couldn’t go for eight wins from the remaining eight races. It went to plan last weekend but now there’s only three rounds left and I’ve still got more races to win, so that’s what we’ll be concentrating on this weekend.” For Chili Lausitz is by no means a favourite venue, but he will be concentrating all his efforts on machine and set-up improvements to allow him to get back into contention for podium places. “At Lausitzring I always finished top ten,” said Chili of his previous experiences. “The track is not so nice for me but it is okay. It is only a pity that we had no tests there before this race. After the results at Assen we will give our all to achieve some better positions again.” Muggeridge made a breakthrough in the transition from Supersport World Champion to top level Superbike pilot at Assen, and hopes to translate that into results at Lausitz. “It’s really time to take the good from the bad here and put my words into action,” said Muggeridge. “The bike’s not bad but I have to start riding it like a Superbike. Assen was disappointing and a perfect example of riding it like a Supersport bike, which is all about corner speed. I finally found how to ride it at Assen but, the way we had it set up, it was too late. I need to maybe square off the corners a little more and spend less time with the bike on its side, because that’s what causes the grip to drop off so dramatically during the race. You need to manipulate the Superbike much more and press all the right buttons, so that’s what I’ll be trying to do here at Lausitzring this weekend. We had a pretty good test here after Brno so at least we have somewhere to start from.” Neukirchner’s return to his native Germany is a homecoming in the sense of both geography and track knowledge. “The last time I had a race at Lausitzring was in 2002,” said the 22-year-old. “In the 250cc race I finished third. The Eurospeedway is a special track. I like the long turns very much. But when it rains the track becomes very tricky. The asphalt becomes slippery right away and then the whole game gets dangerous. The Lausitzring is only two hours away from my home town and I’m looking forward to meet all my German fans. I hope to finish top ten again because I don’t want to disappoint them.” Bostrom hopes to have recovered from injuries which made his recent Assen weekend such hard, if grittily rewarding, work. He has raced at Lausitz in his previous SBK stint, and hopes this will allow him to be fast from the beginning of qualifying. “I’ve been to Lausitz before, know the track and think it’s pretty cool,” said Bostrom. “I now have almost a week to get healed up and the bike goes very well now. It’s good. Despite my illness and injuries we qualified very respectably at Assen, 13th fastest before Superpole. Considering there were about 36 guys on the entry list and I was so beat up, that was respectable.” The final racedays of the Supersport and Superbike seasons take place on consecutive weekends, at Imola on 2 October and Magny Cours on October 9.