More Oschersleben World Superbike Previews

More Oschersleben World Superbike Previews

© 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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From a press release issued by the SBK press office:

Germany Round 11 -Oschersleben
29/30 August – 1 September 2002

After only two years on the World Superbike Championship campaign trail, Oschersleben, in the former East Germany, has already gained itself an awesome reputation as a scene of drama and confrontation, especially as it appears so close to the final denouement at Imola on September 29.Only three rounds and six races remain, with Oschersleben most likely to be a pivotal backdrop once more.

Oschersleben’s flat layout belies its tricky nature, with several decreasing radius corners waiting to catch out the unwary, and even negative cambers appearing on some bends. A good example is the first left, Hotel corner, taken blind and changing direction mid way through; making it the scene of quite a few bumping and barging incidents over the years.

A total of 80,000 souls can fit into Oschersleben on any one day; most of them close enough to the action to see the whites of the riders’ eyes.

At 3.667km long Oschersleben ‘Motopark’ is one of the shorter circuits on the campaign trail but still features seven right and seven left corners, making it a physical workout for the riders, with little opportunity for rest anywhere.

Colin Edwards (Castrol Honda) has taken three wins from four Oschersleben starts, and holds the current lap record on 1:27.988 (150.034 km/h). The only other man to have won a Superbike race in Oschers is Ruben Xaus, the second rider in the Ducati Infostrada team. His 2001 win came at the expense of Edwards.

In the qualifying stakes, the current Superpole record is owned by Neil Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati) with a 1:27.325; the timed qualifying record to Ben Bostrom (L&M Ducati), on 1:27.610.

After a break of four weekends since the last World Superbike race at Brands Hatch, where Edwards scored his fourth and fifth wins of the year, Oschersleben will be a simple test of concentration and mental toughness for the top riders, as much as another opportunity to score points.

Edwards’ latest double at Brands reduced the deficit he has suffered to season-long championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) to a more manageable 39 points. With a possible 150 points left for any rider who can win every remaining race, the championship is far from over.

Not one but two Michelin-supplied Ducati Infostrada riders will be out to prevent an Edwards double win scenario, with Ruben Xaus, a winner at Oschersleben last season, keen to chalk up his first 2002 max point score.

In an unusual year, only three riders have obtained a winner’s trophy in 2002, Bayliss (14), Edwards (5) and Japanese Wild Card Makoto Tamada (Cabin Honda).

With only six more chances, this anomalous domination by basically two riders has not been lost on the rest of the permanent factory entrants in SBK.

Neil Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati) has been a thorn in the tail sections of the Bayliss and Edwards duet, but on a year-old factory bike, and running different tyres from the Infostrada Ducati and Castrol Honda riders, he has had his work cut out this season to stay in contention. He has made the best fist of his Dunlop-shod peers, however, and has outpaced 2002 factory rider Ben Bostrom (L&M Ducati) more often than not.

Hodgson’s team-mate, James Toseland has been buoyed by the news that his HM Plant team will retain him for 2002, and he improves week-on week. He will be joined in 2003 by another Briton, Chris Walker, who will find Oschersleben something of a home race for his current factory Kawasaki squad, based as it is in Bavaria.

Like every other four-cylinder runner, even on factory bikes, Walker has found the big factory vee-twins tough nuts to crack this season, but will be hoping that a podium finish at least will not elude him all year.

Several others are in the same position. His own team-mate Hitoyasu Izutsu, third Oschersleben Kawasaki entry Eric Bostrom and factory Alstare Suzuki runner Gregorio Lavilla are three examples, plus everyone’s favourite former factory star, Pierfrancesco Chili (NCR Ducati).

One genuine Oschersleben threat who has stood on podiums this season, just not the top step so far, is Noriyuki Haga, the lone FGF Playstation2 Aprilia rider. Fourth overall pre-Oschersleben, he will be hoping more than most for a kind track surface, one willing to help his Dunlop-shod machine on the way to the last big points scores.

A top ten finish would demonstrate progress for the historically rich but currently outgunned Benelli factory, and Aussie pilot Peter Goddard.

Other riders to look out for include the privateers Lucio Pedercini (Pedercini Ducati), Broc Parkes (Parmalat NCR Ducati), Steve Martin and Alessandro Antonello (both DFX Pirelli Ducati) and Juan Borja (Spaziotel Ducati). Wild card riders in the form of Giuliano Sartoni (Ducati) and Teodor Myszkowski (Yamaha) will play their part as well.

Pick a winner from the top men?

The objective formbook says Edwards, the 2002 formbook says Bayliss, one chapter of the previous Oschers formbook says maybe Xaus, and the man with the most hunger and desperation appears to be Hodgson.

After the summer lay off, the job of picking winners and podium placers has become even more complicated, but the action is sure to be as close and eager as ever.

In the World Supersport Championship there are three races left, four main Championship contenders in the hunt, and any number of them able to win on any given weekend.

It’s racing without frontiers in this class, where the only predictable outcomes are that the competition will be superb, nine times out of ten.

Katsuaki Fujiwara (Alstare Suzuki) has had a recent run of real success (70 points out of a possible 75 really says it all) and it has brought him firmly into the gravitational pull of the championship’s unholy trinity; Stephane Chambon (Fujiwara’s team-mate in the Alstare Suzuki squad), current points leader Fabien Foret (Ten Kate Honda) and the reigning World Champion Andrew Pitt (Kawasaki Racing team).

Factory riders abound in World Supersport, but with strict regulations and limited engine and chassis tweaks allowed, almost anyone can build a competitive machine.

Factory Yamaha man James Whitham (Yamaha Belgarda) may be another in with some chance of a win, his Brands Hatch injuries allowing. As the lap record holder, with a best of 1:30.806, he has to be taken seriously, as will his vastly experienced team-mate Paolo Casoli, so close to being champion last year.

Other Yamaha riders who may make an impact are local heroes Jörg Teuchert and Christian Kellner, from Yamaha Motor Germany.

Honda men on a potential podium path include Karl Muggeridge, Chris Vermeulen and Iain Macpherson.

The only consistently rapid regular Ducati rider, Piergiorgio Bontempi, will be back in Germany, as will James Ellison, from the factory Kawasaki team.

The action starts on Friday, with all solo classes setting out on their first untimed and timed qualifying sessions, in readiness for final qualifying (Superpole for Superbikes) and then raceday proper on Sunday 1 September.



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

Relaxed, refreshed and raring to go

Round 11 of the Superbike World Championship represents a call to arms for the SBK paddock after its month-long summer break from racing. For HM Plant Ducati riders Neil Hodgson and James Toseland, the journey to Oschersleben could not have come soon enough.

Hodgson has been one of the most consistent riders in the championship so far and currently occupies third place in the overall standings. His aim for the final three rounds of the season is to consolidate this impressive position with at least one race win.

“It was good to have some time off to relax,” said the 28-year-old Brit, “but I never stopped thinking about the championship. Oschersleben was a tough round for me last year but it definitely won’t be this time. It’s very difficult to overtake there, and if I want to crack it, I’m going to need a good start, then be fast into turn one and strong coming out of the final bend – the rest of the circuit is just ‘follow my leader’. I’m going to have to be at the top of my game if I want to stay third in the world and right now I feel very much like I am.”

James Toseland is relieved that the holidays are over. The 21-year-old from Sheffield is itching to get back in the saddle and truly relishes the prospect of tackling the 3.7km German circuit this weekend.

“Oschersleben was a good round for me last year,” he said. “I like the circuit and it seems to suit my riding style. The power characteristics and manoeuvrability of the HM Plant Ducati are also perfect for the combination of right and left handers. My main aim is to finish in front of my future team-mate Chris Walker. I’m only five points ahead of him at the moment and I’ve got a bit of a fight on my hands if I want to hold on to seventh place in the championship – I definitely won’t be hanging about this weekend.”

2001 results
Race one: 1. C. Edwards (Honda) 41:23.687; 2. R. Xaus (Ducati) +3.355; 3. B. Bostrom (Ducati) +15.312; 7. N. Hodgson (GSE Racing Ducati) +23.071; 10. J. Toseland (GSE Racing Ducati) +30.064

Race two: 1. R. Xaus (Ducati) 41:17.957; 2. C. Edwards (Honda) +9.938; 3. T. Bayliss (Ducati) +14.907; 10. N. Hodgson (GSE Racing Ducati) +32.821; 12. J. Toseland (GSE Racing Ducati) +33.121

Lap record: 1:27.988 C. Edwards (Honda) 2001

Superpole: 1:27.325 N. Hodgson (GSE Racing Ducati) 2001

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