From a press releease issued by FGSport Group:

A1-Ring 6 Hour

Welcome Return to the Austrian Circuit

The A1-Ring 6 Hour starts here; the World Endurance circus has arrived at the Austrian circuit and is preparing for a full weekend of track action. Two free practice sessions will be held on Friday morning, with the first qualifying session taking place on Friday afternoon. This is the first time the championship has visited Austria since 1987 so the pressure is on to find base suspension and gearing settings as quickly as possible to make best use of the track time.

Final qualifying will be held on Saturday morning, with an additional warm-up session before the first three hour leg of the race starts at 14:30. The bikes will be held in a parc fermé overnight, being released in time for five minutes of preparation before reforming the grid for the start of the second three hour leg at 13:00 on Sunday. The overall result will be decided on aggregate time, but as we saw at Brno, the riders will be going flat-out from flag to flag rather than worrying about any timing screen advantage.

With the Zongshen Suzuki GSX-R1000s having won every race so far this year, the pressure is on the rest of the field. Local heroes Yamaha Austria have shown they have both the speed and the reliability needed – but not yet from the same motor, while Suzuki GB Phase One are holding second in the championship and have said that they are now going after race wins rather than safe points. First place is the only option for both of these teams.

The German and Swiss teams – KFM Herber, Bolliger, Jet Team, Hofmann Racing and Rookie Racing are also treating this as a home round, with a chance to impress supporters and sponsors. Italians DRE Ducati and Mondial X-One are back for this round; DRE Ducati with Mike Edwards on board and Mondial having successfully launched the Piega to the world’s press. French teams Police Nationale and Endurance Moto38 were disappointed after Albacete and will be hoping to make amends, while GMT94 are hoping that this weekend might bring the success they know they deserve.

With 125 points still to be won the championship has a long way to go, but this weekend marks the start of the second half of the season. Anything could happen in the next four races…