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2005 WORLD SUPERBIKE: GERMANY

• EuroSpeedway Lausitz
• Track length: 4265m
• Year opened: 2000
• Lap record: 1m 39.679 Xaus (Ducati)
• Fastest lap ever: 1m 39.395 Bayliss (Ducati)

BEFORE RACE

• CORSER: "2005 has been a great year ; getting married, a new child, so taking the title will be the icing on the cake.”
• LANZI FILLS IN FOR LACONI: Lorenzo Lanzi will ride for factory Ducati team this weekend in place of injured Regis Laconi (elbow injury at Assen)

RACE RESULT

VERMEULEN (1st & 2nd): "I may have taken 50 points off Troy in the last two rounds but, to win the title, I have to take another 60 in the last two ... It's really Troy's championship to lose more than anything, so I'll just keep concentrating on race wins and leave it to him."

ABE (2nd & 3rd): "My first race at Lausitz was race one and my second was race two! We changed some parts between races and there was a lot less chatter at the beginning of race two. I felt good for that, but as the rear tyre grip came down the chatter returned so then I could not go faster. I made a good battle with Neukirchner, which I lost, because we were passing each other a lot, but it was still a fun race."

RACE 1 , SEPT 11, 2005

• 1 Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Honda CBR 1000RR, 20 laps
• 2 Noriyuki Haga (JAP) Yamaha YZF R1
• 3 Troy Corser (AUS) Suzuki GSX R1000
• 4 James Toseland, Ducati
• 5 Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki
• 6 Andrew Pitt, Yamaha
• 7 Max Neukirchner
• 8 Lorenzo Lanzi
• 9 Norick Abe
• 10 Ben Bostrom

RACE 2 , SEPT 11, 2005

• 1 Lorenzo Lanzi (ITA) Ducati 999F05, 20 laps
• 2 Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Honda CBR 1000RR
• 3 Noriyuki Haga (JAP) Yamaha YZF R1
• 4 Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki
• 5 Karl Muggeridge, Honda
• 6 Andrew Pitt, Yamaha
• 7 Max Neukirchner
• 8 Norick Abe
• 9 Steve Martin
• 10 Pierfrancesco Chili

YAMAHA RACE REPORT

• Yamaha Motor Italia riders Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt moved themselves up the Superbike World Championship table after a productive day at round 10 at EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany.
• Haga extended his run of successive podium finishes to seven with second and third placings to move him up to third in the championship in the Yamaha YZF-R1's debut season at this level. The Japanese ace overcame a weekend of set-up problems throughout practice to push eventual winner Chris Vermeulen (Honda) all the way in the opener, although he was denied the opportunity to make a pass when rain brought the red flags out after 20 of the 24 scheduled laps. Haga was again in the thick of the action in race two, battling with Vermeulen and Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) in a tough race that saw the Yamaha and Ducati touch on several occasions. Despite setting the fastest lap in both races, Haga was unable to make his tyres last race distance and slipped back to third in the second race.
• Pitt continued his consistent form with a brace of sixth places to move him up two places in the championship to seventh overall in his rookie superbike campaign. The Australian struggled with front tyre wear in both races but put in a typically gritty performance to bring his R1 home for 20 points over the two races.
• Yamaha Motor France rider Norick Abe put in a pair of solid performances on his EuroSpeedway debut. The former MotoGP rider enjoyed some good battles in his two races, finishing ninth and eighth. Team-mate Sebastien Gimbert scored two points for 14th in race two.
• Troy Corser (Suzuki) maintained his championship lead despite a race two crash. He is now 60 points ahead of Vermeulen with two rounds remaining. Haga leads the battle for third with Pitt in seventh. Despite his top 10 finishes, Abe slips back to 12th. The penultimate round of the championship takes place at the Imola circuit in Italy on 2 October.
• Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "I tried so many different setting this weekend but I couldn't find one for the race. Even in warm-up I was trying to get one that worked, so the race one result was good and I am very happy with it. On the last five laps the tyres was already finished and it was difficult to turn the bike. I had a plan to catch up and pass Chris anyway, but then it started raining. Race two we had the same tyre problem but it was more difficult because we made the full race distance. Always I want to win but we really cannot complain with two podium finishes this weekend."
• Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "In the first race I could not carry any corner speed. I had to brake hard into corners and that just lost me all my corner speed. If I ran in too fast the bike just bounced off the track. Our usual advantage on the Yamaha is the ability to carry corner speed but when you can't do that it limits the lap time. We used the same front tyre in race one that we had been using all weekend with no problems but it was destroyed in 12 laps. Maybe it had a lot to do with the fact that the temperature then was a lot lower in race one than it had been in qualifying."
• Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France)
  "My first race at Lausitz was race one and my second was race two! We changed some parts between races and there was a lot less chatter at the beginning of race two. I felt good for that, but as the rear tyre grip came down the chatter returned so then I could not go faster. I made a good battle with Neukirchner, which I lost, because we were passing each other a lot, but it was still a fun race."
• Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France)
  "Not such a good race for me. In the first race I had a problem that stopped the bike steering properly and in the second race I felt like I had no power and no grip from the rear. This is my first time in Lausitz and I do like the track, just not the results. Now I must focus on the important Bol d'or 24 hour race next weekend."

WORLD SUPERSPORT RACE

• 1 Kevin Curtain
• 2 Parkes
• 3 Foret
• 4 Fujiwara
• 5 Fabrizio
• 6 Chambon
• 7 Corradi
• 8 Stigefelt
• 9 Lauslehto
• 10 Daemen

QUALIFYING

GRID, SUPERPOLE, SEPT 10, 2005 - Temp: 26ºC, Sunny

• 1 Lorenzo Lanzi (ITA) Ducati 999F05 1m 39.019
  2 Troy Corser Suzuki GSX R1000 1m 39.092
  3 Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Honda CBR 1000RR 1m 39.275
  4 Toseland Ducati 999F05
  5 Pitt Yamaha YZF R1
  6 Muggeridge Honda CBR 1000RR
  7 Haga Yamaha YZF R1
  8 Neukirchner Honda CBR 1000RR
  9 Kagayama Y. Suzuki GSXR1000 K5
  10 Martin S. Petronas FP1
  11 Chili P. Honda CBR 1000RR
  12 Clementi I. Ducati 999RS
  13 Bostrom B. Honda CBR 1000RR
  14 Schulten M. Honda CBR 1000RR
  15 Abe N. Yamaha YZF R1
  16 Borciani M. Ducati 999RS

YAMAHA QUALIFYING REPORT

• Yamaha Motor Italia riders Andrew Pitt and Noriyuki Haga will start tomorrow's two 24 lap superbike races from the second row of the grid after setting the fifth and seventh fastest times in today's superpole session.
• Pitt replicated his superpole performance of just one week ago to finish fifth, equaling his position from the two one-hour qualifying sessions. The Australian's superpole lap of 1:39.899 was slightly slower than his best from regular qualifying but still good enough to retain his position. The former Supersport World Champion was a little disappointed to have missed out on a front row start but is confident he and the YZF-R1 can produce a strong performance on race day.
• Haga used the morning session to further evaluate the new swingarm he tried for the first time yesterday. The Japanese ace confirmed that the new unit offered some advantages over the previous item but, with a lack of testing time and the longer swingarm changing the balance of the R1, he reverted to tried and tested settings for the afternoon free practice and superpole sessions. Despite being unable to beat his best time from Friday, Haga was able to produce a 1:40.109 to take a crucial second row start at a circuit where overtaking is notoriously difficult.
• Yamaha Motor France pairing Norick Abe and Sebastien Gimbert both improved their overnight positions. Abe's ever-improving track knowledge allowed him to make the top 16 superpole session, where he improved one place further to 15th on the grid. Gimbert will start one row further back, in 19th.
• Pole position for tomorrow's race went to Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) with a 1:39.019 superpole lap. Championship leader Troy Corser (Suzuki), Assen winner Chris Vermeulen (Honda) and world champion James Toseland (Ducati) complete the front row.
• Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "Fifth again! Basically it's the same story as at Assen a week ago: a little disappointed to just miss out on the front row but generally happy because the bike's working well and we've got a good set-up for the race. Hopefully we can get a good start and see how it goes. Certainly our times are very consistent on the race tyre and the target is to make it onto the podium tomorrow."
• Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "The characteristic of this circuit means that chatter is a problem. We tried out a new swingarm yesterday and this morning but it changed the feeling of the bike and we couldn't find a good set-up in time, so we decided it is better to change back to what we used before. Second row is not so bad considering we are still to find a perfect feeling with the bike. Tonight we will make more changes to try and find a solution for tomorrow."
• Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France)
  "My superpole lap was not good but my knowledge of the track is improving and today I was able to make some consistent lap times on the race tyre. I think we have a good setting for the races and we should be able to improve the qualifying position in the races."
• Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "Unfortunately we could not find a good set-up with Noriyuki today but for tomorrow we have a few things to try. Andrew made a small mistake on the first split of his superpole lap which maybe cost him a place, but tomorrow I have a feeling it could be wet and that will change everything anyway!"

FRI PRAC, SEPT 9, 2005

• 1 James Toseland (UK) Ducati 999F05 1m 40.595
  2 Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Honda CBR 1000RR 1'40.937
  3 Lorenzo Lanzi (ITA) Ducati 999F05 1'40.938
  4 Pitt A. Yamaha YZF R1 20 1'41.076
  5 Corser T. Suzuki GSXR1000 K5 25 1'41.117
  6 Haga N. Yamaha YZF R1 23 1'41.665
  7 Muggeridge K. Honda CBR 1000RR 23 1'41.667
  8 Martin S. Petronas FP1 25 1'41.677
  9 Chili P. Honda CBR 1000RR 22 1'41.699
  10 Schulten M. Honda CBR 1000RR 18 1'41.814

RACE PREVIEW

SUZUKI

• CORSER: "I am concentrating on making the most of each round .. If I can do that and maintain my consistency, the championship will come to me ... 2005 has been a great year ; getting married, a new child, so taking the title will be the icing on the cake.”

HONDA

• VERMEULEN: “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."

YAMAHA

• The Superbike World Championship returns to the EuroSpeedway Lausitz after an absence of two years this weekend.
• Situated in the former East Germany, EuroSpeedway was opened in 2000 and has twice played host to the series, in 2001 and 2002. The venue comprises of a high-speed oval circuit with an inner road course which is used for the superbikes. The circuit itself consists of several slow speed corners linked by long straights. Previous experiences of the circuit suggest that qualifying will be important as overtaking is difficult due to the layout and 'single-line' nature of the track.
• For the Yamaha Motor Italia team, the visit to Germany is a chance to build on their recent good form. Having spent the opening half of the series developing their machines, the YZF-R1 has been ever present on the podium in the last three rounds, a trend they hope to continue in the final quarter of the year.
• Noriyuki Haga moved up to fourth in the championship with a pair of podium finishes in Assen last weekend and, with two wins and three other podiums in his last five starts, the Japanese ace is the form man of the moment. With three rounds and six races remaining, Haga can realistically target third in the championship in this, the YZF-R1's development year in the championship. He said: "Assen was a difficult race. We never found a really good suspension setting and the weather was very hot. We had two very big battles with Chris (Vermeulen) and James (Toseland) and I think it was a good show for the fans. I have one experience of Lausitz, from 2002, but we have never been there with the Yamaha, so it is only in first practice that we can see our performance here."
• Team-mate Andrew Pitt gave one of his best performances of the year in Assen with two fine fifth places. The Australian too, is looking to climb from his ninth place in the championship at Lausitz, but more importantly he wants to climb onto the podium. He said: "Lausitz is a great, modern facility and an ok track, nice for testing and riding around by yourself on - but a difficult track to race on because it's so tough to overtake on. Qualifying and a good start will be important here and I'm looking forward to it. I was pleased with how things went in Assen - a little disappointed not to make the podium but happy that we were able to be consistently up there and battling for the podium. Now I really want to get up there on the rostrum in the last six races."
• Supersport World Championship - Yamaha Germany on home turf
  Lausitzring is the second home race of the year for Yamaha Motor Germany riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes (the other being the riders' home race at Phillip Island). With the championship decided in favour of Honda rider Sebastien Charpentier in Assen, the battle is on for second - with Curtain just five points behind current second placed man Katsuaki Fujiwara (Honda). Ironically, in the two races held at the EuroSpeedway, Curtain won the first (in 2001) with Fujiwara taking the honours one year later. Expect this to be one of the battles of the day on Sunday.
• New YZF-R6 unveiled
  With the first official photographs of the 2006 YZF-R6 already released, the Yamaha Motor Germany squad could be forgiven for having one eye on next season. The new machine has been designed with the objective of winning the Supersport World Championship, a prospect that puts a smile on Curtain's face. "I've seen the bike, touched it, sat on it, kicked the tyres, polished the paint - the only thing I haven't done is ridden it yet! It really is an awesome looking thing and I really hope to continue with Yamaha Germany and ride the R6 next year."

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