Sport: Superbike World Championship Lausitzring

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Sport: Superbike World Championship Lausitzring
Felix Wiessmann

Sports & scene

Motorsport

Sport: Superbike World Championship Lausitzring

Sport: Superbike World Championship Lausitzring
Watered down return

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Rainy weather made life difficult for the drivers and spectators when the Superbike World Cup returned to Germany. Nevertheless, there were two big surprises in the fight for the world title at the races.

Imre Paulovits

01/30/2017

Hooray, we have another Superbike World Championship run! The older fans in particular enjoyed this news – and memories were awakened. What kind of times it was when the screaming of the four-cylinder and the rumbling of the Ducati rang out from the forest of Hockenheim at their limit, before the colorful field came back mixed up into the Motodrom each time through the slipstream battles.

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Watered down return

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Fred Merkel, Fabrizio Pirovano, Giancarlo Falappa, Doug Poland, Rob Phillis, Aaron Slight or Carl Fogarty – those were heroes, and how awesome it was when Andy Hofmann, Peter Rubatto, Edwin Weibel, Udo Mark, Jochen Schmid or Andy Meklau met them were able to really heat up in Hockenheim. Or when Max Neukirchner, as a Suzuki works driver, was even able to put Troy Bayliss, Troy Corser, Noriyuki Haga and Max Biaggi in their place on good days.

Location Germany desired

But those times are long gone. With Stefan Bradl, Sandro Cortese and Jonas Folger, the interest of German fans turned more to the motorcycle world championship, and at the show by Valentino Rossi and Co. at the Sachsenring, the Superbike world championship race in Germany had an increasingly difficult time. 2013 at the Nurburgring was also over.

But since Dorna also took over the organization of the Superbike World Championship, one of its top priorities has been to establish another World Championship round in Germany. A top German driver in the series was just as important to them. Last wish was soon fulfilled by Markus Reiterberger.

“Every year at the Grand Prix at the Sachsenring we see crowds and an enthusiasm that is second to none,” said Javier Alonso, who is responsible for the Superbike World Championship at Dorna. “In addition, Germany is one of the most important motorcycle markets, so the Superbike World Championship should also work there.” At the Lausitzring, Alonso met the people he was looking for. The operators are also the organizers of the Superbike IDM, and so the idea of ​​combining the two series on one weekend soon came up. The date for this seemed favorable. Before that, the Superbike World Championship had a two-month summer break, so players and fans alike were keen to see it go on again.

Land under in Lusatia

But when the time came, Lusatia put on its cloudy and gray side instead of the matching golden autumn. Much worse, the weather service had predicted continuous rain for the weekend. “That was the nightmare for us,” says Josef Hofmann from EuroSpeedway Verwaltungs GmbH. “Our expectations were initially confirmed with the advance booking. But the box office fell far short of expectations, especially on Saturday. Rain was forecast for the whole day, and it probably poured heavily in the wider area. But with us on the track it stayed dry most of the day. “

The drivers were faced with problems due to the bumps in the Lausitzring. World champion and world championship leader Jonathan Rea couldn’t find a vote for his Kawasaki ZX-10R and was only able to qualify for the shootout of the first twelve starting positions through Superpole 1.

When the visors were then folded down for the first race, Ducati works driver Chaz Davies pulled everyone away. He was in a class of his own in Superpole and in the first, dry race and distanced the rest of the field, as you rarely see in the Superbike World Championship.

Even so, what was happening behind him drew all the attention. Because there the two Kawasaki factory drivers Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes dueled, and once again Rea jumped out of gear when braking, as so often this season, this time before turn 8. The front wheel collapsed and the world championship leader collapsed crashed. Since he had to retire at the last race in Laguna Seca due to the same technical problem, his lead at the top of the championship table had shrunk from a previously comfortable 71 points to 26 within two races. Sykes smelled morning air again in the world championship fight.

But Rea grew beyond himself on Sunday. It started to rain just in time for the start of the race and the 29-year-old Northern Irishman literally walked across the water. While the competition fell one after the other on the mirror-smooth track, he drove up and away with a dreamlike security. In the first lap, Sykes fell in the same place where Rea had hit the day before. The starting position for the World Cup in front of the Lausitzring was restored.

Many complained about the treacherous route after their falls. But there were also two overjoyed faces. Xavi Fores, 2014 Superbike IDM champion, made it onto the Superbike World Championship podium for the first time, just like ex-MotoGP rider Alex de Angelis. “It wasn’t my experience at IDM, because we never had such conditions there. I just found a good rhythm, ”said Fores, who was able to celebrate his 31st birthday in a very special way at the Lausitzring. Alex de Angelis, who still can’t move his right arm properly since the nasty fall a year ago at MotoGP in Motegi, was on cloud nine after finishing second. “I still lack a lot of strength and mobility, but here I was able to show my strength in the rain,” he said happily.

Hard return for Reiterberger

Markus Reiterberger looked all the more sad. “I really didn’t envision my return after my back injury like this,” mused the 22-year-old BMW works driver. He was second fastest on Friday. But when it was wet for the first time on Saturday morning, he flew off and fell back on his backside, which had caused him even more pain than the two broken vertebrae after the Misano fall. In the first race, his motorcycle stopped with electrical damage.

When the rain came on Sunday, Reiterberger and his team had agreed not to risk anything because they did not yet have the optimal set-up. “I drove really slowly and still flew off with a highsider. I hit my buttocks again and we can start all over again with the whole rehab that we did in the summer – a weekend to forget, ”said Reiterberger quarreling with fate.

A lot of work for the future

Josef Hofmann cannot lean back either. Although 28,741 spectators came over the three days, Javier Alonso stated: “The numbers fell slightly short of our expectations. Of course, the weather played a role. But we have to work with the organizer to intensify our efforts to attract the audience. Next year, with Stefan Bradl and Markus Reiterberger, we will have two top German riders in the Superbike World Championship, which should raise their popularity in Germany to a whole new level. We expect a lot from the German World Cup in the future. “

Despite all the difficulties, Josef Hofmann remains optimistic. “It was clear to us from the start that we would need some development work first,” explains the Bavarian. “The Superbike World Championship has yet to re-establish itself in Germany. In the end, a lot was very positive, only the weather didn’t play along. But we have taken the first step so that there will be another Superbike World Championship round in Germany. “

A new asphalting of the Lausitzring, as demanded by some Superbike World Championship drivers, will not be done for the time being. Markus Reiterberger also makes it clear: “The route is not always that tricky in the rain. Two years ago we drove here with the IDM in the rain, and things went really well. This time it was also cold and there was a lot of rubber on the track. I think that added up. “

So the beginning has been made. Hopefully it will turn into a long tradition that one day we will look back on with exactly the same joy as we did on the early days of the Superbike World Cup in Germany.

The fight for the world championship crown

The tide turned twice at the Lausitzring between the two World Championship candidates Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes. With six races left, Rea has a 47-point lead. “We should have fixed the problems with the circuit by now,” hopes Rea. We have developed a mechanism that should make it impossible for the idle to jump in. “The defending champion also does everything off the track to be as well equipped as possible. He trains motocross intensively and has had a training ZX-10R set up with which he hunts for laps at least once a week on the Jurby Circuit close to where he lives. “I don’t like to hear the term defending title,” says Rea. “It’s a new title that I have to fight for.”

Tom Sykes and his team took a close look at the 2016 ZX-10R vintage. “I think we have a setup that should always be strong in the remaining races,” says Sykes fiercely. “I’m 47 points behind, but I’ve seen the scores change. Why not in my favor this time? “

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