WSBK – The wheels are turning in Germany! –

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The wheels are turning in Germany !

WSBK - The wheels are turning in Germany! -

The weather was capricious for the tenth round of the World Superbike. While Corser and Charpentier crushed their respective championships for most of the season, their rivals had a blast at Lausitzring !

The sky became overcast and the temperature dropped by around ten degrees between the Saturday practice sessions and Sunday afternoon … The rain that appeared during the night even forced the pilots to roll on a tricky track during the morning warm up. But it takes more to reach the motivation of these aces of the handlebars, who are stamped with impatience…

In Superbike, Lorenzo Lanzi is living a waking dream: the young Italian has the chance to drive the official Ducati of an injured Regis Laconi and intends to take advantage of it! Wishing to prove himself, the kid from Bologna (the city of Ducati, read) was the fastest in the superpole by setting an excellent time of 1’39”019. He allows himself to put more than 0.6 seconds in the sight of his teammate and reigning world champion James Toseland! An Italian on pole in a Ducati? The Superbike had not seen this since 1998 with Chile !

Behind the Italian phenomenon, Corser, Vermeulen and Toseland unsurprisingly complete the front row. The second row includes two Yam and two Honda with Pitt, Muggeridge, Haga and the local of the stage, Neukirchner. In the third row we note the good performance of Martin on his Foggy, preceded by Kagayama but placed in front of the two Italians Chile and Clementi. In the fourth row we find Bostrom ahead of Schulten (3rd in the German Superbike championship) Abe and Borciani. Sebastien Gimbert, the only French competitor, is in 19th position.

Supersport side, General Seb signed his ninth pole of the year with a time of 1’42”017. He is ahead of Curtain, Foret and Parkes. The second line is entirely Honda with Fabrizio, Chambon, Fujiwara and Harms. Mathieu Lagrive ranks first Suzuki and leads the third row ahead of Corradi – first Ducati – Stigefelt and the wildcard Tode. Julien Enjolras ranks 24th.

First Superbike race

It is under a threatening sky that the pilots are preparing to leave … But a technical problem on Cruciani’s Kawasaki forces them to complete a second warm-up lap. The race will therefore only be played over 23 laps instead of the 24 planned..

This time it’s good! Corser takes the best start ahead of Vermeulen, Haga and Lanzi. But the young Italian drops first gear instead of staying in second and his rear wheel locks, forcing him to raise his bike! Lorenzo pulls straight ahead and enters the curve of the oval in order to regain the track further on. Kagayama therefore becomes fourth ahead of Pitt, Toseland and the others.

Corser and Vermeulen, the fastest, are joined by Lanzi who returns to the track at the end of the first chicane! Lorenzo Lanzi surprises everyone by coming out of the last corner particularly wide, but he stays ahead of Noriyuki Haga.

From the second lap, in the first corner, Vermeulen took the lead. Haga passed Lanzi on the next corner, not wanting to let the two Australians escape. On the third lap, Corser came out of the first corner too hard and let Haga pass. Chili tries to hang up the lead car, Kagayama is only five lengths away and Gimbert is 15th !

Lanzi got into a tough fight and passed Corser with limited braking. Muggeridge returns to the pits without the bubble of his CBR: after an average start, he crashed because of a driver "almost stopped in the middle of a bend", he explains afterwards…

Vermeulen, Haga and Lanzi part ways with Corser, Pitt, Toseland and Kagayama. Chili, who set the fastest time in the race, is still going up. Lanzi continued his breakthrough by overtaking Haga but the Italian was sanctioned for his detour: he had to make a pit passage at the regulatory speed of 60 km / h. In the pits, the Ducati team seeks to avoid the penalty because after all, Lanzi came out third and then came back third without endangering anyone….

On the track, the battle continues and the official Ducatis put on a show: Toseland threatens Pitt when Lanzi puts pressure on Vermeulen … A strategy that pays off as Chris makes a mistake that allows the Italian to take the lead !

In the seventh lap, Lorenzo Lanzi leads ahead of Chris Vermeulen and Nori Haga. Troy Corser was isolated in fourth position, when behind him James Toseland continued to worry Andrew Pitt. Max Neukirchner is only seventh while Kagayama is threatened by Schulten, the German with the almost stock CBR1000RR! Norick Abe beats Ben Bostrom and Garry McCoy.

Chile gives up! Lanzi is half a second ahead but he is warned of his penalty and hits the helmet with his finger: "in the lead but forced to go through the pits, they are crazy ?", seems to say to himself the Italian who sees his dream evaporate…

Haga tries to brake in Vermeulen at the end of the straight line, but the Australian supermotard style "cross wheel" retains the advantage … On the tenth lap, Lanzi comes back through the pits. He lays his head on his tank, sheepish, but his "new" team acclaims him as he passes and he leaves re-motivated in 11th place !

Haga loses two lengths on the Honda de Vermeulen, Corser is at 2 seconds, Toseland at 4.6 s, Pitt at 6.4 s, Neukirchner at 10.5 s, Kagayama at 11.6 s, Schulten and Abe at 14 s and Lanzi – who has already overtaken Bostrom – is at 19 seconds !

During the next five laps, these gaps remain the same but the fight rages on, like the two leading men playing yoyo. When Vermeulen takes his ease in the first part of the circuit, Nitro Nori inexorably comes back on him in the second and only Lanzi manages to move up in the standings. !

In third position, Corser seems unable to join the leading duo. When braking, his Suzuki trembles from the rear wheel, according to him the fault of the last minute change in his range: "we chose the same as Chris and Nori but this tire affected the settings", will later regret the Australian crocodile…

On the 17th lap, Haga made a slight mistake and offered Vermeulen an additional margin of safety. But the Japanese quickly caught up and found themselves under the CBR pots the next round !

On lap 20, Chris made frantic signs to his panelists. The next lap, the Australian is clearer and points to the gray sky. The red flag appears: it’s raining! With two thirds of the race completed, Vermeulen is declared the winner ahead of Haga, Corser, Toseland, Kagayama, Neukirchner, Lanzi, Abe, Bostrom, McCoy, Bussei, Cardoso, Brignola and Cruciani! Sebastien Gimbert does not finish the race, victim "a problem that prevented the motorcycle from turning properlyThe team manager of Yamaha France will specify that an air intake was at the origin of the abandonment of the French…

There are therefore three different brands on the podium, witnesses of the great fight in this category. !

Nitro Nori, who does not hide his frustration, could he have dealt with his rinsed rear tire and passed a rather comfortable Vermeulen? Lanzi, without his pitstop, could he have won his first race in the official Ducati? Answer in the second round !

Supersport Race

Chambon made a superb start from his second row but the two Yamahas fared even better and took the lead. Sebastien Charpentier steals third place from Stephane Chambon at the second corner, leaving his teammate Fujiwara to explain himself with Harms, Corradi, Foret, Fores, Fabrizio, Stigefelt, Tode, Daemen, Lauslehto and Lagrive.

Harms overtakes Fuji then Foret tries his luck but stays behind the Japanese. The next round, the Hondas engage in a bitter battle. Fabien takes fifth place from Chambon, Harms is not far … but only Sebastien Charpentier manages to keep up with the frantic pace of the Yamaha !

In the third round, General Seb loses the front! For the first time in ten races, the 2005 world champion is not going to fight for victory! His fall is exactly the same as that of the day before during the tests: "i didn’t really understand what happened … everything was fine, although Curtain and Parkes were very fast which surprised me", admits the untouchable Charentais hitherto.

The Yamaha prance ahead, Foret inheriting the podium 5 seconds behind Curtain and Parkes. Fujiwara passes Chambon while Fabrizio has already gone hunting Harms. The next two laps see the Yams fly away, as Fuji walks past Fabrizio. At the same time, Harms passed Foret in the straight line but was taken back to his third place in the braking. The young Dane has not said his last word and allows himself to go outside for the 2001 world champion twice in a row !

At the tenth crossing over the finish line, Fabien comes out of his bubble completely and raises his arm. Curtain slows his pace and barely takes an angle, so he ends up raising his hand as well. The red flag is waved: the rain interrupts the race. Unlike the first Superbike round, the race will have a second part and it will now be necessary to take into account the latest discrepancies observed…

The second start was given 15 minutes later on a dry track. Parkes completed the first four laps in the lead, but Curtain passed him on the 15th (official) lap. The Yamaha, which has undergone major changes, especially in terms of the gearbox, is unrecognizable! Foret overtakes Fujiwara but he now has to overtake Harms and put him in sight for 2 seconds if he wants to stand on the podium !

Impressive with its showers of "Bayliss" sparks, Harms climbs back onto Parkes’ Yamaha which turns around several times, visibly worried … Fabien Foret attacks and brakes so hard that his rear wheel rises several centimeters: the track is indeed dry !

Foret passed Harms in the first chicane. In the following lap, Harms tries to brake the Frenchman and almost mows the rear wheel of Fabien who is on his usual path. The fiery Danish comes out a little wide and gives Foret the first second necessary to climb on the podium. !

Four laps from the end, Foret is at the R6 de Parkes asphalt. All times, Harms is still ahead of the French for 3 tenths … It is then that Harms loses the front! Fabien is on the podium! He overtook Parkes but had to precede him by 14 seconds to climb the second step due to the cumulative time…

During this time, Curtain remains impassive and connects the turns "quietly". But Fabien is determined to cross the finish line in the lead and in the last two laps, Curtain’s lead melts like snow in the sun! Foret ended up taking the lead (of the second part of the race) on the very last lap! The French keep the advantage until the checkered flag, but it is Curtain on his Yamaha who wins, the first of a non Honda – and not Ten Kate – of the year !

Curtain is ahead of his teammate Parkes, Foret, Fujiwara, Fabrizio, Chambon, Corradi, Stigefelt, Lauslehto, Daemen, Tode, Andersen, Harms, Fores and Jansen.

In the pilot’s championship, General Seb’s counter remained stuck at 210 points when Kevin Curtain took his second place from Katsuaki Fujiwara (147 against 140). Fabien Foret consolidates his fourth place (126 points) against Fabrizio (109). Parkes gained a place and climbed to sixth place ahead of Chambon (89 against 86). Then Fores and Nanelli are respectively first Suzuki and Ducati but are threatened by the young Lauslehto (60, 56 and 56 points).

In the constructors’ championship, the fight between Ducati and Suzuki for third place (respectively 85 and 73 points). Honda is assured of the title but will not be full this year (241 points out of 250 all the same!) Ahead of Yamaha and its 147 points. Kawasaki brings up the rear with 25 points.

Second Superbike race

Corser is off to the best start again. He is ahead of Haga and Lanzi, who did not get confused in his speeds! Pitt is fourth ahead of Muggeridge, Toseland, Kagayama, Vermeulen, Abe, Neukirchner, Martin, McCoy, Clementi and Cardoso.

From the start, Corser tries to take off while Haga and Lanzi are already starting to fight. But Muggeridge takes advantage of Lanzi’s rough-and-tumble style to grab third place.

On the second pass of the first corner, Corser takes too much angle and loses both wheels at the same time! However, Troy will deliver at the end of the race: "it was a big surprise, having done nothing different in this turn compared to before"… Just like Charpentier, this is the first time this season that the championship leader has fallen in the race! But the Australian does not throw in the towel and gets back in the saddle after touring his GSX-R…

At the head of the race, Lanzi passed Muggeridge, without hesitating to make contact! He passes Haga two turns later in an equally bloody style … but his two victims can’t blame him: the Italian is faster, period. !

In the third round, Vermeulen ascends to Toseland and Pitt, who form a third hunting group – the first comprising Lanzi and Haga, the second Muggeridge. Finally, Toseland doubles Pitt. The Australian turns around and sees Vermeulen glued to his wheel! Chris is quick to pass Andrew, seeing James Toseland escape to Muggeridge.

At the head of the race, Haga attacked the official Ducati de Lanzi but lost first place in the next corner. Vermeulen joins Toseland and Muggeridge. Corser turns as fast as the leaders but is in 23rd position. Will he be able to score a point ?

In the sixth lap, Vermeulen passed Toseland and prepared to attack his teammate Muggeridge. It was in the after lap that Chris overtook Karl which gave Lanzi and Haga almost half a second in the lap. Then it’s Toseland who overtakes Muggeridge. The poor Australian turns around, probably wondering how many more pilots will overtake him…

On the eighth lap, Haga passed Lanzi on the brakes, despite a wilder R1 under braking … In the following lap, Vermeulen took a second from the leading duo and Lanzi recovered his first place. Behind, Kagayama threatens Muggeridge and his fifth place.

Haga lost ground in the first half of the circuit but recovered in the second by means of very strong braking on the angle … Vermeulen is now less than a second behind the Japanese. Chris wants to achieve the double again: Corser is not yet in the points, the young Australian has a big shot to play! He does not hesitate to take advantage of the entire width of the track – even more! – to catch up with the two leading men.

In the first corner of the twelfth lap, Haga reproduces his attack and goes out again too wide, Lanzi getting his due. But Toseland is gone! He lost the front in the first corner – the same as Corser! – and like Troy, James admits not having understood well: "i was doing nothing wrong !"He too can regain the track, he is back in the race, but faster: he is in 13th position in front of Bussei’s Kawa when Corser is still in 18th place….

In the thirteenth lap, Lanzi gets down to business and takes Haga and Vermeulen half a second. Suddenly, in the next round, Vermeulen retaliates and overtakes Haga. Lanzi is still at 1.4 then 1.8 s !

In the following laps, the pace of the leading men stabilized. On the 17th lap, Lanzi has two small seconds ahead of Vermeulen and Haga who are one. Kagayama is 6 seconds behind the leader, Muggeridge at 11s, Pitt and Neukirchner at 18s, Marin at 19s, Chili at 22s, Toseland at 32, McCoy, Bussei and Bostrom at 35s, Gimbert at 37s. And behind the Frenchman, in sixteenth position, is Corser !

Four laps before the checkered flag, Vermeulen relaunched the offensive and grabbed a big half second in Lanzi. Haga is let go. On the next lap, Chris was only 1.1 seconds behind Lorenzo. Nitro Nori seems to have withdrawn and is content not to make a mistake, in order to take the maximum number of points ahead of Regis Laconi – who helplessly witnesses the demonstration of his young replacement and the loss of his third position in the championship … hard !

With two laps from the end, while Corser returned to the points, Vermeulen continued his grueling recovery on a Lanzi who impressed with his composure! More than a lap and only a mistake by Lanzi could allow Vermeulen to make the double … Chris does not hesitate to mistreat his rear tire to re-stick to the Ducati…

Unfortunately for Chris – and fortunately for Troy Corser – Lanzi held on until the end and offered himself, for his first participation with the factory Ducati, a victory in the World Superbike! Vermeulen crossed the line less than a second later, followed by Haga and Kagayama six seconds behind the winner. Follow Muggeridge, Pitt, Neukirchner, Abe, Martin, Chili, Toseland, Bussei, Corser, Gimbert and Bostrom.

The podium is again made up of three different brands, Ducati replacing Suzuki in fourth place. This time, it is an Italian who wins ahead of an Australian and a Japanese. The last victory of a pure Italian in a Ducati was in Assen in 1998, with Chile !

In the world championship, Corser is still in the lead with a comfortable 60-point lead. But this weekend again, Vermeulen narrowed the gap between him and the leader. With 46 points scored this weekend, Haga climbs to third place (239 points in total), taking advantage of the absence of Regis stuck to 214 points. James Toseland took the opportunity to pass the Moselle by one point and place himself 14 points behind Nitro Nori. Kagayama (211) gets dangerously close to Regis … The other pilots play "in another court", led by Walker who also remains blocked at 130 points. He is 5 points ahead of Chile and his CBR. With his victory, Lorenzo Lanzi takes tenth place from Muggeridge. Abe is 12th with 110 points and Sebastien Gimbert 16th with 37 points.

On the constructors’ side, Corser’s podium and Kagayama’s fourth place allow Suzuki (408 points) to counter Honda’s offensive – alias Vermeulen, 345 points). Ducati (331 points) cedes 7 points to Honda but remains beyond the reach of Yamaha (280). Kawasaki, after scoring just two points at Assen, only scores eight points at Lausitz. Petronas (37 points) continues to progress: the small team has doubled its score in the last two events !

Charpentier and Corser stumble for the first time while Curtain and Vermeulen gain momentum. In Supersport, the battle for the runner-up title has only just begun between Curtain and Fujiwara…

In Superbike, the gap between Corser and Vermeulen remains important and it is difficult to see the title escape the old crocodile. For his part, Regis must quickly get back on his machine and prove that he can do as well as the young Lanzi who made a very strong impression this weekend! Fortunately, the end of the season lends itself well to this with the visit of two circuits dear to Regis: Imola on October 2 – where he did the double last year – and Magny-Cours the following week. !

Race 1 Superbike

  1. Vermeulen C. – Honda CBR 1000RR – 33’36.341
  2. Haga N. – Yamaha YZF R1 – 33’36.610
  3. Corser T. – Suzuki GSXR1000 K5 – 33’38.640
  4. Toseland J. – Ducati 999F05 – 33’43.399
  5. Kagayama Y. – Suzuki GSXR1000 K5 – 33’49.049
  6. Pitt A. – Yamaha YZF R1 – 33’50.394
  7. Neukirchner M. – Honda CBR 1000RR – 33’52.957
  8. Lanzi L. – Ducati 999F05 – 33’55.364
  9. Abe N. – Yamaha YZF R1 – 34’00.992
  10. Bostrom B. – Honda CBR 1000RR – 34’10.695
  11. McCoy G. – Petronas FP1 – 34’20.726
  12. Bussei G. – Kawasaki ZX10 – 34’21.361
  13. Cardoso J. – Yamaha YZF R1 – 34’28.152
  14. Brignola N. – Ducati 999RS – 34’28.284
  15. Cruciani S. – Kawasaki ZX10 – 34’40.452

Race 2 Superbike

  1. Lanzi L. – Ducati 999F05 – 40’20.947
  2. Vermeulen C. – Honda CBR 1000RR – 40’21.787
  3. Haga N. – Yamaha YZF R1 – 40’25.545
  4. Kagayama Y. – Suzuki GSXR1000 K5 – 40’26.238
  5. Muggeridge K. – Honda CBR 1000RR – 40’37.183
  6. Pitt A. – Yamaha YZF R1 – 40’39.309
  7. Neukirchner M. – Honda CBR 1000RR – 40’47.307
  8. Abe N. – Yamaha YZF R1 – 40’47.400
  9. Martin S. – Petronas FP1 – 40’48.023
  10. Chile P. – Honda CBR 1000RR – 40’58.250
  11. Toseland J. – Ducati 999F05 – 41’01.944
  12. Bussei G. – Kawasaki ZX10 – 41’05.256
  13. Corser T. – Suzuki GSXR1000 K5 – 41’05.432
  14. Gimbert S. – Yamaha YZF R1 – 41’09.406
  15. Bostrom B. – Honda CBR 1000RR – 41’14.211

Supersport Race

  1. Curtain K. – Yamaha YZF R6 – 39’39.394
  2. Parkes B. – Yamaha YZF R6 – 39’41.972
  3. Drill F. – Honda CBR 600RR – 39’51.427
  4. Fujiwara K. – Honda CBR 600RR – 39’57.678
  5. Fabrizio M. – Honda CBR 600RR – 40’05.390
  6. Chambon S. – Honda CBR 600RR – 40’05.410
  7. Corradi A. – Ducati 749 R – 40’08.544
  8. Stigefelt J. – Honda CBR 600RR – 40’11.720
  9. Lauslehto T. – Honda CBR 600RR – 40’14.030
  10. Daemen W. – Honda CBR 600RR – 40’15.351
  11. Tode A.– Honda CBR 600RR – 40’15.773
  12. Andersen K. – Kawasaki ZX 6RR – 40’18.570
  13. Harms R. – Honda CBR 600RR – 40’25.872
  14. Fores J. – Suzuki GSX 600R – 40’32.763
  15. Jansen J. – Suzuki GSX 600R – 40’49.646

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