Red 21 holding all the Lausitz aces

Bayliss arrives in Germany in an enviable position in the championship chase

Fonsi Nieto got his first chance to sit at the top table in SBK at Assen, by running out third in race two. © FGSport. Series leader Troy Bayliss arrives in Germany in an enviable position in the championship chase, with a clear 100 point advantage over second place rider James Toseland, after the 2001 champions latest victory in race two at Assen last weekend.

A short hop across Northern Europe now sees the entire championship decamped to Central Europe, close to the Polish border, at the magnificently appointed mega-venue of Eurospeedway Lausitz. The 4.265 kilometre circuit is ringed by a NASCAR style banked section, while a test track bisects the back straight, making Lausitz one of the most expansive and versatile circuits imaginable.

The hunt for Bayliss may have got all the harder after most of his immediate championship rivals endured tough weekends at Assen, but in the war for other championship positions, Assen's results have pushed even more riders into the frame for top three finishes come season end, at Magny-Cours in France on October 8.
Bayliss' tenth win of the season came after Chris Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) had scored his first race win of his entire SBK career in race one, making the Englishman the seventh rider in the top eight of the championship to have taken at least one race win in the 2006 season. At Lausitz, the possibilities of other riders notching up a victory are very much alive, despite Bayliss' impressive record of scoring three wins in four attempts at the German track. The only other currently active SBK rider to win a race at Lausitz is none other than his 2006 team-mate, Ducati Xerox rider Lorenzo Lanzi, who took his first ever SBK victory at Lausitz in race two last year.

No one involved in SBK racing expects any drop off in the personal points battle between second placed Toseland perennial title challenger Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia). Each has scored one race win, eight podiums in total and are only separated by two points - with 150 still up for grabs for any rider who can win every remaining race.
Aussie rider Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) was the top points scorer in the previous round at Lausitz and now sits in an enviable fourth place in the title chase, 33 points behind his team-mate Haga, but with a high confidence level being pushed along by the momentum of three podium finishes in a row, including two second places at Assen, each in vastly different conditions. At the tight Lausitz track all riders will face a very different challenge from the high speed G-force ride around some sections of Assen, but Pitt has proven nothing if not adaptable this year. As Pitt's fortunes have swung upwards, Troy Corser has found his season on a downward spiral since even before the mid-season break, having scored no podium places since Monza, way back in May. The 2005 champion provided the most consistent early season challenge to Bayliss but six DNFs in 18 races have had an obviously detrimental effect on his campaign, and he enters Lausitz fifth overall.

Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda) finds himself in an unusual situation on the entry to Lausitz, having carried out a successful test at the German circuit earlier in the year, posting competitive lap times on a machine which is now improved after some engine modifications before Assen. An unhappy Dutch weekend has not aided his Lausitz preparations, but the Brazilian star will once more be out to eradicate his record of being the only rider in the top eight to not have won at least one race so far. Riding for a German-speaking team, a win for Alex would be a popular outcome for both the German fans and neutrals alike.

A sensational Brno meeting for Yukio Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) delivered him his first race wins in SBK this season, while a wet first race win for Chris Walker at Assen gave him his first ever SBK race win - in 133 attempts. Neither rider will be satisfied with their 2006 totals so far, and after Kagayama's disappointing Assen weekend in general, and Walker's troubles with an erroneously fitted rear tyre in race two at Assen, motivation to return to the top flight will be higher than ever.

Spaniard Fonsi Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) got his first chance to sit at the top table in SBK at Assen, by running out third in race two, after looking set for a podium in race one at one stage. A fantastic weekend for two of the three men in the PSG-1 team left multiple SBK race winner Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) out in the cold somewhat, giving him all the impetus he needs to get himself back into the top echelons again at Lausitz. Michel Fabrizio (DFX Treme Honda) has scored three podiums in the last six races, in his rookie SBK season, making him this year's most impressive young strike in what is a rich seam of riding talent.

A fine fifth place in race two at Assen was a season-best for Ruben Xaus (Ducati Sterilgarda Berik), who will be back in the same squad in 2007. Lausitz has been occasionally good to him in the past, and he hopes that his machinery will allow him to challenge once more, as he attempts break into the top ten at season's end. Currently 12th, he leads a talented trio of Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) Regis Laconi and Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda), which completes the top 15.
Roberto Rolfo (Ducati SC Caracchi) has had an eventful rookie season so far, but the missing link has this been the fortune to have his machinery match his obvious talents at the right time and place. He is nonetheless fully 32 points ahead of his closest championship challenger, another rookie, Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France). Sebastien Gimbert, Nakatomi's team-mate, injured his back in a crash at Assen, and is now almost certain to miss Lausitz.

Talented German rider Max Neukirchner (Alstare Engineering Suzuki) will have the best wishes of the large German crowd riding pillion with him at Lausitz, as he takes part in his second meeting with his new team. Sixth in race one at Assen, only a fall stopped his double points score, but at the very same Lausitz circuit he had his first shakedown laps at when he signed for Suzuki, much is expected. Neukirchner's former Klaffi Honda team-mate Pierfrancesco Chili (DFX Honda) hopes to make Lausitz a high-point of his season so far and get back into the top 20 again.

Steve Martin (Petronas FP-1) scored magnificent 12th and 11th place results at Assen, despite his power disadvantage on the 900cc triple, and another Aussie force, Josh Brookes (Bertocchi Kawasaki) earned his first point of the season, with a single for 15th in race two. Each is out for points again, while Martin's team-mate Craig Jones (Petronas FP-1) is after his first points score of the year.
(FGSport)