After a six week break World Superbike returns to action at Germany’s Nurburgring this weekend. The long break has benefited the walking wounded who inhabit the WSBK paddock these days. That list includes championship leader Noriuki Haga who needed time to recover from fractures to the ulna bone in his right forearm and his left shoulder blade, “I’m feeling much stronger,and after a relaxing holiday back home in Japan, I’m totally ready to continue the fight for the world title.” Haga took both races at last year’s Nurburgring round on a Yamaha.Haga's lead over Ben Spies is down to seven points, and with four rounds left in the championship it’s anyone’s guess who this year’s champion will be. Spies returns to action healthy and well rested after a crash in race one and a win in race two at the last round in Brno. That crash was caused by Michel Fabrizio’s misguided attempt to pass Spies for the lead, and it certainly prevented Spies from taking over the championship lead from Haga. Fabrizio trails teammate Haga by 53 points in the championship.
With six weeks off the teams have had time to improve their bikes, and the BMW team will be one of the teams to take advantage of that time. The team has made great strides in their inaugural WSBK season with Troy Corser leading both races at the last round in Brno. Teammate Ruben Xaus had hoped to race at the Nurburgring after fracturing his right femur in race one at Brno, but his doctor felt that he needed more time to heal. The Spaniard will be replaced at the Nurburgring by Richard Cooper who will be making his first start in WSBK.
Max Neukirchner is another rider who will miss the Nurburgring round to recover from injuries. The German rider will miss his home race after fracturing several vertebrae at the Imola test in July. Australian Karl Muggeridge will ride Neukirchner’s factory Suzuki this weekend.
Stiggy Racing has had a solid first season in WSBK with Leon Haslam standing on the podium at six races. The English rider’s efforts have him sitting in sixth place just twenty points behind Max Biaggi in fifth. Teammate John Hopkins has seen limited action due to injuries, but the long break should see the American in his best physical condition since joining the team at Valencia in May.
Rider movement in MotoGP always seems to have an effect on WSBK. Although they haven’t been ruled out of getting a ride in MotoGP there is a chance that James Toseland and Chris Vermeulen will be returning to WSBK next season. Both riders have been outperformed by their teammates this season, and Suzuki has already confirmed that Vermeulen will be replaced by 250cc rider Alvaro Bautista next year. Neither Toseland or Colin Edwards have been confirmed for the Tech 3 Yamaha team, and in an interview with MotoGPMatters.com Tech 3 boss Herve Poncharal confirmed that several riders are still in the mix for the team. According to Poncharal Ben Spies is negotiating with Yamaha and “to have him in 2011 in MotoGP is almost 100% sure”, but he might return to WSBK in 2010.
It looks as though Regis Laconi is on his way to a full recovery after his serious practice accident at Kyalami in May. The French rider has nearly completed his rehabilation, and will make an appearance at the Imola round in September. In other news Troy Bayliss will make his V8 Supercar race debut at Phillip Island in September. The three time world champion will follow that up with a run in the Bathurst 1000 in October.
2008 Nurburgring Results:
Race 1
1. Haga (Yamaha)
2. Bayliss (Ducati)
3. Neukirchner (Suzuki)
Race 2
1. Haga (Yamaha)
2. Corser (Yamaha)
3. Neukirchner (Suzuki)
