My Most Memorable Race: Steve Rapp

A three-part interview with former motorcycle road racer in AMA, Steve Rapp, on his most memorable races during his career.

Steve Rapp: My Most Memorable Race, Part One
http://www.motoamerica.com/steve-rapp-my-most-memorable-race-part-one

Steve Rapp: My Most Memorable Race, Part Two
http://www.motoamerica.com/steve-rapp-my-most-memorable-race-part-two

Steve Rapp: My Most Memorable Race, Part Three
http://www.motoamerica.com/steve-rapp-my-most-memorable-race-part-three

KTM RC Cup World Finals This Weekend At TT Assen

Paasch, Mazziotto, and Yates representing MotoAmerica at Dutch circuit.

http://www.motoamerica.com/ktm-rc-cup-world-finals-this-weekend-at-tt-assen

stay tuned for more

More from both MotoGP and World Superbike yet to come.  Stay tuned.

WorldSBK at Magny-Cours: The assault for the title continues

A preview of this weekend's penultimate round of the FIM World Superbike Championship at Circuit de Nevers in Magny Cours, in central France. 

http://www.motorsport.com/wsbk/news/worldsbk-at-magny-cours-the-assault-for-the-title-continues-830465/?s=1

FIM Superstock 1000 Round 6: Germany

We began at Motorland Aragon in Spain, back in April.  Now, we are about to witness the sixth of eight races of the season, for the FIM Superstock 1000 European Cup in Germany, at the Lausitzring.  Three races remain, and there is a title to be won, as we are in Germany's Lusatian lake land region.  After three months off, Superstock 1000, is back!  We have the following post time weather conditions, ladies and gentlemen.  It is 12 degrees Celsius (53 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature.  It is 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit), for the track temperature.  Somewhat chilly, on a fall day in the lakes region of Germany, as we get set for this contest with the stock bikes and their riders.  We have seen great action in World Superbike.  Let's see if Superstock 1000 lives up to the same level of excitement.

This area of Germany is a haven for wind turbines and used to be a mining region.  But, the mines have all been flooded more recently.  Flooding mines allows you to make a man made lake.  There are opportunities for sightseeing and also water sports, in this part of the country.  Because of time constraints in the program, the original distance of this race, will be reduced.  We originally had 14 laps scheduled.  This race is now going to be an eleven lap shootout.  So, stand by for drama.  A first time pole man for this race is Toprak Razgatlioglu on the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX10R. 

Razgatlioglu is the protege of perhaps five-time world champion Supersport rider, Kenan Sofuoglu.  Toprak Razgatlioglu dominated the Superstock 600 class last year, nearly winning every race.  Starting second will be the Nuova M2 Racing Aprilia RSV4 RF in the hands of Italian Roberto Tamburini.  Tamburini was second in the Cup standings last year, riding a BMW S1000RR and of course, he's switched to Aprilia in 2016.  Tamburini took the place of reigning STK1000 champ Lorenzo Savadori, who now races in World Superbike of course.  Hopefully for Tamburini, he doesn't repeat the dreadful start he had from pole at Imola in Italy earlier in the year.

Marco Faccani rolls off third.  Faccani is the 2014 Superstock 600 champion.  Faccani is starting where he finished, in his best career finish, in third.  This was at Misano, back in June, and you saw that race report here on 2 Wheelin', oh, in mid July.  That just shows how long it has been since these boys have had a chance to race.  It is not raining right now like in some of the earlier races.  But, that being said, the track is still wet.  Raffaele De Rosa, had the fastest time in qualifying, but will start his BMW S1000RR in fourth, for the Althea BMW Racing Team.  De Rosa leads the cup standings by five points over Leandro Mercado at the present time.

De Rosa has been handed a penalty on his racing license and had points stripped away from his license for being deemed responsible for that crash at Misano.  De Rosa is one row behind where he would have been.  Michael Ruben Rinaldi is next, on the first of the aruba.it Ducati Junior Team bikes.  Rinaldi is fourth in the Cup standings, but has had two podiums this year already.  Starting sixth will be the Pedercini Racing Team Kawasaki ZX10R #11, ridden by Jeremy Guarnoni of France.  Guarnoni raced to victory at his home race at Magny Cours, at the end of last year, aboard a Yamaha YZF R1. 

Guarnoni has the same manager as riders such as Jules Cluzel in World Supersport, Fabio Quartararo in Moto3, and Loris Baz, in MotoGP.  Next up, is the sister aruba.it Junior Team Ducati, and a chap we need to look out for.  It is Leandro Mercado, rolling off in seventh place.  Mercado is second in points right now.  He's five points behind Raffaele De Rosa.  Mercado was given a warning by the race stewards after his incident last time out Misano, because in his anger at De Rosa for taking him out, he tried to stop De Rosa from restarting his motorcycle and rejoining the race.  Talk about tempers flaring!  Ricardo Russo is FINALLY back in action after breaking his leg in a crash at Assen after starting on pole, in the rain, similar to conditions we have here at the Lausitzring.

Sadly, his Pata Yamaha Stock Team team mate, Florian Marino is not back on the grid, after also suffering injuries at the Assen round.  Marino will likely race at his home round in France at Magny Cours.  Folks, that race, is coming up this coming weekend.  So, we will bring it to you as soon as possible, here, on 2 Wheelin'.  Stay tuned.  Kawasaki, Aprilia, Ducati, and BMW, are four makes in the top four.  Ninth on the grid is Alessandro Andreozzi.  Andreozzi has WSBK experience having raced as a wildcard in 2014 at Laguna Seca.  Andreozzi is racing a different bike today.  He is now on the SK Racing Team by Barni Ducati Panigale R. 

Andreozzi was in a real pickle at Assen, because he crashed two times in that race if you remember.  Assen, was the race for STK1000 that was a demolition derby more than anything else.  Completing the top ten, it is Andrea Mantovani of Italy, riding the Guandalini Racing Yamaha YZF R1.  The amazing thing about Mantovani is, he's gone unnoticed, but sits fifth in the championship points standings for STK1000.  Kudos!  He is one of two riders in the top seven in the cup to not have had a podium finish this season.  The other, being Toprak Razgatlioglu. 

Mantovani has finished and scored points in all five STK1000 races so far this year.  Row four is completed by two more Italians.  Federico Sandi on the #15 Berclaz by MotoX Racing Yamaha YZF R1, and Luca Salvadori, another wildcard, on the #123 Team Motozoo by MotoX Racing Yamaha YZF R1.  So, a satellite bike, to Sandi on the Berclaz racer, if you will.  Faccani, Tamburini, and Razgatlioglu, are the top three.  We are set to race here in Germany.

Luca Vitali of Italy, riding the #70 Team 2R Racing BMW S1000RR, should have started from 18th.  But, he has incurred an engine penalty, and will start from pit lane.  He will be released five seconds after the green light in the lane, comes on.  He exceeded the allocation of engines he could use for the season.  He broke through three engines (the allocated number), and used a fourth, in Friday's Free Practice 1.  We have another wildcard rider here.  It is Bobby Fong from the United States, and he raced very well in the MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park, and is making an appearance in this race, at the Lausitzring. 

Vitali is last on the grid but starting from the pit lane.  We have a smaller field than usual for this STK1000 race.  32 bikes and riders will take the start.  The weather conditions as we get set for a start have changed just slightly with the air temperature going up two degrees to 13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit).  31 riders, minus Mr. Vitali who starts in the pit lane, will need to get through this first corner.  How well will that work?  It's 7-10 fewer bikes than we have seen in other STK1000 races this year.  Luca Vitale was the rider involved in the same crash as Florian Marino at Assen.  Vitale ran over Marino in that incident.

One rider, has been coasting on track with his hand in the air.  Let's hope whoever it is, won't have to call it game over before the race begins.  We look at STK1000 points.  It's a narrow spread between the top four in the Cup.  Raffaele De Rosa leads on 82 points, only five ahead of Leandro Mercado on 77.  Kevin Calia is 16 points behind De Rosa, on 66 markers, and in fourth, it is Michael Ruben Rinaldi on 53 points, 29 points out of the lead.  Oh dear.  Someone has crashed on the way into turn 12 on the warmup lap.  Rob Hartog on the #47 Team Hartog-Jenik Against Cancer Kawasaki ZX10R, has fallen down.  Hartog should have started on row seven behind Bobby Fong and Bryan Staring, making his return to STK1000. 

Staring is Bobby Fong's team mate for this race.  It will be a challenging opening corner for everyone.  We play the game of "how many riders get through the first corner?" again.  Will they get through cleanly, or will some riders fall down, like dominoes?  Vitale is in the lane for his penalty as we get set for a start.  STK1000 in Deutschland, is ready.  Red lights on.  Red lights out!  Away we go!  Toprak Razgatlioglu and Roberto Tamburini get the hole shots here.  Rinaldi is up the inside and Leandro Mercado is also pushing ahead right away.  Leandro Mercado is up to second and Raffaele De Rosa passes for third!

Marco Facani is trying to get around Raffaele De Rosa.  This is Leandro Mercado's team mate, and Mercado of course, is De Rosa's closest rival for the championship.  Toprak Razgatlioglu runs wide, and Leandro Mercado says, "muchos gracias" and heads to the lead.  Michael Ruben Rinaldi could make it a 1-2 for the Aruba Ducati junior team.  Razgatlioglu runs wide struggling for grip, making it a 1-2 for Aruba Ducati.  Someone has crashed.  Marshals and flags appear.  Marco Faccani is giving Raffaele De Rosa a real fit.  Ricardo Russo is also moving up fast on his return to the series after being out due to injury.

Oh dear!  One Aruba Ducati, has gone down!  Poor old Michael Ruben Rinaldi has crashed out of second place!  Leandro Mercado leads this race.  We still need to see who else crashed.  Someone else is down in turn nine.  Mercado leads practically by a country mile.  He's got 4.2 seconds over his closest pursuer.  Most of these boys have to keep their motorcycles upright, whereas the Ducati riders can lean a bit onto the side of the tire.  Ricardo Russo is chasing Raffaele De Rosa.  But De Rosa has to catch up to Leandro Mercado, because Mercado is checking out.  Marco Faccani passes Ricardo Russo for third.

Faccani is catching De Rosa as we speak, as Eric Vionnet of Switzerland has crashed out.  Game over for Vionnet and the #51 Motos Vionnet BMW S1000RR.  Leandro Mercado is leading this race, ladies and gentlemen, by nearly ten seconds!  He's in another zip code right now, as we are working lap two.  Faccani is holding off De Rosa, and meanwhile, Bryan Staring is passing Riccardo Russo!  A great run for Staring on the #67 Agro-on-Benjan Kawasaki ZX10R. 

Like Russo, this is Staring's return to competition.  Staring snapped his right leg in half, just before the race at Imola, in a horrid motocross accident.  Staring started 19th and is up to fourth!  He used to race in MotoGP, so, he knows his way around a racing motorcycle.  Mercado has a comfortable lead and sets fastest lap of the race so far at 2:00.701.  Three wide for Staring, De Rosa, and Russo!  Staring says, "see ya!" and sweeps around the BMW and the Yamaha!  Staring's race is in pure contrast to Toprak Razgatlioglu.  Razgatlioglu looks like a moving chicane.  He's not riding with as much confidence as usual.

Why is Toprak a moving chicane?  He cannot get used to these conditions.  Razgatlioglu cannot find the traction on his Kawasaki.  He's being pursued by Sebastien Suchet on the #3 bike, which is another Berclaz Racing by MotoX Racing Yamaha YZF R1.  Someone cut the chicane at turn one, and had to go up on the banking of the oval to rejoin the raceway at turn five.  Bryan Staring, if you recall, was a former MotoGP racer with Gresini Honda, in the Claiming Rules Teams bikes section, team mates, with Alvaro Bautista.  The Benjan team Staring rides for is Dutch.  They are based just outside Rotterdam, Holland.  Ricardo Russo now runs fourth.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi is back up and running, but he languishes way down in 29th spot.  Rinaldi had a bad tumble out of second place on the opening lap, as we watch in replay.  Rinaldi has damaged the fairing on the Ducati and has lost one of the foot pegs as well.  Rinaldi has had many accidents and this is the difference in performance between he, and his leading team mate, Leandro Mercado, who has run very consistently all year.  Raffaele De Rosa has fallen to fifth and this would give Mercado a nine point lead in the cup championship table.  Raffaele De Rosa needs to regroup here.

Dorna has just announced that the FIM CEV European Superbike championship will be discontinued for 2017.  So, that opens doors for teams in that series, to cross over in the STK1000 class for next year.  This is a good step, to expand the depth of the field for this division.  This will deepen the field and bring more good riders to the series.  Revised points as they run.  Leandro Mercado would take the Cup lead by nine points, from Raffaele De Rosa, and lead 102 points to 93 points, This nine point gap would be the battle for the title.  Third place Kevin Calia would be 30 markers back on 72 points and in fourth, Michael Ruben Rinaldi, would be 49 points in-arrears.

Mercado has 15.6 seconds in hand over his rivals!  Recall, that the Saturday World Superbike race, won by Chaz Davies, also looked like this, when yours truly blogged about it this past Friday.  Marco Facani is second.  Bryan Staring is next.  His future may see him returning to race motorcycles in his native Australia, next year.  Luca Salvadori has also moved ahead of Roberto Tamburini.  Tamburini started at the front, but is going backwards.  Rounding out the top ten places are Jeremy Guarnoni, Sebastien Suchet, and Kevin Calia.  Fabio Massei on the #43 Team Trasimeno Yamaha YZF R1 is next, in eleventh.  Toprak Razgatlioglu has fallen down to 12th.  Luca Vitali, has shot through the field after starting from pit lane with his five second penalty.

Vitali is up to 13th.  Completing the top fifteen, it is Toni Finsterbusch of Germany on the #9 BCC Racing Team Kawasaki ZX10R, and also, Bobby Fong, from MotoAmerica, again, running on the #50 bike which is a sister Agro-On-Benjan Kawasaki to the one ridden by Bryan Staring.  Fong hails from Stockton, California.  Fong has made up five places from where he started, moving from 20th to 15th.  Jeremy Guarnoni moves past Roberto "Tambu" Tamburini, who we have seen a lot of today.  Toprak Razgatlioglu tumbles down the order.  He has had a bad race.

Razgatlioglu became the first Turkish rider in eleven years to start from pole in STK1000.  The last Turkish born rider to do so was Kenan Sofuoglu, in 2005.  Game over for Toprak Razgatlioglu.  Razgatlioglu crashed in the chicane at turn 12.  Our leader, Leandro Mercado approaches that section of the speedway right now.  More drama!  Marco Faccani tumbles in the gravel after ditching his Ducati Panigale R in a big way!  A common problem for motorcycle racers, happened to Faccani.  The front end of the bike folded, and washed away, and he was down and out.  Thud!  Game over.  We saw the same problem in World Superbike for riders like Jonathan Rea, Tom Sykes, and Nicky Hayden.

The front end folds away, and there's nothing a rider can do except hold on.  Bryan Staring is up to second.  He is not racing Leandro Mercado.  He's racing the chaps behind him, like Russo, De Rosa, and Salvadori.  Staring is eyeing racing in Australia.  But, he may not need to go back "down under" if he gets a good finish today.  Someone could give him a ride in STK1000 again.  Marco Faccani, in his wreck, did exactly what you should do if you tumble off a motorcycle, tucking into a recovery position, and he did lose his helmet visor, but walk away without a scratch.

Same story at the front.  Leandro Mercado, the Argentinian has left the competition for dead here in Germany.  Another wreck.  It's another of the Pedercini Kawasaki bikes, that has crashed.  #93, in the hands of Italian Roberto Mercandelli.  Game over for Roberto.  Behind Staring and Russo it is Luca Salvadori, and he is followed by a bunch of riders.  But, a major development in the cup standings is that Raffaele De Rosa, the BMW rider, has fallen way down the order.  De Rosa is sixth.  But he has his hands full with riders like Sebastien Suchet, Kevin Calia, Roberto Tamburini, Fabio Massei and others.

De Rosa would only muster a tenth place.  Someone else has gone off the road, or has crashed out.  Sebastien Suchet has moved around De Rosa and now, Kevin Calia wants to make a move.  Leandro Mercado, the man is just on a Sunday cruise.  De Rosa has fallen like a stone.  Does De Rosa have a bad tire combination?  Does he have the wrong setup on his BMW?  Mercado has to be snickering, saying, "tisk tisk, Raffaele", for taking him out at Misano, three months ago.  Mercado comes up to lap his team mate, Michael Ruben Rinaldi.  Kevin Calia has passed De Rosa.  Raffaele De Rosa has fallen down to eighth place.  Eric Vionnet moves out of the way of Bryan Staring and Ricardo Russo as they continue their battle.

Vionnet is down in 27th after an earlier off course excursion.  Raffaele De Rosa came into this race eight points up on his rivals.  But, after this one, he will be a dozen points behind, dropping to second.  But, it could get worse for the BMW rider, because Roberto Tamburini, his countryman, wants by him.  Fabio Massei and Luca Vitali, also Italians, are gaining on De Rosa.  Oh deary me.  De Rosa's race may be going pear shaped.  After starting in the pit lane, Luca Vitali has moved up to tenth!  Points as they run, show De Rosa, now second, 13 points behind Mercado, 102-89.  Roberto Tamburini wanted to move on De Rosa, and at the last second, Raffaele slams the door in his face.

Now, Luca Vitale passes Roberto Tamburini.  Oh man!  Can this get any closer in mid pack in STK1000?  I don't know.  Luca Vitali is ninth, and now is right behind De Rosa.  Vitali and De Rosa nearly touch.  Roberto Tamburini and Fabio Massei, their fellow Italians, have a grandstand seat for all this.  De Rosa is now 12 points behind Mercado.  Kevin Calia is sixth in the race, third in the cup, 26 points behind Mercado, on 76 markers.  Vitali wants to go inside, but the track is slick, and these blokes to quote WSBK commenator Greg Haines, are "walking on eggshells".  Mercado sets one fast lap after another.

De Rosa seems to have lost confidence in his tires and in his motorcycle.  Mercado, meanwhile resets fastest lap at 1:58.386.  Mercado has a 25 second lead.  Jeremy Guarnoni has taken fourth from Luca Salvadori.  Check that.  Guarnoni did not make the pass.  Ugh!  Michael Ruben Rinaldi has crashed, again.  Talk about your pear shaped race.  De Rosa has seen it, and so has Rinaldi.  Leandro Mercado is told by his team to slow down.  Do you think he'll heed that advice?  I doubt it.  The second you ease off, you can start making mistakes.  It is the last lap of Superstock 1000 here at the Lausitzring in Germany.

The question now is, will Ricardo Russo be able to pass Bryan Staring for second place?  Another fast lap for Mercado.  1:58.272.  Jeremy Guarnoni has passed Luca Salvadori.  Raffaele De Rosa is stuck in ninth, again, trailing Sebastien Suchet.  Roberto Tamburini rounds out the top ten.  To complete the top fifteen, we have Fabio Massei, Wayne Tessels, Alessandro Andreozzi, Tony Finsterbusch, and a shout out to Michael Mazzina in 15th, who is subbing for Florian Marino.  He has just gone into the points paying positions.  We continue down the order to find Bobby Fong, Marc Moser, Luca Oppedisano, Federico Sanchioni, Andrea Tucci, Julian Puffe, Bryan Leu, Francesco Cavalli, and Federico D'Annunzio.

Most of these riders just mentioned, failed to finish.  The action isn't done, on this final lap.  Tamburini passes De Rosa.  Raffaele De Rosa is down to ninth spot.  Leandro Mercado dominates this race, like you can't imagine!  He wins, here in Germany, at the Lausitzring!

Superstock 1000 Race: #36 Leandro Mercado     ARG.     Ducati Panigale R

Mercado is 25 seconds ahead of second place.  Bryan Staring, was considering hanging up his helmet and going back to Australia, when he came to this race.  But now, he finishes second!  Ricardo Russo completes the podium, coming home third.  Sebastien Suchet has passed both Luca Vitali and Roberto Tamburini, and will finish seventh.  Raffaele De Rosa completes the top ten.  Bobby Fong just misses out on a point!  Wow.  Mercado has won this race in a big way.  Nice guys, finish first, sometimes.  He wins his sixth STK1000 race and his third of the season, scoring his fourth podium.

How awesome for Bryan Staring to finish second!  A great race for Superstock 1000 in Germany!  Only two more races left in the cup.  The next one, is actually, this weekend in France at Magny Cours at the Circuit de Nevers.  It is the penultimate race of the Superstock 1000 season.  Incidentally, Mercado was 21.7 seconds ahead of everyone else.  Leandro Mercado is leading the points, and Raffaele De Rosa, will surely be playing catch up, going into this weekend's action in France.

Stay tuned, for the race from France, coming soon, here on 2 Wheelin'.  So long, for now.

     

FIM World Supersport: Germany

It's been a long time since we last saw the World Supersport motorcycles and riders in action, at Misano in Italy, back in June.  But, World Supersport, is back in action in Germany, here at the Lausitzring in the Lusatian lakeland.  Kenan Sofuoglu is the man to beat, with a 38 point cushion in the championship over his closest rival and Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team mate, Randy Krummenacher.  There are only four races remaining in the 2016 WSSP season.  We make a return to the Lausitzring, for the first time since 2007.  Current weather conditions are as follows.  We have an air temperature of 14 degrees Celsius (57 degrees Fahrenheit), and a track temperature of 21 degrees Celsius (69 degrees Fahrenheit).

Back in 2007, the last time WSSP raced here, it was two-time WSSP champion Sebastien Charpentier, who took pole on a Honda.  That was the 22nd and final pole of his career and he held that record until Kenan Sofuoglu broke it, last year in Qatar.  Charpentier was a Honda rider.  Sofuoglu has pole for today's race, his fifth pole of 2016, and 28th career pole.  He is the man with the momentum, as we go into this race.  Randy Krummenacher gained some points, when Italian Federico Caricasulo was disqualified after the aforementioned Italian round of the championship back in June.  However, in terms of points, Kenan Sofuoglu is comfortably in front, 38 points ahead of his nearest rival, with four races left in 2016.

Randy Krummenacher will have work to do.  Let me correct myself.  The last time World Superbike raced here at the Lausitzring, was in 2013, so there may have been a WSSP race that weekend, three years ago.  It is a chilly morning here at the Lausitzring, as we get set to bring the action.  Each rider for the HJC team has been asked to wear a specially painted helmet referring to a Marvel comic book superhero.  Gino Rea (the Englishman with Italian roots), had some issues with a cracked oil pipe in practice, which, though it thankfully didn't start a fire, caused his GRT Racing Team MV Agusta F3 675, to smoke.

Track and air temperatures are considerably cooler for race day, than they were during practice and qualifying.  We have 19 laps scheduled for this race.  Randy Krummenacher's dad Peter Krummenacher, is also a former motorcycle racer.  He used to race in World Superbike, at the start of the championship, from the late 1980s to the early 1990s.  This is essentially Randy Krummenacher's home race, because he is from Switzerland.  Since there is no racing in Switzerland for bikes or cars, this is as close as he'll get.  Switzerland has banned motorsport of any kind in recent years.  There are no speedways in Switzerland I'm afraid, like there are in so many other parts of Europe.

We look at Finn Nikki Tuuli, who is a wildcard rider in World Supersport for this weekend, aboard the #66 Kallio Racing Yamaha YZF R6.  Kallio Racing, is run by Vesto Kallio, who is the older brother of Moto2 racer Mika Kallio, who has been mentioned on this blog, quite often.  They hope to race full-time in World Supersport, next year, perhaps with Nikki Tuuli aboard the bike.  Tuuli was a front runner in the Superstock 600 class last year, and it is only his second WSSP start.  He ran last year at Donington Park in England, and finished ninth.

Tuuli dominated the Finnish Superstock 600 championship, which has completed it's season.  Pit lane is open and the riders take their motorcycles onto the track for sighting laps.  Two-time World Supersport runner-up, Jules Cluzel, has had a torrid season, and is 71 markers in-arrears of Kenan Sofuoglu in the points standings.  He is fifth in the championship and only the second best MV Agusta rider, behind Gino Rea.  Three and a half minutes until pit lane closes.  If you don't get out in time, you will start, in the lane.  You'd best move it out onto the speedway, chaps.  Randy Krummenacher, is 8/10ths of a second down on Kenan Sofuoglu according to the timesheets from qualifying.

Krummenacher will need a minor miracle, if he hopes to win this race.  Axel Bassani of Italy was leading the FIM Supersport European Cup, riding for San Carlo Team Italia on another Kawasaki ZX6R identical to those raced by the Puccetti factory team.  It came off the back of the now defunct Superstock 600 series that ran for a decade between 2005 and 2015.  Axel Bassani is the leader of the Cup points standings, as he follows his team mate and fellow Italian, Alessandro Zaccone.  Illiya Michalchik of Ukraine, is another rider in the WSSP European Cup to look out for.  The European Cup riders have three races left to run.  This race at the Lausitzring, the next race in France at Magny Cours, and the one a month from now at Jerez, in Spain.

Kenan Sofuoglu has won four races this season, and could make it five today.  He is a four-time WSSP World Champion, and could win his fifth, in the category, this year.  His first title was riding with Ten Kate Honda in 2007.  He won it again in 2010, 2012, and 2015.  Sweden's Christoffer Bergman on the PTR Honda will be another rider to watch.  World Supersport is venturing into the unknown, since there hasn't been a race in Germany for so many years.  We look across the front row.  Kenan Sofuoglu on pole, Nikki Tuuli in second, and Gino Rea, in third place.

Tuuli makes it the first ever front row qualifying effort for a Finnish rider in WSSP.  Christoffer Bergman, his fellow Scandinavian is fourth.  Randy Krummenacher rounds out the top five.  Jules Cluzel is sixth, but many questions surround what he will do and how he will perform in this race.  What will he do, next year?  Some of the press has linked him to racing with Yamaha in Supersport next year.  Others believe he will stay with MV Agusta.  Still others speculate that he could switch and go across to Moto2 next year.  Cluzel is possibly not planning to stay with the MV Agusta team.  Speaking of MV Agusta, Italy's Lorenzo Zanetti will roll off seventh.

It remains to be seen if MV Agusta will be involved in WSBK and WSSP next year, as the company has fallen on hard financial times as of late.  There will be a new Yamaha YZF R6 debuting for 2017.  So, could Cluzel be linked to a Yamaha seat?  Which team will become the factory backed Yamaha squad, next year?  Ayrton Badovini starts eighth on his Honda CBR600RR for Gemar Balloons - Team Lorini.  As far as Jules Cluzel, he's not sure he could find a competitive ride in World Superbike for next year.  Starting ninth, will be P.J. Jacobsen on the #2 Honda World Supersport factory bike, the CBR600RR.

P.J. Jacobsen has raced the bigger Superbikes in the FIM Endurance World Championship.  He may not advance to World Superbike with Honda, but rather, he'd go the route of entering Moto2 for next year.  He has been linked with a few teams in the MotoGP paddock.  Kyle Smith starts 12th on the CIA Landlord Insutance Honda.  One thing that stands in P.J. Jacobsen's favor, is watching the success in Moto2 of former WSSP rider, Sam Lowes, brother of Suzuki WSBK rider, Alex Lowes.  P.J. Jacobsen's riding style, could lend itself well to the Grand Prix motorcycle racing grid.
    
Luke Stapleford completes the top ten on his Triumph Daytona 675 for Profile Racing.  Eleventh is Federico Caricasulo aboard the Bardahl Evan Brothers Honda.  Kevin Wahr rolls off 13th on the sister Gemar Balloons - Team Lorini Honda, to Ayrton Badovini.  Away goes the Alfa Romeo 4C safety car, which means we are close to getting this race underway.  Illia Michalchik rolls off 14th on the grid.  Riding the DS Junior Team Kawasaki ZX6R.  The DS is former Superbike racer, David Salom.  Alessandro Zaccone completes the top fifteen.  It is going to be a shootout, between Zaccone and his team mate, Axel Basani as to who joins Kenan Sofuoglu on the Puccetti Racing Kawasaki ZX6R in WSSP next year, because of Randy Krummenacher, being promoted, to the Puccetti Racing World Superbike team for 2017.

Again, the front row is Kenan Sofuoglu, Nikki Tuuli, and Gino Rea.  Sofuoglu on pole, wants to extend his lead in the championship.  33 bikes will start this World Supersport race.  Watch out for the ESS Cup riders.  They might throw a spanner in the works during this race.  The air and track temperatures have not changed greatly from when we did our first weather check in during the on the grid segment.  There's a huge variety of tire compounds being chosen mainly because no one has been able to put in a race simulation before we get started here.

We have a look at the points standings in World Supersport.  Sofuoglu leads Krummenacher, by 38 points, going in... 146-108.  P.J. Jacobsen is 50 points behind on 116.  Gino Rea, is fourth, 65 markers back, on 81 points.  Happy Birthday, Gino Rea.  He turned 27, when this race happened.  Watch the lights, and when the red ones go out, we're racing!  The lights do extinguish, and we're underway in World Supersport at the Lausitzring!  Christoffer Bergman gets a great start!  Let's hope he didn't jump it.  Nikki Tuuli tries to go through but he can't get there.  Jules Cluzel is moving up, as Randy Krummenacher has lost a few spots.

He's dropped one place from fifth, down to sixth.  Lorenzo Zanetti runs side by side with P.J. Jacobsen.  Cluzel forces his way past Gino Rea.  Federico Caricasulo is already beginning to push.  He wants to make amends for the horrendous race he encountered back in June at Misano.  Oh dear!  Alessandro Zaccone loses control and falls off his motorcycle, which continues to be carried by momentum, as if operated by remote control, into the tires.  Jules Cluzel makes a pass on Christoffer Bergman.  Nikki Tuuli is inside Kenan Sofuoglu!  Tuuli takes the lead of this race, ladies and gentlemen!  How about that?!  Tuuli, on the Yamaha says to Sofuoglu, "look, Kenan, you won't get a chance to whistle off into the distance.  We've got your number, man."

Jules Cluzel now challenges Sofuoglu.  He has nothing to lose in the championship considering how far back he is in the standings.  Kenan Sofuoglu isn't as comfortable on the bike as we are used to seeing him.  He's riding defensively, using different and tighter lines into the corners.  Cluzel thinks about passing Sofuoglu in the downhill s curves but has better judgment and will bide his time.  Tuuli continues to lead this race.  Christoffer Bergman continues in fourth, with Gino Rea fifth.  Randy Krummenacher remains sixth right now.

Federico Caricasulo has gone from eleventh up to seventh.  P.J. Jacobsen and Ayrton Badovini complete the top ten.  Randy Krummenacher is thinking championship as he's all over Gino Rea for position.  Krummenacher is losing points to Sofuoglu and needs to make his move now.  Gino Rea defends.  The Kawasaki ZX6R has more horsepower than the MV Agusta F3 675 does.  Stefan Hill crashes his motorcycle, but rejoins, keeping his #35 CIA Landlord Insurance Honda CBR600RR in the race.  Kenan Sofuoglu improves on his own old lap record from 2013, bringing that time of 1:41.946, down to the new record, 1:41.794.  He improved the lap record by a tenth of second.

Sofuoglu is not done yet, as he takes his Kawasaki inside of Nikki Tuuli's Yamaha.  Axel Basani runs wide but stays on the blacktop.  Gino Rea, despite a lack of punch out of the corner for the MV Agusta, is gaining on the Kawasaki of Christoffer Bergman.  Randy Krummenacher must be very careful, because if he crashes, he'll undoubtedly lose the 2016 FIM World Supersport championship.  75 points are on offer in the last three races, and Sofuoglu should things stay put, would have a 53 point lead, headed to the next race in France.  More details on that, after we finish this one.  Krummenacher has to run down Rea.  Rea is getting away, fast.

Gino Rea is catching Chris Bergman right now.  We've got a pylon out on the road from where a bike hit it earlier.  Sofuoglu sets new fast lap on lap three, at 1:41.505.  Jules Cluzel wants his second win of the year.  But Nikki Tuuli, the man has other ideas.  I must hold him off, Tuuli thinks.  Into turn nine these blokes on the 600s are at full lean angle.  Our current top 15 riders are:

1. Kenan Sofuoglu
2. Nikki Tuuli
3. Jules Cluzel
4. Christoffer Bergman
5. Randy Krummenacher
6. Gino Rea
7. Federico Caricasulo
8. P.J. Jacobsen
9. Lorenzo Zanetti
10. Kevin Wahr
11. Ayrton Badovini
12. Kyle Smith
13. Luke Stapleford
14. Hikari Okubo
15. Alex Baldolini

Tuuli is running quicker than Sofuoglu.  Tuuli's latest fastest lap is a 1:41.201.  Compare that with with 1:41.278 by Sofuoglu, and these two are in one zone, while the other fastest laps are four to six tenths slower, set by Cluzel and Bergman, who can only muster 1:41.6 and 1:41.8 respectively.  Randy Krummenacher passes Gino Rea.  News flash, folks.  Just heard this.  MotoGP will be going to Finland to race in 2018.  How about that!  More about it, in another news update.  For now, let's keep racing.  Lap five, and we have a wreck for Italian Michael Canducci.  Game over for the rider aboard the #65 GRT Racing MV Agusta F3 675.

Canducci is a fill-in rider for GRT's normal pilot, Aiden Wagner.  Tuuli is pouring on the steam.  He's booking it right now, folks.  Another fast lap for the Flying Finn!  Normally in these races, you all have read about it, so you all know.  When Kenan Sofuoglu gets a lead after lights out, he's gone.  He's in another zip code.  Today, that's not true.  This kid from Finland, Tuuli, is giving Sofuoglu everything he can handle, and more.  Kyle Ryde who is now a regular, he did this same thing, as a wildcard at Donington Park last year, giving the Supersport regulars what for.

Gino Rea and Randy Krummenacher are still going at it, and it looks like Krummenacher, he's right on Chris Bergman's tailpipe.  Chrissy, look out.  Krumennacher dispenses of Bergman, and the next bloke he has to work on, is Jules Cluzel who is in third.  Patrick Jacobsen smokes the rear tire on his factory Honda CBR600RR because Italian Lorenzo Zanetti on another MV Agusta is really applying the blowtorch.  Ayrton Badovini continues to hang onto tenth on the Gemar Balloons - Team Lorini Honda.

Kenan Sofuoglu is opening an advantage over Tuuli.  The young Finn is going to have to go for it.  Krummenacher inches away from Bergman who now has his hands full with Gino Rea and Federico Caricasulo.  Cluzel could be fading a bit.  Meanwhile, in the Euro Supersport Cup, Alessandro Zaccone has crashed out.  Axel Basani is ahead of Illiya Michalchik, it would stay status quo.  Basani leads the ESS.  But, he's out of the points paying places, being 16th.  You only score points in Supersport, as in Superbike and Stock 1000, by finishing in the top 15.  We are coming to halfway in this race, on the next lap.  Nine will be complete.  Ten left to run.

Krummenacher needs to get with it here.  He's going to World Superbike, along with his crew chief and former two-time Supersport world champ rider, Andrew Pitt.  But, he's got to step up if he wants to run with the big dogs.  Christoffer Bergman and Gino Rea have caught Krummenacher.  Federico Caricasulo is also waiting in the wings.  Poor old Gino Rea, he's probably given up the ghost and it's game over for the MV rider.  Birthday boy, Gino Rea won't have a nice gift to give himself after this one.  From his body language he can't be happy.  "Ugh!  I was so close!"  Once again, the motorcycle lets him down.  No drive in the MV.  The engine, is busted.

Kenan Sofuoglu is checking out.  But Nikki Tuuli, he lays down another fast lap!  1:41 flat, for Tuuli.  1:41.035.  Wildcard riders spice things up.  Japanese riders would come into WSBK at Sugo and challenge the regulars.  Or, we'd see American riders at Laguna Seca as well.  Axel Basani moves into the points past Christian Gammarino.  Overall standings as of now, see Sofuoglu leading Krummenacher by 50 points, Jacobsen by 66 points, and Cluzel, by 80 points.  This is a two horse race for victory.  Sofuoglu vs. Tuuli.  Both of them are using the same Pirelli front tire and Tuuli has a slightly harder compound rear tire on his Yamaha.

We've crossed halfway and Tuuli is charging.  The advantage for Tuuli is, he can put that Yamaha YZF R6 anyplace on the road that he wants to.  Kenan Sofuoglu has to ride more defensively and block to keep Tuuli at bay. Axel Bassani in 15th is indeed leading the ESS division.  Illiya Michalchik is desperate to move ahead of Bassani.  Kyle Ryde is up in this group and so is another of the Finnish riders, Eemeli Lahti.  Lahti is aboard the #22 Team Suzuki Stoneline-Mayer Suzuki GSX-R 600, one of the few Suzuki's in WSSP racing.  Michalchik passes Gammarino, and there could be an issue with Ayrton Badovini.

The charge for the Gemar Balloons - Team Lorini rider, has had the air let out of it.  Badovini is down in 12th spot.  Illiya Michalchik passes for the final points paying place, getting around Axel Bassani.  We've had another rider wreck as well.  Game over for Lachlan Epis.  Nikki Tuuli is right with Kenan Sofuoglu.  Catching is one thing, passing is another.  That's the old motor racing adage, and it is true here in WSSP at the Lausitzring.  Badovini is right ahead in 13th of his Lorini team mate, Kevin Wahr.  So, disregard what was said earlier.  That balloon, for Team Lorini, might still have air in it.

Kyle Smith is tenth.  But right now, it's the fight between Sofuoglu and Tuuli.  Tuuli, if there was Rider of the Day award, would win it.  Bassani is back at the sharp end of ESS while in sixth, Federico Caricasulo is definitely pushing.  Go on, sunshine.  Get after it.  Tuuli is sizing up Sofuoglu right now, to try and make a move in the closing laps.  Caricasulo is all over Bergman like a rash.  Caricasulo gets by Bergman, who was a standout in Superstock 1000 last year.  Bergman returns the favor on the inside.  Ooh.  He didn't make it back before getting chopped by Caricasulo.

Caricasulo wants to make amends for being disqualified at Misano.  Tuuli loses a little time to Sofuoglu.  Give a call to Luke Stapleford.  He's made his way into the top ten on the Triumph Daytona 675.  Bassani and Michalchik are separated by a tenth for 15th and 16th and who gets the nod for the ESS Cup win here.  Ondrej Jezek is back racing after an optic nerve issue with his eye.  But he's not at the sharp end at all.  Braeden Ortt, the Canadian, is the final motorcycle running on the speedway at the moment.  Tuuli sets his personal best lap in sector two, bringing the gap down to Sofuoglu.  This isn't over yet.  Don't run to the refrigerator yet, folks.  Tuuli is 2/10ths quicker than Sofuoglu.  1:42.2 for Sofuoglu, and 1:42.0 for Tuuli.

Four laps left here at the Lausitzring in World Supersport.  P.J. Jacobsen has passed Christoffer Bergman.  Lorenzo Zanetti will do likewise.  Zanetti has had a better weekend this weekend than usual, and still needs to step things up, because he is a factory MV Agusta rider after all.  Tuuli, runs another 1:42 flat!  1:42.007.  Sofuoglu runs 1:42.279.  Could Nikki Tuuli and his team run for the rest of this season in Supersport?  Let's hope so.  P.J. Jacobsen runs sixth behind Federico Caricasulo.  Supersport is a very competitive class, because each manufacturer has been able to shine whether it's Honda, Kawasaki, MV Agusta, Triumph, or Yamaha.

If Randy Krummenacher stays in fourth, he could pick up 13 points.  Caricasulo and Jacobsen are chasing him down, and if he falls behind one or both of them, he would only earn ten or eleven points.  Krummenacher has to keep the Honda's at bay.  But Caricasulo has a run on him.  Jacobsen bridges the gap between he and Caricasulo.  He is a half a second faster than is the Italian.  Caricasulo on the inside, is trying to go by Krummenacher.  Caricasulo makes the pass!  Two laps to go.  Now, Jacobsen wants a piece of Krummenacher.  Poor old Randy Krummenacher is seeing points vanish before his eyes.

Lorenzo Zanetti is also attacking the Kawasaki.  This is a nightmare for Krummenacher that the Swiss rider, hopes to wake up from.  Illiya Michalchik passes Axel Bassani.  Kevin Wahr loses a couple spots.  Jacobsen goes around Caricasulo.  Krummenacher has to launch, now. Krummenacher is between a rock and a hard place.  He's attacking Caricasulo, but also has to fend off Lorenzo Zanetti on the MV Agusta.  Kenan Sofuoglu starts the final lap, with a one second lead to second place Nikki Tuuli.  Tuuli is half a second slower than Sofuoglu.  Sofuoglu just turned in a fastest lap at 1:42.365 compared to Tuuli at 1:42.832.

Zanetti tries to pass Krummenacher and Krummenacher comes right back!  It's the final lap.  Zanetti and Krummenacher will fight it out for position.  Jacobsen and Caricasulo are also scrapping for the next spots up the order.  Nikki Tuuli has given it all he has, but Kenan Sofuoglu is going to win World Supersport, here at the Lausitzring!

World Supersport Race: #1 Kenan Sofuoglu     TUR.    Kawasaki ZX6R

Three races to go in the season.  Sofuoglu wins followed home by Tuuli, Cluzel, Jacobsen, Caricasulo, Krummenacher, Zanetti, Bergman, Smith, and Hikari Okubo, the top ten.  18 riders finish this race.  Sofuoglu is the only rider to win more than one race this year.  He's won five and now done a hat trick of three in a row winning at Donington Park, Misano, and here, at the Lausitzring.  He leads the championship by 53 points with 75 left on the table.  He could win the title by winning the next race in France, next weekend.

We'll see you for more WSSP action at Magny Cours.  

              

FIM World Superbike Round 10: Germany

After a long break, the FIM World Superbike Championship, returns to action in Germany, at the Lausitzring Eurospeedway.  It is mid-September, with eight races left.  Jonathan Rea leads Tom Sykes by 46 points.  We are in Germany in WSBK for the first time since 2013, and also, the Lausitzring is on the schedule for the first time since 2007.  The last time races were held here, former riders Noriyuki Haga of Japan, and Troy Bayliss from Australia, won them.  2.65 miles, 14 turns.  Part oval and part road course. This is the only tri-oval speedway in Europe.  Races 19 and 20 will be run this weekend.  Noriyuki Haga has the lap record at 1:38.622.  We have a look at current weather conditions before race one of the weekend.  19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature.  28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit), track temperature.

Winds out of the northeast at four miles an hour, eight kilometers an hour, just outside the town of Klettwitz, Germany, in Brandenburg, between Dresden and Berlin.  Jonathan Rea is sixth on the grid, in his worst starting spot of the whole year.  Kawasaki Racing Team didn't test at Lausitzring with their World Superbike.  They only ran their Superstock 1000 bikes.  How will the race go for the green bikes?  Overtaking should be quite difficult here at the Lausitzring.  Link together each apex through the infield section of the course before you come back out onto the oval.  Watch out for Markus Reiterberger in his home race, on the BMW.  He might go on attack mode in this race.

Chaz Davies is another man who could have something to say, taking just his third career WSBK pole.  Davies won at the Nurburgring.  He's won it on an Aprilia and a BMW.  Could he win in Germany, on a Ducati?  It is good to see Markus Reiterberger back, and he's had 12 weeks to recover.  He scored points on his WSBK debut at the Nurburgring back in 2013.  The pit lane will open in a minute.  Nicky Hayden starts high up on the grid.  Lots of news about rider moves for 2017.  Nicky Hayden will have a new Honda team mate next year, with Stefan Bradl moving across from MotoGP.

Yours truly also has to catch up with MotoGP coverage.  Look for those races, to come.  Michael van der Mark leaves Honda at the end of this year, and moves to the Yamaha squad for 2017.  van der Mark will be team mates at Yamaha, with Alex Lowes.  Marco Melandri returns to World Superbike with Ducati next year.  Melandri will team up with Chaz Davies next year.  Melandri tried his hand at MotoGP, but, it didn't work out.  He ran with Ducati in MotoGP with Casey Stoner, and that didn't go to plan.  Eugene Laverty will also be back with Milwaukee Racing and Aprilia.  No news on who Laverty's team mate will be for next year, yet.  It will be Lorenzo Savadori, more than likely.  The full WSBK calendar has yet to be released for 2017.

In fact, it has been confirmed that Savadori will race at Aprilia, as announced, yesterday (Thursday).  Jonathan Rea starts sixth on the grid today, which is his worst qualifying effort, (amazingly), since Malaysia in 2015.  Good to see Markus Reiterberger recovered from his back injuries, after crashing before Laguna Seca, recuperating during the summer break.  It is hard to not wish away the rest of this season, getting ready for next year.  No one has put in a proper race simulation.  Josh Brookes is the only rider to have run WSBK here at the Lausitzring.  The afternoon qualifying session was broken up by a red flag.

Oh dear.  Karel Abraham may have more trouble with his Milwaukee BMW.  Three times this year, Abraham has missed the boat, and his bike has failed to start races.  Let's hope this isn't a fourth time.  How long will the Pirelli tires last?  When will they suffer a drop off?  No one knows.  Riders may push early, and manage the tires towards the end of the race.  No chances for a full race simulation, for these two 21 lap races.  Let's take a look at some of the history of WSBK racing in Deutschland.  We've had 60 German races in the 28 year history of WSBK.  Davide Tardozzi did the double in both German races in 1988.

German races have been held at tracks like the Nurburgring, Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, and in 1988, WSBK actually raced at the spectacular, old layout at Hockenheim... 4.2 miles, with a couple of really long, fast straightaways.  21 seconds until the pit lane closes, and it could be game over for Karel Abraham before we even start this one.  Another Super Pole, and another new Tissot watch, and chance to sign the camera lens, for Chaz Davies.  It's his second Tissot Super Pole of 2016.  We have seen Michael van der Mark, Chaz Davies, and "Mr. Super Pole" himself, Tom Sykes, earn P1 honors.  Sykes must have a watch for every time zone in the world, as yours truly always speculates when he does earn one.

Jonathan Rea is the odd bloke out.  He's not qualified on pole yet this year.  200 points remain up for grabs in the final eight races, and four rounds of this season, including today.  Sykes rolls off second.  Nicky Hayden is on the front row of the grid for the first time this year, qualifying third.  Chaz Davies keeps winning the Pirelli Best Lap Award, much like Sykes dominates Super Pole and earns all of those beautiful watches.  It's great to see fast laps recognized that way.  Davide Giugliano strolls his way to his Ducati, rolling off eighth.  Lorenzo Savadori is fourth, right on the second row of the grid.  The mascot for the Lausitzring, is actually a bloke dressed in a dog costume.  The dog has floppy ears, it's tail, and a pair of overalls on.

That's a pretty big dog.  The grid size is growing, and the big dogs in WSBK are moving ahead to try and go for the championship.  Jordi Torres has a top five start on the Althea BMW.  Everyone thought Markus Reiterberger would have the best BMW S1000RR on the grid.  Nope.  Torres is the man of the hour for BMW at their home race in Germany.  Torres is a solid rider, and he slips into the sharp end of the order, unnoticed.  Jonathan Rea, as mentioned, is sixth.  Leon Camier on the MV Agusta rolls off seventh.  Camier is having a strong season.  He is British, but now resides in Andorra.  His best 2016 finish was back in April at Assen.  He finished fourth at "The Cathedral".

Camier finished fourth in one race at Donington Park, and also finished fifth at Donington and Imola.  Davide Giugliano has made it to his motorcycle, again, rolling off eighth.  Giugliano has yet to win in what will be his 108th WSBK start.  He's been so close this year, and hasn't made it, and will be left out in the cold, without a ride at Ducati, next year.  Sylvain Guintoli is back racing again of course, and he starts ninth on the Yamaha.  We saw Giugliano finish second to Tom Sykes at Donington, Sepang, and Laguna Seca, last time out.  Michael van der Mark completes the top ten.  Davide Giugliano is probably the biggest disappointment of 2016.

The decision for Ducati to hire the services of Marco Melandri for next year, now makes more sense.  Markus Reiterberger is 11th.  BMW has their home race here.  But they are based in the south of Germany, while we race in east Germany, near Brandenburg.  Alex Lowes starts 12th despite wrecking twice already this weekend.  Alex Lowes started his summer by winning the Suzuka 8 Hours in Japan of course, and he was faster, than his team mate, MotoGP rider, Pol Espargaro.  Xavi Fores rolls off 13th.  Next up, is Dominic Schmitter.  Completing the top 15 is our old buddy, Roman "The Platypus" Ramos.

Now we move to the blokes towards the rear of the starting grid.  Anthony West, rolls off 16th.  West needs sponsorship, and if he does get it, he could return to race at Pedercini Kawasaki, in 2017.  He's pretty much raced in every motorcycle road racing series on the planet.  17th is Josh Brookes.  Brookes had a wreck on Friday, and that's put him behind the eight ball for this weekend.  Chaz Davies has secured the 100th pole for a British rider in World Superbike.  Davies has done the double the last two times he's been on pole.  How many Welshman have won pole in WSBK?  No mas.  So, Davies could set a record.  Four minutes, and we'll be ready to race in Germany.  It's a relief to see WSBK back in action.

Luca Scassa of Italy is back in action, rolling off 19th.  He's covering for Fabio Menghi, who has injuries again.  Poor old Fabio had one injury at the beginning of the year, came back, re-injured himself, and now, has to sit on the sidelines for the rest of 2016.  Let's hope he's back in time for the start of 2017.  Cheers.  Get well soon, Fabio.  WSBK is back on track.  We have three makes and their top riders, on the front row of the grid.  Nicky Hayden third, for Honda.  Tom Sykes, second, for Kawasaki.  Chaz Davies, the pole man, for Ducati.  World Superbike is back, at the Lausitzring, and the race, is next!

The Lausitzring is 4.2 kilometers, 2.6 miles, and uses part of the oval speedway, and an infield road course.  Weather conditions at post time, remain unchanged from what they were before.  Air temp in the mid 60s Fahrenheit, and track temp in the low 80s Fahrenheit.  On Friday, there were 17 wrecks in total across the three classes including World Superbike, and the two other classes you will hear about in race reports, World Supersport, and the European Super Stock 1000 Cup.  Points as of now, (there are 200 or so points left up for grabs in 2016), see Rea leading Sykes by 46 markers.  368 to 322.  It's all Kawasaki.  The Ducati boys are mathematically eliminated from championship contention with Davies 108 points behind, and Giugliano 183 points in-arrears.

Giugliano is tied with Michael van der Mark in points.  So, those two are scrapping for fourth place in the championship.  We've got three races to go at Magny Cours in France, Jerez, in Spain, and Losail, in Qatar.  All these races will take place, before the end of October.  What will Jonathan Rea do from sixth on the grid?  The tire situation is wide open here, and defined by what make of bike someone rides.  Here's a breakdown.

Yamaha: (Guintoli/Lowes) A spec front tire/B spec rear tire
Ducati (Davies/Giugliano) B spec front tire/B spec rear tire (medium compound)
Kawasaki (Rea/Sykes) A spec front tire/B spec rear tire
Same scenario as Kawasaki, for most of the rest of the field, no matter the make of motorcycle.

Battle is now set to recommence in World Superbike.  Davies on pole.  It's lights out, and away we go!  Rea and Sykes get fabulous starts!  Rea has already made it to third from sixth on the grid!  Davies leads over Sykes and Rea.  Davide Giugliano is fourth.  Kawasaki's are the meat in the sandwich with the Ducati bikes as the bread right now.  Nicky Hayden has sunk down the order from the front row, and Italy's Gianluca Vizziello may have jumped the start.  There's a gap now developing between Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes.  Giugliano is pushing, behind Rea as we watch one of the Milwaukee BMW's go off the road.

Karel Abraham is down and out across the oval.  Game over.  Hayden languishes down in seventh place.  Lorenzo Savadori, Jordi Torres, and Xavi Fores all had great starts to this race.  Sylvain Guintoli is also playing catch up on the second Yamaha, trying to make up ground, passing his team mate, Alex Lowes.  Tight apexes taken into turn ten before the downhill s curves of turns 11-14.  Leon Camier is applying the blowtorch to Michael van der Mark.  Honda vs. MV Agusta.  Davies leads Sykes by 6/10ths of a second.  Rea is 1.8 seconds behind.  It's a scrum, between Giugliano and Savadori.  They are really fighting with each other for position.

Davies ekes out a one second gap over Tom Sykes.  Davies surely has confidence in his Ducati at the moment.  Lorenzo Savadori passes Davide Giugliano.  Jonathan Rea is losing ground to Davies and Sykes as Nicky Hayden passes Jordi Torres.  Poor old Jordi Torres has waited for something to happen.  But, Savadori passes Giugliano, and Torres is down to seventh.  Torres has his hands full with Michael van der Mark.  It's Honda vs. BMW and the Spaniard vs. the Dutchman.  Leon Camier is ninth on the MV Agusta followed by Markus Reiterberger on the sister BMW.  Reiterberger makes up one place, in this, his home round of the championship.

Xavi Fores runs 11th.  Like Markus Reiterberger, Fores ran in the IDM, the German Superbike Championship, here at the Lausitzring.  Sylvain Guintoli, Alex Lowes, Anthony West, and Roman Ramos, complete the top 15.  Chaz Davies has broken the old track record set here in 2007.  Noriyuki Haga set the WSBK track record here in 2007 at 1:38.622, and Davies, has broken the nearly decade old mark, running 1:37.357.  Meanwhile, Gianluca Vizziello is penalized, for jumping the start.  Additionally, it is indeed game over for Karel Abraham.  He got to start this race, but has since retired.

Chaz Davies opens his lead over Tom Sykes, to two seconds.  Lorenzo Savadori closes in on Jonathan Rea.  But that's not the only tussle.  Nicky Hayden is right on Davide Giugliano's rear wheel.  Jonathan Rea is half a second faster than Tom Sykes.  Rea is a man on a mission.  If the race ended this way, the gap between Rea and Sykes would be 42 points.  On lap four, though, Rea is closing up on his Kawasaki team mate.  Lorenzo Savadori on the Aprilia is also flying.  He's 2/10ths of a second quicker than Jonathan Rea is at the moment.  Before too long, we may have one, long six wheeled bike racing for second.

Nicky Hayden makes an inside pass on Davide Giugliano.  Reiterberger and Xavi Fores are both struggling.  Again, these two have won the last two IDM German Superbike championships.  Jordi Torres knows he can pass an ill handling Ducati, which is what Davide Giugliano has.  But, by the same token, he has to protect his own race, from being spoiled by Leon Camier and Michael van der Mark.  Torres tries forcing the bike under Giugliano in the braking zone, but has to think better of it.  Savadori and Rea want in on this party as well.  It's all coming to the fore here in Germany.  The fans are getting bang for their Deutschmark today!

Torres says, "enough of this.  I'm coming inside!"  Giugliano slides the Ducati, to slam the door in Torres' face.  Giugliano keeps the door shut, as Torres' knocking gets ever louder to say, "Davide!  Let me in!"  Chaz Davies holds a three second lead over Tom Sykes.  Jonathan Rea has caught his KRT team mate, and Lorenzo Savadori, has reeled in both the green bikes and wants to make a move.  If Savadori passes, Rea will lose points in the championship.  Torres has finally passed Davide Giugliano.  If Tom Sykes can't hold off Lorenzo Savadori and Jonathan Rea, he'll give Rea a major points advantage, heading into race two on Sunday, and also, into the final six races (three rounds) of 2016.

Sykes has to focus on finishing second as Chaz Davies is out for a cruise now.  Unless something happens to the Welshman on the Ducati, Sykes may just have to hold station.  Sykes will have to push like no tomorrow and throw caution to the wind, if he wants to win the title.  A battle goes on for eleventh between Xavi Fores and Sylvain Guintoli.  Yamaha tested here at the Lausitzring over the summer break.  But we expected them to be a lot higher in the order than they're currently running.  Leon Camier passes Davide Giugliano for ninth spot.  Reiterberger on the BMW runs behind Davide Giugliano at the moment.

But, folks, we have a crash.  It's a Kawsaki, down in the gravel.  That's Jonathan Rea, down and out!  Rea retired last time out, at Laguna Seca in July, and now, it has happened again!  Per Arriba, cannot believe his eyes!  Kawasaki has to be dumbfounded by this one.  Talk about a blow with a sledgehammer, to the championship hopes of Jonathan Rea!  Rea is down, in turn eight, on lap eight, spewing gravel as he gets moving again, which has to be painful for the marshals, getting it sprayed in their faces.  Timing and scoring corrects, to show turn ten is where Rea ditched the motorcycle.  Rea is off the road another time.  He can't keep control of the bike.

Folks, everything we just talked about, you can tear up the paper and toss it in the trash.  Sharpen your pencils and get your notebooks ready, because we'll have more math to crunch before the end of this one.  Tom Sykes can now perhaps realistically try to go for the title, as he runs second behind Chaz Davies.  Sykes is now 26 points in-arrears, with 175 up for grabs.  Rea retires for the second straight race.  More trouble, as Lorenzo Savadori's Aprilia gives up the ghost.  Savadori has wrecked at turn eight.  Has Savadori fallen twice?  This is getting weirder and weirder, here at the Laustizring.

Rea was tossed off the bike.  That's a mechanical issue.  You just don't see a rider bucked off his motorcycle like that.  Rea's bike had an issue, downshifting, and sounded like it went straight into neutral before the coup de gras and Rea becoming a helpless passenger aboard a runaway motorbike.  Rea sees the replay on the television in the garage, and is absolutely livid.  The wheels keep falling off the wagon.  Another domino, down.  Markus Reiterberger on the BMW is slowing.  Game over for the home favorite.  Is this the Superbike race nobody wants to win?  Mechanical issues for Reiterberger.

Reiterberger pummels the fuel tank of his BMW, saying, "you bloody stupid motorcycle!  You let me down!"  Chaz Davies leads nine laps into this first race.  Now the points margins are changing.  At this rate, Rea leads Sykes merely by 26 points, and Davies by 83, with a large gap to fourth place Michael van der Mark.  Rea has essentially lost 40 points here.  Tom Sykes is amazed, as P2 will be fine for him.  Nicky Hayden runs two seconds behind Sykes as Chaz Davies leads by six seconds.  Davide Giugliano has now dropped to seventh place.  If it stays this way, Rea will lose 40 points to Sykes.

Hayden may get his third podium, including his podium at Assen and his win in Malaysia at Sepang.  Nicky Hayden is two seconds behind Tom Sykes.  How fast will Jordi Torres catch Hayden?  We're halfway home in race one here in Germany.  The points scoring finishers right now, it would appear are:

1. Chaz Davies
2. Tom Sykes
3. Nicky Hayden
4. Jordi Torres
5. Michael van der Mark
6. Leon Camier
7. Davide Giugliano
8. Xavi Fores
9. Alex Lowes
10. Sylvain Guintoli
11. Anthony West
12. Alex De Angelis
13. Roman Ramos
14. Josh Brookes
15. Dominic Schmitter

Nicky Hayden is third, but two seconds behind Tom Sykes.  How fast will Jordi Torres catch him?  He's half a second faster than Hayden.  We're essentially halfway home now.  Torres, van der Mark, and Camier, continue to scrap for fourth, fifth, and sixth place, where they are currently each running.  Jonathan Rea has been struggling all weekend, as Chaz Davies is just 4/10ths of a second or so off the fastest lap of the race and his B spec Pirelli tires are working well.  Tire wear is not the issue like many riders thought it would be here at Lausitzring.

If Sykes wins, the gap would come down to 21 points.  But, it doesn't seem likely.  But, Jonathan Rea is not going to wrap up the championship at the next race at Magny Cours next time out.  Jerez in Spain is another race where it could happen.  But, it will be hard to tell now that Rea is out of this first race in Germany.  Rea was pushing too hard, perhaps.  Leon Camier makes an inside move on Michael van der Mark and makes it stick.  Josh Brookes is in the points on the Milwaukee BMW.  He is languishing in 14th, though.  Leon Camier will have his third top five of the season.

It is unlikely Josh Brookes will stay in World Superbike.  He could either race in MotoAmerica, or, in the British Superbike Championship, next year.  Dominic Schmitter will pick up the last available point.  Alex De Angelis runs 12th.  He is the sole remaining Aprilia in the race after Lorenzo Savadori's wreck.  Davies sets a new fast lap at 1:37.908.  Sylvain Guintoli is in tenth, and he's back in action after suffering a broken ankle in a qualifying crash at Imola, way back in June.  Chaz Davies is dominating this race.  He leads by nine seconds.

If Davies wins this race, it will be his most dominating victory of the year, leading by nine seconds.  He beat Tom Sykes at Aragon in Spain, by 6.4 seconds.  Davies has also solved an injury he had to some discs in his back that he'd been dealing with for a few years.  Davies may win in Germany on three different motorcycles.  He won at the Nurburgring on an Aprilia and a BMW.  He could win at Lausitzring on a Ducati, but it won't help him in the championship.  He had issues at Donington, Misano, and Laguna Seca.  Michael van der Mark has some front end washout on the Honda transferring from the oval to the road course.

There's a big bump where the two track surfaces meet, and that instantly upsets the motorcycle.  Alex De Angelis may be having a few problems as we come to the end of race one at the Lausitzring.  Leon Camier will have another top five run.  Chaz Davies is used to these "roval" race tracks which are part oval and part road course, due to his experience racing in the old AMA Supersport and AMA Superbike categories in the United States.  This might be an easy win for Davies, with five laps left.  Davies leads Sykes by ten seconds.  Sykes is 1.5 seconds ahead of Nicky Hayden.  Chaz Davies will very likely win this race.

Nicky Hayden ekes out time on Tom Sykes.  Hayden will not get a chance to pass Sykes, it seems.  The gap will b 26 points in the championship.  Leon Camier is 3/4 of a second faster than Tom Sykes.  Chaz Davies leads by 11 seconds and has whistled off into the distance.  Jordi Torres is going to get his and BMW's fifth top five finish in 2016.  This is the first time ever, that a BMW motorcycle has run a World Superbike race at the Lausitzring.  Alex Lowes passes Yamaha team mate Sylvain Guintoli.  Xavi Fores is in tenth, and Anthony West is 11th after passing Alex De Angelis, who still has his Aprilia, in this race.

Ramos and Brookes are 13th and 14th, while in 15th, it's Luca Scassa, the Italian fill-in rider for the injured Fabio Menghi.  Two laps to go now.  What can Nicky Hayden do about Tom Sykes?  What can Leon Camier do about Jordi Torres?  Michael van der Mark and Davide Giugliano continue their battle.  Nicky Hayden is flying, and has just set the fastest lap at 1:38.285.  Compare that, with Sykes at 1:38.498.  Nicky Hayden might not be able to make the move on Sykes with one and a quarter laps left.

It's the final lap for Chaz Davies.  He's in cruise mode, while other riders are scrapping for position.  Can Leon Camier do anything about Jordi Torres?  Nicky Hayden could score a podium.  This is Hayden's first race at the Lausitzring.  He's raced in MotoGP at the Sachsenring many times before.  Camier, meanwhile, is right on the back wheel of Jordi Torres.  There are passing zones where Camier could overhaul Torres.  Through turn nine they come.  It won't be enough running to turn ten for Camier.  But, it's all about the most dominant victory we have seen from Chaz Davies yet this season.

Davies will bank his 14th career WSBK win and his fifth of 2016.  Davies wins three races in Germany, for three different manufacturers, dominating race one here, at the Lausitzring!

World Superbike Race 1: #7 Chaz Davies     GBR.     Ducati 1199 Panigale R

Race two, is on deck.

Tom Sykes reduces Jonathan Rea's championship lead to 26 points.  Nicky Hayden third.  Completing the top ten it is Torres, Camier, van der Mark, Giugliano, Lowes, Guintoli, and Fores.  Great first race.  We'll see what race two holds in store.  The championship is blown wide open.  Davies has indeed won three races in Germany, on three different motorcycles.  Michael van der Mark moves up to fourth in the standings.

If the Sunday race, today, stays dry, could Chaz Davies do the double?  The sky is cloudy, and those clouds, could produce rain, throwing a true spanner into the works.  The wind is picking up.  The temperatures are much cooler than what we saw on Saturday.  15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature.  21 degrees Celsius (69 degrees Fahrenheit), track temperature.  Jonathan Rea's wreck in yesterday's race was indeed caused after he hit a false neutral.  In the 15 minute morning warmup on Sunday, Rea had to sit up on the motorcycle.

Markus Reiterberger had an electrical issue and lost drive in the Saturday race.  Markus Reiterberger still has three engines he can use this season, even though he missed a race last time out at Laguna Seca due to injury.  Nicky Hayden has been building momentum this whole season, and has been consistent.  Jordi Torres might have another solid race on Sunday.  Lorenzo Savadori, after his wreck on Saturday, he might be able to improve.  The riders head out on their sighting lap.  Don't count out Leon Camier on the MV Agusta.  21 laps scheduled again, for this race.

Yet another Best Lap award for Chaz Davies, awarded by Pirelli.  Davies and Sykes are 1-2 on the grid.  The red flag waves at the end of pit lane.  No one is allowed to leave pit lane, after their sighting laps have been completed.  It is rumored that Nicky Hayden will ride in the upcoming MotoGP race in Aragon, Spain.  Will that happen?  We don't know yet.  Lorenzo Savadori rolls off fourth.  Nicky Hayden could stand in for Jack Miller in MotoGP, if need be.  Leon Camier rolls off seventh.

We should have some great riders coming to WSBK next year, as people come across from MotoGP and come up from World Super Sport.  Markus Reiterberger rolls off 11th, as fans observe the German national anthem.  Drama is on, now.  Rain has started to fall.  It could be light spots.  The wet tires are coming out.  A weather update for you, ladies and gentlemen.  Current temps have dropped by one degree.  14 degrees Celsius (57 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature, with the same track temp mentioned earlier.  Could the start be delayed?  Pawel Szkopek for Team Toth, has been praying for rain.  What will he do in heavy rain?

Let's not get too excited here, folks.  The start has been delayed.  Michael van der Mark rolls off tenth.  We wait for the announcement of the new race schedule.  The Lausitzring has shown all four seasons over the last few days.  Hot, humid, mosquitoes have been around, and now, rain.  How much rain will fall.  It looks heavier than what it is.  But, it's a consistent drizzle right now.  Intermediate tires are available.  Xavi Fores, the 2014 IDM champion, is getting tires swapped on his bike.  Markus Reiterberger had not raced at the Lausitzring in the rain.  Preload and suspension settings are being adjusted.

The riders at the sharp end of the grid are going to have to make tire decisions, soon.  We should start this second race, in another 12 minutes.  The race distance has been reduced by a lap, to 20 laps.  We will have the quick start procedure.  The motto right now is, don't panic.  The race director and clerk of the course, are checking the course in the Alfa Romeo Giulietta course car.  Roman Ramos starts 15th.  We are on the long motorcycle circuit configuration here at the Lausitzring.  There will be a warmup lap, coming around to the grid, and only one mechanic is allowed on the grid.  The grid girls will be happy to get out of the rain.

Australian Anthony West, who we saw do well on Saturday, thrives in wet conditions.  The Alfa Romeo 4C safety car takes off.  There may be a dry line that could develop quickly.  Nicky Hayden is a confident rider in the rain.  Anthony West, and Sylvain Guintoli, are also good rain riders.  This could be one heck of a wildcard race for the championship.  Everyone will scramble for grip.  We have to find out how much water will be on the road.  It's a one groove track.  It's a true lottery.  Switch on the rear safety light, as we get underway on the warmup lap.  Do what you like with the tires.

Gently, boys.  This is going to be wild.  The tension will be so thick, you can cut it with a knife.  This is the sighting lap, and then, the warmup lap, followed by a race start.  The rain is bucketing down.  It's practically a washout on the back straight.  More adjustments are being made to the motorcycles.  The rain continues to come down.  Two minutes until the start of the formation lap.  Chaz Davies is changing a shock on his Ducati.  Take a gamble, for sure.  Anything can happen, in the course of the 20 laps coming up.  One minute until the formation lap.  Do your best to be sure you're ready to start.  Be patient.

Kawasaki is making a last minute tire change.  The cloud is hanging low in the sky, and it's a wet race.  There is one more warmup lap before the start.  230 horsepower under the riders.  Be careful, in the wet.  More changes in weather conditions.  It continues to cool.  We are now at 12 degrees Celsius (53 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature, and 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit), air temperature.  The rain is cooling the track surface and the air temp down.  The grass is damp, and we might just have bikes scattering all over the place.  Let's hope everyone will be safe.

Could some of the lower placed riders like Pawel Szkopek, or Anthony West, have a chance in this race?  Stay calm.  20 laps, on a saturated speedway, here in Germany.  The start, has been delayed, again!  Ugh!  Just as we were about to go racing, we have to look at safety, first thing.  Blinding rain falls now.  Yellow flags are shown.  Start delayed.  What time, will this race start?  Riders are discussing the fact that you just can't see anything in all this rain.  We wait, wait, and wait, for mother nature.  We are also supposed to race the Superstock 1000 race later on.  Three months off for those boys, it should be interesting.

Racers are now going to go up to race control, to talk things over with the FIM officials (the international motorcycle racing governing body), and with DORNA, who holds commercial rights for World Superbike and also for MotoGP.  Puddles gather all around the speedway.  We wait, and wait, and wait some more.  Alex Lowes is becoming a much better rider than he once was.  The clouds are beginning to lift.  Potentially, the weather might improve.  Commentators Greg Haines and Steve English, are discussing the best grandstands at the tracks run by World Superbike.  Riders are leaving the meeting with the safety commission.  So, we shall be updated soon, on what the status of race two, will be.

Race Direction is headed out in the Alfa Giulietta course car, to take a look at the track.  There is a wall of water you will hit, and that creates difficulty for all the riders, informing other riders of what is happening.  Neutrality in race direction, based on rider input, is very important.  Race Direction will announce what will happen, in a few minutes.  We have the five minute board, for an open pit lane, for one minute for riders to get back on the grid.  Quick restart procedure, and we will now have a 16 lap race.  Riders are putting on their rain gear.  Pit lane opens in two minutes.

With Jonathan Rea's riding style, on the Kawasaki, to play devil's advocate, it could be that his handling of the gearbox, could have caused a false neutral, and his crash in the Saturday Lausitzring race.  The riders are coming back on track.  Another exploratory lap is being carried out by the riders.  We'll wait five minutes, and do another warmup lap.  We are under the quick start procedure.  Wet weather races are difficult for everyone.  No changes in the weather conditions, folks.  Temperatures are the same as the last time we checked.

We will finally start this race.  Saeed Al Sulaiti has fallen on the sighting lap.  Al Sulaiti hoped for a good race today, after having clutch troubles in yesterday's race.  Once again, Saturday winner, Chaz Davies is on pole.  Watch out for Jonathan Rea.  He leads the world championship, and starts sixth on the grid.  Saeed Al Sulaiti has rejoined this race, at the back of the grid where he was scheduled to start anyway.  Al Sulaiti may actually be in pit lane and not taking the start of race two.  Al Sulaiti will start, right at the back.  Good news.  230 horsepower will be launched, right now, in the wet.  Red lights on.  Red lights out!  Release the beasts!  It's WSBK race two in Germany!

Sykes and Rea both have lightning starts and Davies doesn't.  Lorenzo Savadori moves inside of Chaz Davies.  Sykes, Davis, Rea, the top three.  The rainmeister, Anthony West, on Kawasaki #13 is moving up fast.  Nicky Hayden and Alex Lowes both got bad starts.  In a wet race, a rider could usually have a shot to win right from the opening laps.  16 laps, race distance in the second race for WSBK of course.  Tom Sykes runs wide, allowing his team mate to go for the lead.  Anthony West is trying to make his move on Michael van der Mark.  Davide Giugliano makes his move inside of Chaz Davies.

Rea leads, and he was fastest in a wet practice session on Friday.  Davide Giugliano is second.  But suddenly, Tom Sykes goes down!  He hits the deck, in the wet!  The championship balance will swing back in favor of Jonathan Rea, with Sykes' fall.  The front end of the #66 Kawasaki washes out under braking.  In the meantime, Alex De Angelis moves up to fifth spot on the Aprilia.  Davies and Savadori resume their scrap.  Tom Sykes has rejoined the race.  He may have been down, but he is not out.  De Angelis made up 13 places in one lap!  Holy smokes!  Nicky Hayden languishes down in 18th place.

Speaking of languishing, Tom Sykes is 24th and last on the road at the moment.  Sykes' fall is a carbon copy, in the same corner, of Nicky Hayden spilling his Honda, yesterday.  Davide Giugliano is hanging tough and putting pressure on the Kawasaki of Jonathan Rea.  The Aprilia RSV4 is often the fastest motorcycle through the speed traps.  Rea sets fastest lap so far at a 1:59.632.  Your top fifteen at this stage is:

1. Jonathan Rea
2. Davide Giugliano
3. Lorenzo Savadori
4. Chaz Davies
5. Alex De Angelis
6. Leon Camier
7. Anthony West
8. Xavi Fores
9. Michael van der Mark
10. Jordi Torres
11. Sylvain Guintoli
12. Josh Brookes
13. Alex Lowes
14. Markus Reiterberger
15. Roman Ramos

Leon Camier has ridden far beyond expectations of the MV Agusta F4 1000 and could potentially bring MV Agusta their first WSBK podium this year.  Lorenzo Savadori makes a move on Chaz Davies.  Savadori makes the move stick even though Davies challenges.  Chaz Davies has been passed by Alex De Angelis.  Davies is losing points in the championship due to all this shuffling.  Jonathan Rea leads Davide Giugliano by 7/10ths of a second.  Pawel Szkopek is now up into the points in 14th spot as Anthony West and Leon Camier crowd Davies.  Xavi Fores is coming, and Fores knows this speedway.

Over the bumps, transitioning from the road course to the oval section.  Sykes has lost time after his crash.  Sykes is closing up on Peter Sebestyen for 22nd spot.  Leon Camier puts a move on Davies.  Davies comes back with more speed and says, "knock, knock.  Leon, I got you back, dude."  It's get your own back time, here at the Lausitzring.  West is inside Camier.  Camier says, "not now, daddy-o", and slams the door in his face.  Karel Abraham is off the road on the Milwaukee BMW.  Nicky Hayden passes Roman Ramos for 15th and is back into the points.

West is on a mission after race one winner, Chaz Davies.  Fores goes inside Camier, and, we have a problem, ladies and gentlemen.  Giugliano is down!  He's crashed out of this one.  Poor old Davide, was in second spot, right behind Jonathan Rea.  Ouch!  The bike throws him off and he lands hard, on his left shoulder and arm.  Giugliano got too excited, went over the edge, and paid the price.  Alex De Angelis is up to third, applying the blowtorch to Lorenzo Savadori.  You cannot fault the rider in a crash like Giugliano had, because the rear of the motorcycle snaps away and there is nothing he can do except hold on for the ride.

At the moment, we could see two Aprilia's on the podium.  But, Anthony West, in fourth, may have other ideas as he runs side by side with Xavi Fores.  Leon Camier wants a piece of Chaz Davies.  Davies gets passed by Camier for seventh place.  Fores is up to fourth spot.  Fores is the leading Ducati mounted rider at the moment.  Lap 11, we're halfway home in race two.  Alex De Angelis, might get the iron man award at the end of this one, making up fifteen places, and currently being shown in a podium spot.  Nicky Hayden is back into the points.  Davide Giugliano goes to the medical center for a checkup.  Sykes is trying to make up ground, and is soon to try to pass Gianluca Vizziello on the Grillini entered privateer Kawasaki.

Ten laps left.  Actually, we are one lap from halfway.  How will the tires hold up?  Savadori has now turned the fastest lap of this race.  Savadori runs fast lap (we don't know the time), but it's irrelevant now, as Savadori is out.  Game over.  He's just crashed out of a podium spot after setting fastest lap!  What a shame.  De Angelis moves the sister Aprilia into second, and Xavi Fores is promoted to third on the Barni Racing Ducati.  Savadori slams the bike onto the pavement, losing it into the turn, in a shower of sparks.  Another one is down and out.  Anthony West.  Game over.

So, this shuffles the deck.  Leon Camier is up to fourth on the MV, with Chaz Davies now fifth on the sole remaining Ducati factory bike.  Camier has to try getting past Fores for MV Agusta's first podium with ten laps left.  More drama as Jordi Torres crashes the BMW.  This promotes Pawel Szkopek to tenth on the Toth Racing Yamaha YZF R1.  Torres has the same type of gut wrenching crash, that we saw from Giugliano earlier.  Tap the gas into the right hand turn, too much power, and get tossed off the bike.  Rea leads by 10.5 seconds, the same margin Davies won the Saturday race by.  Alex De Angelis is going to give Aprilia their first podium in WSBK.

Pawel Szkopek moves past Alex Lowes for ninth.  Team Toth Yamaha, passes the factory bike.  Nicky Hayden runs 11th, followed by Roman Ramos, Luca Scassa, Gianluca Vizziello, and Markus Reiterberger, to complete the top fifteen.  Tom Sykes is 16th, five seconds away from Reiterberger.  Alex De Angelis is still second, behind Jonathan Rea, with eight laps left.  We are halfway home in race two in Germany.  Xavi Fores is catching Alex De Angelis, who has not had a podium since the end of the 2012 Moto2 season.  Xavi Fores looks to be catching De Angelis.

Sylvain Guintoli is catching the chap who will replace him at Yamaha in 2017, Michael van der Mark.  Xavi Fores, he's hoping for a podium, after racing in so many categories.  He's done 125cc, Moto2, MotoGP, World Supersport and World Superbike, and has never had a career podium, except for winning the 2014 IDM championship for Superbikes in Germany.  Rea consolidates his lead and sets new fast lap at 1:57.363.  As Rea leads, Markus Reiterberger is the latest to feel the wrath of the Lausitzring in the wet.  Both Althea BMW's have retired from this race.  Tom Sykes now enters the points.

Sylvain Guintoli now passes Michael van der Mark, who will be his Yamaha team mate in WSBK next year.  But, Alex Lowes on the sister Yamaha has also crashed out.  Lowes runs into a damp spot, and ditches the motorcycle.  Nicky Hayden can't stop his Honda, and just keeps going, without hitting anything.  Lowes says, "what did I do wrong?  Nothing!"  Karel Abraham is now in the points.  Tom Sykes moves to 14th.  Gianluca Vizziello is 13th for Grillini Kawasaki.  Nicky Hayden is 12th, moving Luca Scassa up to 11th on the VFT Racing Ducati.  Roman Ramos has made it to the top ten.  Good work for "The Platypus".  Pawel Szkopek is ninth, which is amazing.

The points as they run now, mean Rea has a 49 point cushion over Sykes, 393-344.  Davies is on 296 points, 97 out of the lead, and in fourth, is van der Mark on 204 points, 189 behind.  Rea is going to increase his lead and take three points out of Tom Sykes, headed to the penultimate race of 2016.  Saeed Al Sulaiti has also crashed out.  Both Pedercini Kawasaki's have crashed today.  Chaz Davies and Sylvain Guintoli are fighting for fifth and sixth places.  Rea, Sykes, and Davies, will be the three riders with a shot at the title, with two rounds to go.

Leon Camier continues to close up on Xavi Fores.  Leon Camier is trying to give MV Agusta their first WSBK podium, but has finished on the rostrum himself.  He's done so nine times.  It's definitely game over for Saeed Al Sulaiti.  Alex De Angelis' podium, will be the first for Aprilia, since Leon Haslam won the finale in Qatar, last year.  The track is drying out and these guys are still on wet weather tires.  Fores brings fast lap down to 1:56.386.  Pawel Szkopek has sadly crashed out from ninth place.  He's back in the action, but, he could still try to be in the points.

Give a call to Josh Brookes.  It's been a tough season for the reigning British Superbike champion.  But he's hung in there in his debut WSBK season.  Szkopek is still in 14th.  De Angelis is 14.4 seconds behind Jonathan Rea as another rider has fallen.  Dominic Schmitter hits the deck, at turn ten.  Game over for Schmitter.  Michael van der Mark has crashed at turn nine.  That's been calamity corner all day and lots of damage to the Honda.  Any time a motorcycle has hit the grass or the gravel, it starts to barrel roll away from it's rider.  That crash, promotes Josh Brookes back up to seventh.

Amazingly, van der Mark is still on the motorcycle.  He's got to score points and can run until he gets the black flag.  Sylvain Guintoli has had a great comeback.  Guintoli tries the outside and makes a pass on Davies.  Davies wants it back.  Guintoli holds the spot over Davies.  It's the final lap of the race.  Jonathan Rea leads Alex De Angelis by 12.9 seconds.  Peter Sebestyen could get a point if there is an incident on the final lap, as Rea laps him.  Jonathan Rea is going to win race two at Lausitzring, and extend the gap to team mate Tom Sykes, to 48 markers with two rounds to go.  Leon Camier will finish, but is running considerably slower on the MV.  Can Guintoli catch Camier?

De Angelis will score a podium for the first time, for Aprilia, and Xavi Fores, will also score his first WSBK podium.  Jonathan Rea has turned his race around, after a disaster on Saturday.  He comes back, to win WSBK race two at the Lausitzring!  Rea is your dominant winner!  Rea may very well have wrapped up the championship.  De Angelis and Fores will be over the moon to finish on the podium.  The top ten is Rea, De Angelis, Fores, Camier, Guintoli, Chaz Davies, Josh Brookes, Michael van der Mark, Roman Ramos, and Nicky Hayden.

World Superbike Race 2: #1 Jonathan Rea     GBR.     Kawasaki ZX10R

Just at the end, Tom Sykes passes Gianluca Vizziello for 12th spot.  Pawel Szkopek won't win, but he'll finish.  Karel Abraham is the last rider in the points.  Peter Sebestyen is the final finisher, as eight riders retired.  Rea has a 47 point lead in the points.  What a race in Germany.  That's going to be one we'll remember for a long time.  Three races remain in the World Superbike championship for 2016.  Next up is France at Circuit de Nevers in Magny Cours, next weekend.  Stay tuned for a race report on that one.  We still have Supersport and Superstock 1000 to cover from here in Germany.  Stay tuned for those races, too.  For now, it's auf wiedersehen, until we meet again, for more WSBK racing action, in the junior classes.


    



        
      

Savadori joins Laverty in Aprilia's factory Superbike team

Aprilia's 2017 factory World Superbike team is now complete, as Eugene Laverty of Ireland will be joined by Italian Lorenzo Savadori.  The team will be works supported and be run as Milwaukee Aprilia Racing, under team boss, Shaun Muir.

http://www.motorsport.com/wsbk/news/savadori-joins-laverty-in-aprilia-s-factory-superbike-team-829013/?s=1

Wrapping up MotoAmerica 2016

Yours truly is working on a race report from the World Superbike event in Germany last weekend.  But, before that is published, here is a wrap up of the MotoAmerica 2016 season, ten days after the final race in New Jersey, mostly consisting of rider interviews.

Man In A Van With A Plan: That's A Wrap!
http://www.motoamerica.com/man-in-van-with-plan-thats-wrap

Interview: Josh Hayes, New Jersey Superbike Race Two
http://www.motoamerica.com/interview-josh-hayes-new-jersey-superbike-race-two

Interview: Roger Hayden, New Jersey Superbike Race Two
http://www.motoamerica.com/interview-roger-hayden-new-jersey-superbike-race-two

Interview: Toni Elias, New Jersey Superbike Race Two
http://www.motoamerica.com/interview-toni-elias-new-jersey-superbike-race-two

Interview: Cameron Beaubier New Jersey Superbike Race Two
http://www.motoamerica.com/interview-cameron-beaubier-new-jersey-superbike-race-two

That's all, from New Jersey Motorsports Park.  MotoAmerica 2016 is in the rear view mirror.  We'll see you in 2017.  So long for now, everyone.

Rea "was thrown a lifeline" by Lausitz rain - Sykes

Stay tuned, folks, for coverage of the World Superbike race from Germany. 

Jonathan Rea was fortunate to have won race two at the Lausitzring, according to his Kawasaki Racing Team team mate, Tom Sykes.

http://www.motorsport.com/wsbk/news/rea-was-thrown-a-lifeline-by-lausitz-rain-sykes-828497/?s=1

World Superbike from Germany

Stay tuned for full race reports from the recent FIM World Superbike event in Germany at the Lausitzring.  Should post it, tomorrow.

Sunday racing for FIM World Superbike at the Lausitzring

One big story, from World Superbike race two at the Lausitzring.  Kawasaki, on top.  Stay tuned for a full race report on both races, coming soon.

Lausitz WSBK: Rea rebounds with dominant win in shortened wet race

http://www.motorsport.com/wsbk/news/lausitz-wsbk-rea-rebounds-with-dominant-win-in-shortened-wet-race-827902/?s=1

World Superbike news from the Lausitzring + Saturday action

Folks, race one for World Superbike at the Lausitzring, is already done and dusted.  Here is the news before the races, but also, look at the bottom for a story on race one.  Race two, runs tomorrow (Sunday), and then, yours truly, will have full race reports from Germany.  Stay tuned.

Laustizring Day 1: Savadori heads the charge

http://www.motorsport.com/wsbk/news/lausitzring-day-1-savadori-heads-the-charge-827295/?s=1

Lausitz WSBK: Davies leads Sykes in qualifying, Rea only sixth

http://www.motorsport.com/wsbk/news/lausitz-wsbk-davies-leads-sykes-in-qualifying-rea-only-sixth-827395/?s=1

Lausitz WSBK: Davies takes crushing win, Rea crashes

http://www.motorsport.com/wsbk/news/lausitz-wsbk-davies-takes-crushing-win-rea-crashes-827464/?s=1

Stay tuned, for the Sunday action, tomorrow, folks.  Will have an update when it can be posted.

Team Rabid Transit Confirmed for Bol D'or 24 Hour

This weekend marks an endurance motorcycle road racing classic with the running of the Bol D'or 24 Hours and Team Rabid Transit will partner with YART (Yamaha Austria Racing Team), for the event, with riders Ivan Silva, Max Neukirchner, and Igor Jerman, along with team manager Brandon Cretu, listed as a fourth reserve rider for what will be the opening event of the 2016-2017 FIM Endurance World Championship campaign.

Stay tuned for an update on this race.

http://www.motoamerica.com/team-rabid-transit-confirmed-for-bol-dor-24-hour

MotoAmerica race highlights from New Jersey

All the highlights of the 2016 MotoAmerica season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Clean Sweep For Yoshimura Suzuki at New Jersey
http://www.motoamerica.com/clean-sweep-for-yoshimura-suzuki-at-new-jersey

VIDEO: Yamaha Superbike Challenge of New Jersey Saturday Highlights

http://www.motoamerica.com/video-yamaha-superbike-challenge-new-jersey-saturday-highlights

Yamaha Superbike Challenge of New Jersey Sunday Highlights Part One

http://www.motoamerica.com/yamaha-superbike-challenge-new-jersey-sunday-highlights-part-one

VIDEO: Flying Frenchman Valentin Debise Podium Interview
http://www.motoamerica.com/video-flying-frenchman-valentin-debise-njmp-podium-interview

Yamaha Superbike Challenge of New Jersey Sunday Highlights Part Two

http://www.motoamerica.com/yamaha-superbike-challenge-new-jersey-sunday-highlights-part-two

Interview: JD Beach, New Jersey Supersport Double Winner
http://www.motoamerica.com/interview-jd-beach-njmp-supersport-double-winner