WSBK gets back to business in Germany

With high hopes that Australia's Troy Corser can snap out of a lean patch and make a long-awaited return to the rostrum on his factory BMW

The German round of the 2011 Superbike World Championship at Nürburgring this weekend may have come at the perfect time for Australia’s Troy Corser.

Determined to stem the tide after what has been a challenging year for the double world champion, Corser is returning to a circuit where he was supremely fast in regulation qualifying in 2010 before things began to unravel with a crash in Superpole, and then another incident in race one.

But he showed more than enough raw speed on his factory BMW around the undulating 5.137km layout – one of the championship’s real showpieces – to suggest that he will give this year’s two 20-lap races a real shake.

“Last year we were doing quite well in the practice and the qualifying sessions at the Nürburgring,” said Corser. “Unfortunately we then suffered a dip in the Superpole and ended up back on the fourth row. And then I got tangled up in a crash in the first race. But it is a track that I like.

“The Nürburgring has a lot of history, and I always enjoy racing here. It has a very nice layout and is undulating. It also offers a lot of overtaking opportunities. As a result we generally have thrilling and spectacular races. I hope we can now get the bike sorted out to go and get a result.”

The world superbike title has only visited Nürburgring five times, with Corser managing to eke out a victory way back in 1999.

The circuit was then banished from the calendar before returning in 2008, with Noriyuki Haga and Jonathan Rea dominating most of the races since then.

But the duo will find it a tough ask to maintain those high standards this year, with Rea in particular returning to action after a long layoff with a broken arm and collarbone, as well as ligament damage in his wrist.

And there’s the prospect of facing off against the three riders who have dominated the 2011 championship – Spain’s Carlos Checa (Ducati) and Italians Max Biaggi (Aprilia) and Marco Melandri (Yamaha).

Checa will be full of confidence after routing the opposition in the last round at Silverstone, and will go one step closer to becoming the first Spanish rider to win the championship if he has another stellar outing in Germany.

He’s currently 62pts (343 to 281) ahead of Biaggi, with Melandri (272) lurking in third place.

Others expected to fight for podium honours at Nürburgring -- a circuit with a slew of overtaking opportunities -- will include Eugene Laverty (Yamaha), Leon Haslam (BMW), Leon Camier (Aprilia) and Michel Fabrizio (Suzuki), while Mark Aitchison (Kawasaki) will be the second and final Aussie in action with Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki) a late scratching as his injured elbow takes longer than expected to recover.

Vermeulen is now likely to return to racing at Imola, Italy, on September 23-25.

In world supersport, Newcastle's Broc Parkes (Kawasaki) will be aiming for his second win of the year after a disappointing sixth place finish in the last round, which saw him slip back to fourth in the standings behind Chaz Davies (Yamaha), teammate David Salom and Honda’s Fabien Foret.

Germany is where Parkes’ adventure with the Kawasaki team started last year and he was on the podium straight away. This year he has three podium finishes to his credit, including a win at Misano, plus a pole position start at Aragon.

“I want to go into the last four races with a clear mind and race for wins and podiums,” said Parkes. “Mathematically I still have a chance to win the championship at the moment but it will be difficult, so I am just going out to try and win some races.

“We will have a different bike set-up for the race after a test last week, so we will take that to the Nürburgring and work to get back up the front where we belong. I’m really looking forward to getting back into action with the team.”

Live coverage will commence on SPEED TV at 7:30pm Sunday.

WORLD SUPERBIKE STANDINGS (AFTER ROUND 9 OF 13):

1 Carlos Checa, Spain, Ducati 343

2 Max Biaggi, Italy, Aprilia 281

3 Marco Melandri, Italy, Yamaha 272

4 Eugene Laverty, Great Britain, Yamaha 208

5 Leon Haslam, Great Britain, BMW 158

6 Leon Camier, Great Britain, Aprilia 146

7 Michel Fabrizio, Italy, Suzuki 141

8 Ayrton Badovini, Italy, BMW 118

9 Sylvain Guintoli, France, Suzuki 109

10 Noriyuki Haga, Japan, Aprilia 99

15 Troy Corser, Australia, BMW 62

20 Mark Aitchison, Australia, Kawasaki 20

21 Chris Vermeulen, Australia, Kawasaki 14

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WSBK gets back to business in Germany

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