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[EWC] Warwick Nowland reviews Oschersleben
Endurance Review – Round 2 Oschersleben
Firstly... congratulations to Steve Martin, Gwen Giabanni, Igor Jerman and all of the Yamaha Austria team, they are simply in a different race. After chasing the factory Suzuki team over the last few seasons, the Austrian team have done their homework and have prepared better than other teams. Suzuki’s domination was down to their preparation and now Yamaha Austria are the best prepared team in the paddock.
My predictions of a Michelin Honda challenge faded early. William Costes did a great job but his team mates and their machine weren’t up to the task. I watched the final qualifying session and William was the only rider to stay out for the entire session. This was obviously a race simulation and his lap times were equal, if not more consistent then Igor Jerman’s during the first hour of the race. I think William is a great rider, but when the chain breaks and his team mate crashed, what could he do! After the disappointment of LeMans and finishing 10th in Germany, I don’t think they will trouble Yamaha Austria in the title challenge.
The very welcome surprise of the weekend was 2nd and 3rd place finishers, Amadeus X-One and Suzuki RT Racing. The Italian Amadeus team are another team improving with every race and were helped by the speed of Italian Ayrton Badovini. It wasn’t a big surprise that Ayrton led the race early on and I’m sure the team hope he can continue with them for the remainder of 2009. Their press release stated the benefits of having Badovini on board but it also pointed out their fantastic team work to get the bike fuelled and tyred with faultless precision. I hope this is the start of good things from the likeable Italians.
The Suzuki RT Racing team also showed a significant improvement that started back in France at LeMans. New recruit and ex-Bolliger Kawasaki rider David Morillon showed his former team what they lost by standing on the podium alongside his equally impressive team mates, Jean-Louis Devoyon and Frederic Jond. The Italian/French team are now 2nd in the Championship just 28 points adrift from Yamaha Austria. 28 points is not a safe margin in Endurance racing!
It was a disastrous weekend for Phase One Yamaha. Trouble on and off the track resulted in their 2nd non finish this year. I can imagine how the riders and the crew are feeling, especially in the team’s 25th year. It’s a shame as I thought they could have fought for the Championship. They can look forward to the next round at Albacete after a good pre-season test at the circuit.
Other established teams also faltered. Maybe the not as well known teams are coming through with the ingredients in place to challenge for podium finishes... This can only be good for the Championship and could well keep the Yamaha Austria boys watching their heels!
I really did miss this race but next year I will be there and it should be 24 Hour race. That will be worth winning.
W.Article courtesy of www.warwicknowland.com
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