At the tight Lausitz track all riders will face a very different challenge from the high speed G-force ride around some sections of Assen, but Pitt has proven nothing if not adaptable this year. As Pitt's fortunes have swung upwards, reigning champion
Troy Corser has found his season on a downward spiral since even before the mid-season break, having scored no podium places since Monza, way back in May! The Alstare Suzuki rider provided the most consistent early season challenge to Bayliss but six DNFs in 18 races have had an obviously detrimental effect on his campaign, and he enters Lausitz fifth overall.
Klaffi Honda's Alex Barros will find himself in an unusual situation on the entry to Lausitz, having carried out a successful test at the German circuit earlier in the year, posting competitive lap times on a machine which is now improved after some engine modifications before Assen. An unhappy Dutch weekend has not aided his Lausitz preparations, but the Brazilian star will once more be out to eradicate his record of being the only rider in the top eight to not have won at least one race so far. Riding for a German-speaking team, a debut WSBK win for the
MotoGP veteran would be a popular outcome for both the German fans and neutrals alike.
Walker's breakthrough win provided Kawasaki with its first WSBK victory since 2000, but the PSG-1 team is set to drop from three to two riders next season - meaning that either Walker,
Fonsi Nieto or
Regis Laconi will have to go. Nieto also improved his own chances of survival with a debut WSBK podium in race two, increasing the pressure on multiple race winner Laconi to join his team-mates on the rostrum.
Meanwhile, a fine fifth place in race two at Assen marked a season's best for
Ruben Xaus, who will stay with the Sterilgarda Berik Ducati squad in 2007. Lausitz has been occasionally good to him in the past, and he hopes that his machinery will allow him to challenge once more, as he attempts break into the top ten at season's end. Currently 12th, he leads a talented trio of Norick Abe, Laconi and
Karl Muggeridge, which completes the top 15.
