WEC: Oschersleben 24 to be decisive?

The fourth leg of the QMMF Endurance FIM World Championship, the Oschersleben 24 Hours, marks the start of the second half of the season and looks set to be a decisive point in the race for the title.

A maximum 35 points are on offer for the winner on 12 August, with only 25 points separating the two teams at the head of the championship classification where Suzuki Endurance Racing Team, second in the Superbike class at Suzuka, lead Kawasaki Motor France, who did not take part in Japan.

A thrilling battle looks likely in Germany between the two French 'works' teams, although SERT has recorded two consecutive victories at Oschersleben. Kawasaki France, winners at Albacete last May, will be formidable opponents, however, especially with everything at stake. The battle could be a two-way affair unless anyone else steps up, however, with FCC TSR 778, the Japanese team that was victorious in the Superbike class at Suzuka - and currently lying third in the overall classification - not taking part in Germany.

The track, as highly demanding for the machines as for the riders, also offers certain permanent teams the opportunity to make an impact. Yamaha Austria Racing Team, fifth overall, along with Yamaha Phase One Endurance, Bolliger Team Switzerland Kawasaki and Endurance Moto 38, following their strong results at Suzuka, have all made an impressive leap up the standings and could surprise a few people in Germany.

Each team has been on the podium at Oschersleben in the past few seasons, with the best performance coming from Endurance Moto 38, which was victorious in 2002,
ahead of the Suzuki Zongshen and GMT 94, the top teams in that year's Endurance World Championship.

As every year, the 2007 Oschersleben 24 Hours will showcase a good number of German teams, including one official team. After finishing 16th at the Le Mans 24 Hours, BMW Motorrad Motorsport will be using two R1200Ss in the Open category on home soil while, among the other peculiarities at this round will be the sight - on track - of the Harley Davidson VRSC RR of HD Racing Bonn and the two Super Dukes of the KTM Dealers team, one of which finished 18th in the same race last year. Finally, there will also be an MZ 1000 and four Triumph Daytonas entered into the Open category, adding to the variety.

Free practice will take place on Thursday morning and the first round of qualifying on Thursday afternoon before the night-time test session. The second qualifying session is scheduled for Friday morning, with the race itself start on Saturday at 1500hrs local time.