Team Alstare Suzuki riders Yukio Kagayama, Fonsi Nieto and Max Neukirchner are aiming for victory at this weekend's World Superbike Championship ninth round at Brno in the Czech Republic.
It's one of the best-loved circuits on the calendar and is a demanding 5.503 kilometre track providing a stern test for all riders. Last year, Kagayama took a superb third place in the first race and will be hoping for more of the same this weekend. Recently the track has been resurfaced and the grip improved so the first day of practice and qualifying will be new territory for all riders and technicians.
Yukio Kagayama:
"Every day or so, my left hand is getting better and I expect to be almost 100% at Brno. It is not the broken bones that are a problem but the ligaments. They take longer to heal up properly but I am sure I will be much stronger in Brno than I was in Misano. Brno is quite a tough circuit but I like it. I am not sure how grip level will be after resurfacing but it will be the same for all of us and we will just have to get used to it as quickly as we can."
Fonsi Nieto:"Last year I was on a different bike so there will be a lot for me to learn again. I will try hard to get a good qualifying and Superpole because that has been a bit of a problem for me sometimes this season. There are so many good riders and bikes this year that you need a good grid position to make a good result. The new surface may give us some problems and a lot will depend on the weather, so we will have to work hard right from the start of the weekend for sure."
Max Neukirchner:
"Brno is not so far away and I suppose it's almost like second 'home race' for me and I expect a lot of German race fans there. It is a tough track but a good track and it has a lot of variety and I like that. It was good to win in the last round at Misano and now I'd like to keep up my momentum with another win in Brno."
2007 results:
Race 1: 1 Toseland (GB-Honda), 2 Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki), 3 Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki), 9 Max Neukirchner (D-Suzuki), Fonsi Nieto DNS.
Race 2: 1 Biaggi (I-Alstare Suzuki), 2 Toseland, 3 Fabrizio (I-Honda), 12 Max Neukirchner (D-Suzuki), Yukio Kagayama (J-Alstare Suzuki) DNS.
