There are no prizes for guessing what Leon Haslam (photo, on Silverstone grid with Red Arrows flying officers) and his entire Suzuki Alstare team will be aiming for on raceday at the Nürburgring - get ahead of championship leader Max Biaggi and his factory Aprilia Alitalia machine. He is currently 60 points behind the Italian rider, with six individual races left to run. Haslam has good recent experience of the German circuit, having posted two strong finishes there when riding a private Honda. His team-mate Sylvain Guintoli has never raced at this German circuit, another circuit new to him in his rookie WSB year. Haslam, a three time race winner this year, he has waited long enough to get back into action, and has his sights set on a double order of top three finishes.

"Last year, I managed a sixth and a fifth on a privateer bike, so I am looking forward to this year's round and challenging for the podium in both races," said Leon. "For sure I would like to win both races and put pressure on Max, but there are a lot of good riders and good bikes out there and it's not going to be an easy weekend. But, I wouldn't be out there if I didn't like the battle and I get a real buzz mixing it with the rest of the top riders. We've had a good, long break and although I have been training hard and doing a lot of riding, mainly off-road, there is nothing like being on the track and racing flat out. All I can do is the best I can, beat Max in both races and hope he gets a couple of poor results."


For Frenchman Guintoli, the circuit in the Eifel Mountains of Germany is a puzzle, but one he hopes to enjoy solving. "I didn't race at the Nürburgring last year, so this will be my first time there on a Superbike," he stated. "I have definitely been happier these past few races and feel I now know a lot more about World Superbikes then at the start of the season. I know I say it a lot, but this series is so competitive and the smallest of margins can make such big differences. I have been keeping fit during the long break and cannot wait to be at the racetrack again and get back on my Suzuki Alstare GSX-R1000. As usual, my aim is to qualify well, be in a good place on the grid and then fight for the podium."