Lausitz: Ducati race report

LANZI COMPLETES DREAM WEEKEND FOR DUCATI XEROX TEAM WITH SENSATIONAL WIN IN RACE 2

Lausitz (Germany), Sunday 11 September: Lorenzo Lanzi completed a sensational weekend for the Ducati Xerox Team as he stormed to the win in race 2 after being penalized with a ride-through in the first race. The 23-year-old Italian rider, making his debut for the factory team in place of the injured Regis Laconi, might even had a double win today, but was given the penalty for a mistake on the opening lap.

Poleman Lanzi missed a gear as the field went into Turn 1 just after the start and had to pass through the circuit banking, specially created by the organisers as the run-off area. The Italian rider re-joined the race in third position, thus not infringing any sporting regulation, but failed to negotiate the slow-down chicane in the run-off, judging it to be impossibly tight. For the penalty Lanzi had to go through the pit-lane at regulation 60 km/h speed limit and he re-joined the race at the required point, but this time in eleventh place. As Chris Vermeulen took the win, Lanzi eventually finished eighth.

"Vermeulen went a bit wide and as I was trying to take the turn I missed a gear and selected first instead of second, got the bike a bit crossed and went straight on" explained Lanzi. "But I did what the regulations say for this track - I came back into the race in third place. The chicane should be made suitable for bikes, and it was impossible to get through due to its tight layout. I was also given the drive-through quite late after five or six laps, I wasn't expecting it any more. I'm disappointed because my race pace was capable of taking me to the win".

Lanzi then made amends in the second race after a spectacular battle throughout the 24 laps, first with Haga (Yamaha) and then with a fast-closing Vermeulen (Honda) towards the end. Lanzi becomes the first Italian rider to win on a Ducati factory machine since Pierfrancesco Chili at Assen in 1998.

"A dream race and a dream weekend" added Lorenzo. "I clearly tried to go at maximum pace throughout the race but also to have a race pace sufficient not to make any mistakes and keep the others behind. I saved my tyres until four laps from the end and then I pushed as hard as possible in the final laps to keep Vermeulen behind me. We showed in race 2 that we could win, and that we could even have won race 1 as well. I am so happy, it's been a fantastic weekend. It's the dream of every Italian rider to win a race on a Ducati and this weekend I was able to express all of my potential". several laps to get past Pitt (Yamaha) following a bad start. He was running well in the same position in race 2 when he lost the front and slipped down out of the top 10.

"It was a difficult weekend, the second race was disappointing because I was catching them and then I lost the front at the first turn. I wasn't doing anything particularly wrong and it was a pity because I felt I could have got closer to the guys at the front. We had a decent set-up but it wasn't perfect and were unable to improve as much as we should have. We would have been racing at the front if I had stayed on but that's racing. Congratulations for Lorenzo, it's a dream come true. I feel sure we could have both been on the podium and it was certainly possible in that second race."

-www.ducati.com