For the roller coaster track in Thüringen, the Spaniard once again opted for the hybrid version of the Ducati 1199 Panigale. Based on the 2014 chassis and the 2015 electronics, he had already won in Hungary on the bike. Given the advantages offered by the chassis, team colleague Lorenzo Lanzi went for a complete 2014 version. During qualifying, both riders made it into the Superpole. During the ten-minute session, it was decided that Forés would start the race from the first row and Lanzi from the second.

In the end, only Forés and the current overall leader Markus Reiterberger (BMW) were competing for victory in the two heats. During the first race, both riders challenged each other with tactical tricks virtually the whole time. Forés was in the lead over a greater distance. In the third lap from last, Reiterberger stormed ahead but was immediately pushed back into second place. On the last chicane, both riders were neck and neck. Forés crossed the line to turn into the bend and Reiterberger had to back off. And Forés had the better cards when accelerating away again anyway. With a slim lead of just 0.077 seconds, the defending champion was waved across the finishing line in first place. During the presentation ceremony, Xavi was very emotional and dedicated his triumph to his fellow countrymen and racing colleagues who had been killed in an accident at the Moto America two weeks earlier. "There were three of us on the motorbike today."

Forés took the lead early on in the second heat too. However, the 29-year-old was unable to counter after Reiterberger edged past him half way through and finished second after 18 laps. Lorenzo Lanzi finished third twice over the weekend. The points scored by the Panigale riders at the Schleizer Dreieck allowed Ducati to take the lead in the IDM Superbike Manufacturer's Championship. With 370 points, the Italian manufacturer is now ahead of BMW (266) and Yamaha (184). The next race will take place in Assen, the Netherlands this coming weekend (8/9 August 2015).

 

 

 

On the 4381 metre long Hungaroring, Xavi Forés immediately sensed that a victory was possible. In the run-up to the race, the 3C-Racing Team had still been doing tests on the Pannoniaring to lift the Ducati 1199 Panigale R to a higher stage. The decision to enter the race with a hybrid version was taken quickly. That means: the chassis of 2014 was combined with the electronics of 2015. Forés and Lanzi started with identical material and already demonstrated their potential in the Superpole, where the nine fastest drivers of the entire field once again battled for the front starting positions in a separate ten-minute session. Forés won the Superpole for the first time this year. He had a round time of 1:47.579 min and as such was 0.010 sec faster than Reiterberger. Lanzi came in at third position and thereby also secured a position in the first starting row.

In the first heat, Forés was the first to take the corner, and he led the race for a long time, before Reiterberger, following numerous position changes, was successful at asserting himself. In the second heat, Forés, who once again took the lead, made sure this wouldn’t happen again. After 15 rounds, with a lead of 0.113 sec, he was waved aside as the victor. For the 29-year-old, and the entire 3C-Racing Team, this was an incredibly liberating feeling.

Xavi Forés: “The test on the Pannoniaring significantly contributed in further advancing the motorbikes. I had a tough battle with Markus Reiterberger but to take second place, like in the first heat, this is not my goal. In the second heat, I let Reiterberger pass to the middle, to study his line, and then I overtook him again. I knew that he would attack again in the last two rounds, but this time round, his tactic didn’t prove successful.”

Until the next race, the SUPERBIKE*IDM will be granting itself a little break. The race will be resumed on the Schleizer Dreieck, from 31 July to the 2nd of August. On the natural race track, the heats eleven and twelve, of a total of 16 races, will be held.

 

 

 

There were no illusions that defending the SUPERBIKE*IDM title would be easy. Especially the competitors, in the form of BMW and Yamaha, have made progress. After half of the season, the 3C pilots, Xavi Forés and Lorenzo Lanzi, ranked second and third in the overall ranking.

 

On Nürburgring, following numerous experiments with the material, the team took the decision during the previous weekend that the two drivers should race with different motorbikes. Forés used a hybrid version with the chassis of 2014, the electronics of 2015 and a Superbike-WM fuel tank. Lanzi started with all material from 2014. “The potential of the 2015 material would also have been very attractive, however, there has been no opportunity for thorough testing to date,” says the team boss Karsten Jerschke.

 

In the two races on the 3618 metre long Grand Prix stretch in the Eifel, Forés and Lorenzo came in at second and third place. However, the two 3C-Racing Team drivers had never before come closer to the championship leader, Markus Reiterberger. Forés was leading the second race of the day for five rounds, before Reiterberger launched a successful attack in the curve at the end of the home stretch.

After 18 rounds, merely 1.7 seconds separated the Spaniard from the winner. At the end, Forés still tried to regain the top position, yet he was hindered at this by drivers he had lapped.

 

At the Hungaroring in Hungary, the SUPERBIKE*IDM starts the second half of the season from the 3rd to the 5th of July 2015. Until then, the 3C-Racing Team will come to a final conclusion regarding the material to be used and compare all approaches with the 2015 components. “We will do everything possible to turn the tables. Winning the championship title remains our goal. The final result will only be clear in September, with the final in Hockenheim.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 3C Racing Team will rely on its regular drivers from the previous year: the Spaniard Javier "Xavi" Forés and the Italian Lorenzo Lanzi. Forés won the SUPERBIKE*IDM 2014 with an impres-sive lead of 37 points ahead of the competition. He won six races and made it to the podium in all other heats. Lorenzo Lanzi, who only entered the championship later, won the first heat in the finale in Hockenheim. He was ranked ninth overall.

 

 

After the outstanding results in the Superbike World Championships, in which Ducati celebrated a grand victory only a few days ago in the Spanish city of Arágon, the 3C Racing Team optimistically set about defending their title in the SUPERBIKE*IDM. Forés in particular has logged enough test kilometres and knows his motorbike inside and out. The 29-year-old represented Davide Giugliano in the Ducati works team in the Superbike World Championships for two heats (Giugliano has been injured since the beginning of February.) 3C Racing Team captain Karsten Jerschke gave permis-sion on short notice for the Spaniard, who reached fifth place, to take part in the race.  

The same motorbikes are driven In the SUPERBIKE*IDM as in the World Championships, up to the regulatory provisions. The 3C Racing Team gets factory materials from Bologna. As in the previous year, the team will be supported by the factory during the season, among others by engineers from Ducati Corse, who will be at the site during the race.

Karsten Jerschke, Team captain: "It's not just a matter of defending the title. Our challengers have grown. We have great respect for the speed of the Yamaha R1M and the Team Yamaha Mo-tor Deutschland, and also for the Team Van Zon Remeha BMW and Markus Reiterberger. Howev-er, the 3C Racing Team isn't entering the race to finish second".   
Calendar of events
01.05. – 03.05.2015 Lausitzring (D)
15.05. – 17.05.2015 Circuit Zolder (B)
29.05. – 31.05.2015 Lausitzring (DTM)
12.06. – 14.06.2015 Nürburgring (D)
03.07. – 05.07.2015 Hungaroring (H)
31.07. – 02.08.2015 Schleizer Dreieck (D)
07.08. – 09.08.2015 TT Circuit Assen (NL)
20.08. – 23.08.2015 MotorsportArena Oschersleben (D)
25.09. – 27.09.2015 Hockenheimring (D)

Kicking off the season in the Motorland Aragón with a championship race before a domestic audience is something really special. The 3C-Racing Team are delighted to have this unique opportunity along with their pilot and wish him plenty of success for the race.

In addition to the preparation done by the 3C-Racing Team, – the test drives for the IDM are taking place in April – the current German master will already be able to drive a few kilometres before the kick-off of this year’s SUPERBIKE*IDM.

During the first weekend in May, there is going to be a showdown of the highest motorcycle sports class taking place at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz.