Although the top performers Daniel Menge and Adriano Carciola are now back in the game after a long injury, center forward Markus Kerber will probably be out of the game for 5 to 6 weeks (bone chipping on his thumb). In order to be able to take part in the play-offs, for which it is necessary to reach sixth place, the Riverkings have therefore once again been active on the transfer market.

The 23-year-old striker Petr Machacek from Chomutov was signed from San Sebastian. The left-back had previously played for the Czech U16 to U19 national teams and then played in the 2nd French league for a year. At all stations he stood out with a good eye, strong running technique and above all many scorer points.

"We think that Petr with his move to the goal is exactly the right player in our current situation", says HCL President Frank Kurz, who also explicitly thanked the 3C Carbon Group. "We know exactly what we have in our main sponsor. He has again given us exceptional support in this situation, which is the only way to make this commitment possible. Thank you very much for that!"

The 3C-Carbon Group AG is the exclusive main sponsor of the HC Landsberg

It was a bitter week for Markus Kring. His intervertebral disc problems, which had already appeared in the preparation for the season, broke up again and, after the medical diagnosis, make further assignments in the current season impossible. Since David Blaschta had held up well in the Riverkings' goal so far, but a junior goalkeeper had to be used as a backup, Vice President Gerhard Petrussek and Team Manager Michael Oswald immediately looked for a replacement and found one in Kaufbeuren.

The second goalkeeper there was Michael Güßbacher. Born in Landsberg, Güßbacher went through the junior stages at the ESVK and in Augsburg before gaining experience in the Oberliga in Hanover, Neuwied and Memmingen before moving on to the second highest division in Kaufbeuren - now he is back in his native town. A stroke of luck for Petrussek: "In the Bayernliga, the goalkeeper is extremely important, and with David and Michi we are now very well positioned. Both are strong young goalkeepers and will form a great duo".

An extra thanks went to DEL2 club Kaufbeuren for the changeover arrangements. "We are very grateful to ESV Kaufbeuren and especially to managing director Michael Kreitl that the change could be carried out so uncomplicated. This is by no means a matter of course".

The 3C-Carbon Group AG is the exclusive main sponsor of the HC Landsberg.

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.”