Stefan Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) has had a testing start to his MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship career, heading into the summer break 13^th in the championship standings with 64 points. A massive learning curve for the 27 year old, Bradl now heads to the second half of the season with the hope of some strong performances.

Following the disappointing news that he was unable to fly to Japan with an ear infection, meaning he was unable to ride in the Suzuka 8 Hour, Bradl will now look forward to heading homeward bound in WorldSBK.

Securing podiums at Lausitzring in the 125cc IDM class in 2004 and 2005, Bradl’s history around the circuit is a strong one and he hopes to put on a strong show in front of his home fans.  “I have ridden around Lausitzring more than ten years ago in the IDM 125cc championship, and I am looking forward to going back. It will be great to be in front of all the home fans, with the atmosphere and riding my Honda around the circuit.”

Making the step over to WorldSBK is always an interesting one to follow, and for the German it has been a bit of a steep learning curve. Not only has he had to cope with the change of the championship, but a brand new bike with the Honda Fireblade CBR1000RR SP2. Despite this, he has taken it all in his stride and is happy in the paddock: “I am enjoying the paddock compared to GP; you feel a bit more free. The racing is very similar to what I experienced in MotoGP, so I enjoy that as well as the atmosphere in the paddock.”

Making some big steps so far this season, Bradl explains: “I have learnt the new tracks like Thailand and Imola; I still need to learn Magny-Cours. The toughest one for sure was Imola, it was technical and quite a different track and layout to any others I have experienced, so it was a big step for me.”

Confident he has found some strong direction heading into the summer break, the German rider will hope to make some bigger and impressive steps in his home round of the season as he continues to understand his new bike and new series. Keep up with all Bradl’s progress on WorldSBK.com with the WorldSBK VideoPass.