EASINGWOLD sidecar star Steve Webster and his passenger David James are in action tomorrow determined to get their Sidecar World Cup challenge back on track.

They are at the rather remote Albacete circuit in central Spain for round three of the championship anious to gain ground on leader Steve Abbott.

After the disappointment of a non-finish two weeks ago at Donington, Webster is out for a top score to lift his championship points tally.

"We're third in the table after two rounds and we can't let Steve Abbott get any more points in front of us. I realise there is a long way to go yet but obviously we want to get something in the bag after the chain snapped at Donington," said Webster.

"I'm really looked forward to Albacete as it's always interesting to go to a new track and nobody has any advantage. I've seen a circuit map and know there are a lot of slow corners so it's going to be a tough race - but then they all are!"

Situated 150 miles from Madrid the 2.199 mile circuit is new for the sidecars, and represents a fresh challenge for the entire field.

Lap record speeds are relatively low compared to most modern tracks - it is anticipated that the chairs will circulate at average lap speeds of about 80 mph, but the numerous slow speed corner will probably see the proceedings resolved in favour of the pilot who can make his brakes and tyres last longest.

For solo Superbikes, 12 of the 16 corners are deemed second gear bends, so it's going to get pretty congested early in the race for the much wider sidecars as they jostle for position.

Last year on the corresponding weekend the World Superbikes raced there and surprisingly for central Spain, it was wet. Webster has yet to race the new Team Olympia Reisen LCR Suzuki 1200 in the rain, and hopefully, a dry track will greet the duo as they continue to come to terms with the very different handling on the new outfit.

"With our bike, the extra weight is in the engine and it's all in one place. Some tracks will suit it more than others. Although the two stroke drivers have to weight up their machines to meet the rules, they are spreading the weight around the bike, and the handling hasn't altered much for them.As the season progresses we will see that some tracks will favour them, and the faster tracks will favour us. Although we probably have more power, we also have more weight on the back wheel and that means it's wear more so that has to be taken into account more as well.

"I'm not complaining about it by any means, and we just have to drive around it."It's part of what we have to do with the new bike, and we've proved so far with a win and two poles that we are going in the right direction. We're really pleased so far and the team are very excited."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.