After the more leisurely summer period, the 2004 season of the LG Super Racing Weekend has picked up speed again, and only ten days after the Imola heatwave, the teams will be setting up the paddock at the German circuit of Oschersleben, near Magdeburg, tomorrow.

With the end of the season approaching fast, the title fights are closing up, and a weekend of exciting racing should be on the cards. The first two titles were awarded in Imola, with BMS Scuderia Italia claiming the GT Teams title for the second year in a row, while young American Scott Speed won the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup title, just in time to celebrate at his team's home circuit.

Oschersleben has become a regular event on the LG Super Racing Weekend calendar since 2002. The circuit, which was opened in late 1997, is technical, tight and winding, and is generally popular with the teams.

Last year, the BMS Scuderia Italia's Championship-winning duo Bobbi and Biagi took their sixth win of the season at Oschersleben, while De Simone and Bertolini dominated the N-GT category in their JMB Racing Ferrari 360 Modena.

This year, three of those drivers will be back in action; Bobbi will be hoping to close up to his team-mates Gollin and Cappellari, who have led the Championship since the first round of the season in Monza. As for De Simone and Bertolini, they are both driving for AF Corse, and although ineligible for Championship points, will be hoping for another good result in the magnificent Maserati MC12.

The Vitaphone Saleen, dominant in Imola, will be hoping to repeat that feat in front of a home crowd, while the Ferrari 575 M Maranello cars of JMB Racing and GPC Giesse will be surely hoping to fight for the lead as they did back in Hockenheim.

This race will also be the second for French team DAMS, entering its brand-new Lamborghini Murcielago cars, and hoping to prove their potential at a circuit they believe will suit them.

In N-GT, the battle for the title continues between two Freisinger Porsche 996 GT3-RS cars : reigning Champion Stephane Ortelli and his team-mate Emmanuel Collard are in the lead in the nr 50 car, but the German duo of Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr will be hoping to close up the gap on home ground.

Oschersleben will also see the final two rounds of the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup, with new Champion Scott Speed racing 'at home' for his Oschersleben Motopark team, as well as the Mini Cup.

Eight rounds down and three to go. Twelve hours of racing remains in the 2004 FIA GT Championship, with the Oschersleben, Dubai and Zhuhai rounds finishing off the season.

With thirty points remaining to be allocated to the drivers, the Championship fights are still alive in both GT and N-GT categories, but BMS Scuderia Italia already have an unassailable lead in the GT Teams title, while Freisinger Yukos Motorsport is just a few points away from sealing the title in N-GT. 27 cars are due to take part in the Oschersleben race, including the two AF Corse Maserati MC 12, ineligible for points.

But with a healthy mix of Porsche, Saleen S7, Ferrari 575, 550 and 360 models, Lamborghini Murcielago, Chrysler Viper and Maserati MC 12, and nine different models from six different manufacturers, an exciting and close race should be guaranteed.

The results of the N-GT category remain provisional after the Imola winner, the nr 62 GPC Giesse Squadra Corse Ferrari 360 Modena, was excluded from the results after post-race scrutineering.

The nr 99 Freisinger Motorsport Porsche 996 GT3-RS inherited the win, ahead of the nr 50 and nr 77 Freisinger Yukos Motorsport Porsches. GPC Giesse has said it intends to appeal the exclusion, but the date has not yet been set for the hearing.

This means that should the appeal not take place before Oschersleben, the handicap weights will be calculated according to the original finish, with the nr 62 car ahead of the nr 99 and 50 Freisinger Porsches.

Winning in Imola, means that the nr 5 Vitaphone Saleen will have 70 kg in Oschersleben; second and third in the points, the nr 2 and 3 Ferrari 550 Maranello cars will remain on 100 kg, while the nr 1 goes down to 25 kg.

The nr 11 GPC Ferrari loses 30 kg to put them on 55 kg, while the nr 17 JMB Ferrari loses 40 to return to 30 kg. The nr 19 Ferrari and both DAMS Lamborghini Murcielago will be on 20 kg. The AF Corse Maserati MC 12 gain weights for second and third, and will carry 95 kg and 80 kg respectively.

In N-GT, should the appeal not be heard before the next race, the nr 62 Ferrari will carry 25 kg, as will the nr 77 Porsche.

The nr 99 remains on 50 kg, while the nr 50 remains on the 'super-maximum' of 75 kg. Should the nr 99 be confirmed as the Imola winner before round 9, then Maassen and Luhr would also move up to 75 kg.