World Supersport 2004 - Round 3 - HRC Preview Misano

Having recently completed the only long haul race scheduled for the 10 round 2004 World Supersport Championship the well-subscribed and ever combative grid of Supersport riders returns to the European continent for the latest set piece engagement.

Honda’s supported rider line up, running to six pilots in this highly competitive and unique season, will once more enter the fray with impressively quick and well-balanced Honda CBR600RRs. Each competitor will also be looking for solidity and predictability during what has been an often-turbulent year so far.

Proof of this came via the performance of 20-year-old rookie wildcard Josh Brookes in Australia, the Australian Championship regular taking his HRC kitted CBR600RR to a popular but somewhat unforeseen victory on his home track, the first race win for a Honda Supersport rider in 2004.

After some dominant qualifying sessions at the previous Valencia and Phillip Island rounds, the Ten Kate Honda pairing of Karl Muggeridge and Broc Parkes have yet to experience similar levels of reward in races, with both now poised just inside the overall top ten of the points standings.

Parkes leads the overall Ten Kate points tally in eighth, thanks to his 13 points for fourth place at his home round of Phillip Island, after a race one DNF in Spain. Muggeridge lies tenth, despite two powerhouse rides in qualifying.
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In the Klaffi Honda team, Valencia no-scorer Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) rode with pace and panache to finish fifth in Australia, for 11th overall. His youthful team-mate Max Neukirchner (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) has exhibited the speed that made him a top Euro Championship contender in the 250cc class. In only his second World Supersport rider ever, and at arguably the most technically challenging circuit on the calendar, Neukirchner ripped his way to a strong points score.

Honda’s third supported team, Team Italia Megabike, is working its way to outright race-distance competitiveness since adopting its new equipment, but the proven speed of Alessio Corradi (Team Italia Megabike Honda CBR600RR) and the promise of home tarmac for rookie Denis Sacchetti (Team Italia Megabike Honda CBR600RR) may make Misano a happy hunting ground.

For Broc Parkes, translating his pre-race prowess into sustainable race performances is the aim in Italy. "My set-up got better as the weekend went on in Australia but I think our setting from Valencia will maybe help us at Misano, as the circuit is a bit more like Valencia than Phillip Island. Misano gave me a podium finish last year so I'm hoping for more of that this year."

Karl Muggeridge, who looked to be in a safe third place at Phillip Island before a technical impediment dropped him to 12th, looks to Misano as the start of a rich seam of points gathering. "Third would have been all right at Phillip Island and we did try our best,” said the Aussie. “We’re down, but not out. Misano was a DNF for us last year but we need to have a good result there this year."

Confidence, even at one of his least favourite circuits, emanates from Sebastien Charpentier, now in his second season of competition with the respected Klaffi Honda team. “Misano is not the perfect track but it’s OK. For this year Misano will be completely different than last year, because now I know the team, the tyres, everything. Misano 2004 will be good for us.”

Klaffi new boy Max Neukirchner has been a minor sensation so far, but again finds himself at the doorway of a new examination hall. "I have no experience of Misano,” grinned Neukirchner in Australia. “Only Oscherleben, Assen and Magny Cours are circuits I know from any previous year. I'm looking forward to another new challenge, and I’m enjoying the experience of World Supersport."

Alessio Corradi worked hard at the last round but found little reward – pushing all his focus to the next round in Italy. “We need some work on the set-up because in Australia when the temperature was quite high the lap times were not so good,” he stated. “I'm looking for better results in Misano. It's always good to race at home.”

WSS rookie Denis Sacchetti has experienced similar concerns in qualifying, but is determined to overcome them at the very next attempt. "I had a few problems throughout the most recent Phillip Island race, but I know that I am capable of a much better result. I am hoping that will come at Misano in front of my home crowd. I'm aiming for a top 10 there."

On completion of the Misano round, the championship reconvenes a month later, still in Italy, at the classic Monza circuit on May 14 -16.

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