Report - Final Qualifying - Ten Kate

The HANNspree Ten Kate Honda World Superbike team finished final qualifying today with a tense Superpole session in the hot sun at Losail International Circuit in Qatar. James Toseland and Roberto Rolfo will start the opening race of the 2007 World Superbike Championship in third and tenth grid positions respectively.

James Toseland has proved the competitiveness of his CBR1000RR by being at the top of the timesheets for most of this weekend's event. The British rider stormed to the top of the rankings and smashed the existing Qatar Superbike lap record with an impressive time of 1'58.681 in this morning's qualifying session.

This set him in good stead for the Superpole one-lap dash this afternoon and as the sun set over the Losail circuit he secured a third place starting position. Toseland's Superpole lap of 1'59.005 didn't match his previous best lap of the weekend set on a race tyre, but it was within six-tenths of a second of fastest rider Troy Corser.

Roberto Rolfo has continued to improve over the course of the first round qualifying sessions. The Italian rider's lap times in this morning's session were his fastest yet at the 5.4km Qatar track as he recorded a best time of 2'00.244. He entered Superpole in a strong position and put in an impressive lap to reach tenth place on the grid for the start of tomorrow's race.

Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager:
"The track conditions have been variable all weekend with the wind changing direction everyday. It is always difficult to be the fastest rider and go last in the Superpole qualifying competition. James has done a great job all weekend and whilst I felt we had a chance of pole position, a front row start is what really matters. Roby has made steady progress all weekend and I am confident of two good race results for both riders tomorrow."

James Toseland:
"I was really disappointed about the outcome of the Superpole, just because it's been going so well all weekend that I felt that it was time for a pole position. For the race tomorrow we have a good set-up, I've had a meeting with the team since the Superpole to fine tune the bike for tomorrow and I'm feeling confident. I think there will be four or five of us in the serious battle for first place so it should be a good race"

Roberto Rolfo:
"This is my first Superpole performance with the CBR1000RR and I am still learning how to get the best from the bike. I am happy to be starting from tenth position as I am confident of improving even further in tomorrow's races. The strong wind died down towards the end of Superpole. This caused me a few problems but I don't think it effected the outcome. I am looking forward to tomorrow."

Supersport

The first race of the 2007 World Supersport Championship in Qatar will see HANNspree Ten Kate Honda riders Sébastien Charpentier and Kenan Sofuoglu start from the front row. Today's final qualifying saw the pair fight hard for the top spots in an exciting session that took place in the dry desert heat.

Sébastien Charpentier put in an impressive display and even managed to smash the Qatar Supersport lap record, which he set himself during the 2006 series. His best lap for 2007 now stands at 2'02.183 - nearly one full second faster than his previous record. The Frenchman held on to the best lap until the final 30 seconds of the 45-minute session when Kevin Curtain stole it with a time of 2'02.081.

Kenan Sofuoglu fought just as hard for his front row position, changing places with the top four riders throughout the session to finally finish in fourth place. The 22-year-old set his best lap times of the week so far with a final recording of 2'02.752. He hopes to continue this form in tomorrow's race now that the new CBR600RR has been adjusted to his preferences and is ready to go.

Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager
"To be honest, this a good result for the first event with a new bike. We didn't test here so this is the first time the new CBR600RR has been on this track. Second and fourth is good because it is important that we start tomorrow's race from the front row. Pole position would have been an extra bonus, but we just had it grabbed away from Sébastien in the closing stages. It's not too much of a problem though - we are making step-by-step improvements to the bike and the riders are becoming more and more familiar with the CBR600RR. I'm still confident that we can race to win tomorrow."

Sébastien Charpentier
"To be in second place is not what I wanted but it is OK. I am really happy with the set-up of the bike and the team has worked really hard to make sure the bike is good enough to get the best lap times. I have a plan for tomorrow, I know the other riders and I am ready for the race. I think I have a good chance to finish in front tomorrow."

Kenan Sofuoglu
"I can't say I am really happy but the good thing is that we are in the first row, which is the important thing. I'm also happy to have got my lap time down and if I can keep this up for the race it will be good. Today's times were much better than in yesterday's sessions and tomorrow is a new day so I hope we improve further for the race. The bike is now set up and ready to go, we have no more changes to make so in the warm up I can concentrate on my riding and getting ready to race. Hopefully I can get a win for the team."