Report - HRC

Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) finished second after 21-laps of the 4.445km Phillip Island circuit and in doing so extended his championship lead to seven points, from today’s race winner, Fabien Foret. Sofuoglu also gave Honda the same seven-point advantage in the manufacturers’ standings, after two rounds of 13. He had qualified fourth, one place behind his team-mate Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team), after pole was taken by 2002 champion Foret.

Charpentier, 2005 and 2006 champion, was fourth today, and is now ninth in the championship fight. He had the consolation of another lap record on the CBR600RR, taking a 1’34.976, on the second lap.

Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) followed on from a podium in round one at Losail with fifth place in Australia, after another impressive display, while Lorenzo Alfonsi (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) went ninth on a 2006-spec machine. Both Althea Honda riders made great strides after qualifying, with Fujiwara eighth on the grid and Alfonsi only 16th. ‘Kats’ is now an impressive third overall in the championship, with Alfonsi tenth.

Sofuoglu was impressive throughout the race, running in the leading bunch even though he did not lead a single lap over the start-finish line.
His qualifying experience was not untroubled, but he recovered well in a real race situation.

“That was a very hard race and I can say that last weekend was easier in Qatar,” said Sofuoglu. “We tested here in January and we had a very good set-up, very fast, but when we came here for the race everything was different so we had to find everything again. The tyres were different; grip was different. I had to make a new set-up, so to be on the podium today I am very happy. I think my mistake was that I waited too long behind Kevin Curtain and Sebastien, and after I passed Broc Parkes, I needed some more laps to catch Foret.”

Charpentier was disappointed to finish off the podium in a race he felt he could win.

“I scored some points for the team today but this afternoon has not been easy for me,” said Charpentier. “I was determined to finish on the podium and I started off really well, getting up to the front by lap three. Unfortunately I had a big problem with the rear tyre of the bike and I lost a lot time. We’ve worked really hard on the development of the new bike with Honda and the team so there is no reason why I shouldn’t be back at the top for Donington. I’m ready for the next race – this is a long Championship and it is still early days.”

Fujiwara was running at a strong pace in the middle section of the race and even make ground to finish fifth, despite the hot track temperatures having an eventual effect on rear traction.

"The beginning was a little bit difficult,” said Fujiwara. “I was passed by everybody then after ten laps my rear tyre seemed finished so I had to keep my tyre in the best condition. But I can be happy with that finish and more points.”

Alfonsi finished top Italian rider, in ninth place, and achieved his personal goal of a top ten finish, in a race meeting with 38 Supersport entrants.

“This was the top ten finish I was looking for,” said Alfonsi, "so to achieve your aim in a race is always good. My team and I worked through many solutions for the tyre and this was a good solution, so thanks to all of them and Honda.”

The Supersport championship, along with World Superbike, returns to Europe for round three, with the next race scheduled for Donington Park on April 1.

World Superbike Round 2 of 13

TOSELAND WINS AGAIN AND EXTENDS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) scored a second and first place at Phillip Island to put clear water between himself and the opposition in the championship table, after two dramatic and exciting 22-lap Superbike races. Toseland, who had qualified second on the grid, now leads Max Biaggi by 16 points, 90 to 74, with race one winner in Australia, Troy Bayliss, third on 64 points.

Toseland looked like a potential winner in race one until a late spurt of pace from 2006 champion Bayliss made his break with five laps to go, leaving Toseland a determined second, by a margin of two seconds. He had led for 17 of the 22 laps.

Third was Biaggi. Steve Martin (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) was next best Honda finisher, in tenth. Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda
CBR1000RR) held off Joshua Brookes, (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) for 11th place.

In race two Toseland and four other riders disputed the lead for the most part, but in the final stages only Toseland and Bayliss were in it, with Toseland’s late injection of speed and aggression pushing him to a margin of victory of 0.274 seconds. It was his second win in four 2007 season races, and his now only ten points from perfection, finishing second in the other two races. Next best Honda rider in race two was first race retiree Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) who was classified eighth after a photo finish, with Rolfo tenth and Brookes 12th. Martin retired early from race two.

Toseland scored an incredible race two win and was delighted to have been competitive in every single race of the year so far.

“In race two, I tried to preserve the tyre and I managed to keep Bayliss behind me,” said Toseland. “I knew it would be hard but I just kept going and I got the win. It’s an honour to be riding with such great competition and to hear Bayliss complimenting me is very flattering. It’s a great feeling to be going to Donington as the Championship leader. I feel like I am getting better and better and I can’t wait to race at home. I controlled race one for the most part and I was waiting for the gap to go up as Troy developed traction problems, but it didn’t happen. I just kept getting plus zero on my board. I pushed 100 to try and get away but we it was frustrating for me.”

Rolfo’s rode solidly once more, but wants more as the season progresses.

“The feeling today has been quite strange,” said Roby. “I had a difficult first race. The biggest problem was that I was too far out on the second corner and it gave other riders the chance to overtake me. It was then difficult for me to get back up to the position I lost. I had a bit of problem with the front of the bike and it felt quite heavy to ride. We made some changes for race two and immediately the bike was much better. I maintained my position and overtook three riders. I had five good laps, but then I had a sliding problem in the rear and it was very difficult to control. I picked up a few points and I am joint tenth in the standings now, so I just hope for better luck in Donington in a few weeks time.”

Martin, who had qualified 11th in Superpole, went tenth in race one, but was forced out of race two after one lap, with clutch problems.

“The first race went well for me until I had a contact with Nieto and lost some time,” said Martin, “The set-up and pace was quite good and we know we will be able to do even better when we get to the European races.”

Fabrizio did not get the chance to finish race one either, and was in a close battle for a good top ten result in race two, finishing eighth.

“Both tyres lost grip in the first race and I decided I had to come in,” said Fabrizio. “In race two, we went back to Friday’s settings and the bike was good, competitive in the top ten and the racing was good.”

Brookes had two results of the same value in points terms, but he was disappointed with his race two.

“Race one was OK and I am reasonably happy because we got two solid results, no crashes, and we go back to Europe now full of ideas on how to improve the bike,” said Josh. “It wasn’t a good idea to listen to the influence of other people and we should have stuck with our own thoughts about tyre choice. We went with a harder tyre and it didn’t pay off. We will get there, I know we will.”

Karl Muggeridge crashed out of practice on Saturday, falling on oil from another rider’s machine, and injuring his left ankle, ruling him out of his home race. He has dislocated a tendon and suffered a mild concussion.

“It was a shame to miss my home race,” said Muggeridge. “My ankle tendon was dislocated for a time and I was knocked out but I feel not bad now and the swelling on my tendon is already down. They say four or five days and I should be OK.”

The next event on the 13 round calendar is Donington Park, between 30 March and 1 April, for what will be the first WSB race meeting at the English circuit since 2001.