The ex-airfield layout of Silverstone normally means speed is the dominant factor, but with the 2005 World Supersport races to be held on the shorter 3.561km International circuit, the onus for Honda’s five support riders this coming weekend will be on handling, manoeuvrability and tyre choice. With 28 laps of a predominantly right-handed circuit to complete, optimum tyre choice is expected to play a bigger part in proceedings than usual.

The 2005 version of the Honda CBR600RR, uprated from the double championship-winning version first launched in 2003, has proved adept on any type of racetrack already this year, having taken wins at Losail, Phillip Island, Valencia and Monza.

Winston Ten Kate Honda riders Sebastien Charpentier and Katsuaki Fujiwara have now shared out the winners’ spoils evenly, with Fujiwara scoring the first and most recent race wins and Charpentier the middle two, in Australia and Spain. Charpentier leads his team-mate by a slender seven points, with eight races still to be run.

The ambitions of Charpentier and Fujiwara to win their first World Championship are plain for all to see, but in Fabien Foret (Team Italia Megabike Honda CBR600RR) Honda already has a proven World Champion in its line up. The Frenchman secured his title on a Ten Kate Honda CBR600FS in 2002, and at Silverstone Foret will be particularly determined to take his first 2005 win, having been disqualified from the event at Monza due to a misunderstanding on the rules which limit pre-race testing and racing at championship venues.

Michel Fabrizio (Team Italia Megabike Honda CBR600RR) has taken a podium finish already this season, but he too is looking for not just his first win of the year, but the first win of his short but impressive World Supersport career.

Finnish rider Tatu Lauslehto (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) is a World Supersport rookie, but his status as reigning European Supersport Champion has helped him to an impressive ninth place in the championship standings already, with a personal best of sixth in full-on race conditions at Monza.

Charpentier, who has simply dominated qualifying on all four occasions this year, knows that his biggest threat this weekend should come from directly across the floor of his team’s pitbox.

“Everything is great for me this year – fantastic bike, fantastic team and fantastic team-mate. I was disappointed not to win at Monza because I do not like to come second but it was a good result for the team and the championship. I am OK with Silverstone although I am sorry they have decided to race on the short circuit; but it is the same for everyone I guess, so we will just have to go out and put on another good show. I know who my strongest rival will be, although the team cannot relax for a minute. I haven’t had much success at Silverstone in the past so maybe the new circuit will be good for me after all!”

Fujiwara has enjoyed his first Honda-mounted year in World Supersport, battling hard with Charpentier at Monza to secure his latest win – a pugilistic experience he expects will repeated in multiple doses until the season’s completion at Magny Cours on October 9.

“I like to win so much, so Monza was very, very good for me! I enjoyed the first win of the season at Qatar but watching Sébastien win in Phillip Island and Valencia was not good for me. But he is riding very well so I have to push very hard. It is good for the team that we are leading the championship but it also shows how good the team is working and how strong the Honda CBR600RR really is. I have never finished on the podium at Silverstone so I will at least be aiming for that this weekend. But winning races is the best thing so that is my real target.”

Fabrizio, who had his first taster of World Supersport in the final races of 2004, has stepped right up to the top echelons of the discipline, lying fourth in the championship fight.

“I learned the lesson in Monza and from Silverstone I will keep more concentration during the warm-up lap. In Monza I lost a big chance to return on the podium after the Qatar race and I not want to repeat the mistake. The bike is better compared to the previous races and we need only a little step to run together with the Winston Ten Kate guys. I hope from Silverstone on we can demonstrate our real power.”

Foret, after his recent race experiences and set-up breakthroughs feels he is now in a position to challenge for the biggest prizes again.

“In Monza I was so fast during the Italian Championship race and with the technicians we also found a good set-up for the suspension. But I lost the possibility to take the podium in the world round because of a mistake. I know that I must run a positive race Sunday in Silverstone: last year I had a fantastic result and this year my target is to be on the centre of the podium again. I know that I have the bike and the conditions to do it. I can't lose another chance.”

Lauslehto approaches yet another new track in his debut WSS season with a mood of quiet determination.

“I thought Silverstone would be another big, fast track but on the shorter layout it will be different - for everyone, not just for me. Another new WSS circuit for me, in my first year. But almost all of them are.”

Superbike

fter the first Honda-mounted win of the 2005 championship trail was secured at the previous Monza round, all five supported Honda riders, spread across three quality teams, will be out to increase the total at the new-look Silverstone. Chris Vermeulen (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) scored the race two win at Monza, firming up his pre-season promise and adding to his four Honda CBR1000RR wins from his rookie SBK season of 2004.

Vermeulen, like his entire peer group, was surprised to find that the Silverstone event would be run on the 3.561km International circuit, this season, not the usual full Grand Prix track - instantly transforming Silverstone from one of the fastest circuits on the calendar to one of the slowest.

Thus the Silverstone 2005 experience will be a new one, even for the most seasoned rider in the class, Pierfrancesco Chili (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR), who currently sits in 10th place in the overall championship table. Despite breaking his left collarbone for the third time in four seasons, in practice for the Australian round in March, Chili is recovering well and posted two seventh place finishes at Monza three weeks ago. A recent run of injuries for the Klaffi Honda riders sees Silverstone mark itself as the comeback race for the impressive young talent that is Max Neukirchner (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR), who was forced to miss the Monza event due to broken thumb on his throttle hand.

Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) overcame some early-season misfortunes to post his two best results at Monza, and climb up the championship ladder to 12th, with the promise of even stronger results as he continues in his rookie season of SBK racing.

Ben Bostrom (Renegade Honda Koji CBR1000RR) continues his reintroduction to World Superbike at Silverstone, and is one rider at least who looks forward to the shortened track, which should simplify his set-up tasks somewhat.

Vermeulen, the 2003 World Supersport Champion, admitted to having ridden on the short Silverstone International track before, in his tenure as a British Championship rider.

"I remember the shorter circuit from my days in the British championship but it’ll take a few laps to familiarise myself with it again. The second race win at Monza was long overdue but it felt pretty good all the same. We found the right direction at Monza and we’ll definitely be looking to carry that progress through to Silverstone. We basically lifted the bike at the front and the rear and changed the offset to keep it steering good and it seemed to work pretty well. Silverstone is a place that holds good memories for me, having won the Supersport race there in 2003 and then taking my very first Superbike victory last year.”

Muggeridge is another Aussie rider with British racing experience, but he will be looking to his much-improved Monza results for inspiration this weekend.

“It finally started coming together at Monza, although my raceday luck looked like continuing when I was hit at the start of the first race and lost the clutch lever. It was tough coming back from about 20th on the first lap to take sixth but the bike was that much better right through the weekend and that allowed us to qualify on the front row for the first time.
I enjoyed race two at Monza and felt I might have got on the podium but for a mistake on the last lap. We’ll be getting some things underway again when we hit Silverstone and try to carry on that Monza form. The two tracks used to be pretty similar but now they’ve cut all that cool stuff from the back of Silverstone – the Hanger straight and Stowe corner – which is a shame, I think. We’ll have more to say on Friday when we’ve been round the International circuit.”

SBK stalwart Chili is looking at a new experience at Silverstone and has reserved his judgement until he rides the circuit for the first time in qualifying.

“The change to the track layout was big news for me because I like the parts out on the back of the track, the faster corners. I think they have done this for the show, to allow more overtakes and more laps for the spectators. When I go there I will see the difference. I think I will be able to improve the feeling from the bike, by working with the suspension and balance of bike.”

Neukirchner knows that the condition of his injured hand will determine his entire Silverstone weekend.

“Riding on the different track is not ideal for me, as I know the layout of the old one from last year. I think I would prefer the longer, faster circuit layout anyway. But I am more interested to see how my injured right hand will hold up. I go out on Friday to practice but I think even if the strength will be OK I will be in a lot of pain. We will have to wait to see how it is when I get there.”

Bostrom, a serial SBK race winner earlier in his career, displayed his usual unquenchable enthusiasm before the Silverstone race.

“I think it will be a real benefit for us that we’re riding on the International circuit. My only real race experience of the longer track was in the rain so I’m not losing out so much experience. The more laps we do the better because we can spend more time concentrating on set-up for each section, seeing where our improvements are. The bike is supposed to be quite a bit different from the previous spec I have ridden, so I can’t wait to get out there in practice.”

The sixth round of the WSS and SBK championships, and the second to be held in Italy this year, takes place at Misano Adriatico, on 26th June.