A day of mixed fortunes for each Winston Ten Kate Honda Superbike rider saw James Toseland promote himself from ninth after regulation qualifying to the front row after Superpole, while Karl Muggeridge had the opposite experience, falling in his Superpole lap after qualifying second fastest in regulation.

Toseland, a new signing for the Winston Ten Kate Honda team in 2006, put in a superb performance on qualifying tyres in Superpole, showing the kind of speed and assurance that made him the World Champion in 2004. He was also the fastest rider through the speed trap, posting 293kmph. James now starts the races on Saturday from the front row, an impressive showing in such a strong field of riders, and in his first race meeting on a four-cylinder Superbike.

Until his misfortune in Superpole Karl Muggeridge had been a candidate for rider of the day, scoring second in regulation qualifying, and dipping under the two-minute lap barrier on race tyres in the final free practice session, which took place just before the Superpole contest itself. Muggeridge was to fall entering a complex of right hand corners carrying a little too much corner speed, running out of road on the first corner exit as he tried to score his first career Superpole win. In the first sector of the Superpole lap Karl was almost half of second ahead.

Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager
“We were looking in good shape for Superpole. James did quite a good job getting used to the machine, adapting himself to his new role, and the team was working hard on his race set-up, rather than going for one crazy quick lap. His Superpole performance was really excellent, so very big compliments to him. We all could see how Karl’s lap was; unfortunately he didn’t take it to the finish. We can also all see that Karl has already made a big step from last year to this year. The majority of people know what our ambitions are for 2006 now, which are clearly to run with the front guys.”

James Toseland – SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
(4th position – 2.00.112)
“That was a good result for me, with a new team, so I’m happy. It took alit bit of time to get up to speed this weekend, what with the rain yesterday and the settings being very different from the ones we had for the most recent test in Valencia. I don’t fully understand the bike yet, so it took time to get it right, but as we can see we are getting there now. My entire previous Superbike career, even the year I did in British Championship, has been conducted on twin-cylinder bikes. But as we know, with the Ten Kate Hondas there has never been a lack of speed. If you have the speed then that’s half the battle, and the Honda is a great package. The team has welcomed me with open arms, and we are working well together.”

Karl Muggeridge – SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
(8th position – No Superpole Lap Recorded)
“It cools down in the afternoon here and during Superpole it had become quite cool. We opted to put a slightly harder front tyre in but that was decided a couple of hours before. My last thought when I left the garage was, ‘should have gone for a softer one.’ I pushed and pushed but I was a little hot into the corner. It was the first of a group of three rights, and it’s fourth gear there, so it was a pretty fast crash. I tried to save it but I ran out of track. It could have been worse because my fast lap in regular qualifying was second fastest of all and that means I only drop down to start form the second row.” 

Supersport

With dry track conditions gracing the final qualifying session at the 5.380km Losail circuit, the Winston Ten Kate Honda team made the best-possible use of them, monopolising the front two positions on the grid for Saturday’s race. World Champion for Winston Ten Kate in 2005, Sebastien Charpentier, got his title defence off to a great start when grid positions were at stake, taking pole with an impressive new best lap time of 2’03.093. It was his 12th career pole position and his second in succession at Losail for the Winston Ten Kate team.

A no less impressive feat for new signing Kenan Sofuoglu was his second fastest lap of the day, putting his in the very position he dreamed off after he set quickest time in Thursday’s wet qualifying session. He hoped to be second on the grid in dry conditions, and his dream was realised, thanks to a 2’04.089.

Despite there being 33 bikes involved in the final qualifying session, the Winston Ten Kate Honda team were simply head and shoulders above the rest, with Sofuoglu’s nearest challenger, Yamaha rider Kevin Curtain, 0.652 seconds behind the young Turk. Weather conditions for the 18-lap race on Saturday 25th are expected to mirror those in final qualifying, with warm ambient temperatures and a dry track surface.

Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager
“That is what you could call a perfect start to the season. It was all the more exciting because there are many new bikes around this season, so it is satisfying to know that the Honda CBR600RR is still the front-running bike in the field. Sebastien we know was fast here in winter testing but to see Kenan doing so well in his first ever qualifying session for our team justifies all the work we have done in the winter. By tomorrow morning, and for the race, I think that the race set-up we used at the beginning of the session will be pretty good and the tyres seem to be lasting well for us. The work of today has paid off, but the important part is tomorrow and we will try to take as many points as possible from here.”

Sébastien Charpentier – WSS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
(Pole position – 2’03.093)
“A good day today with a 1-2, a good result for the team, the same as last year when it was Katsuaki Fujiwara and I who were first and second. I feel good about the bike and things are moving forward. I think tomorrow should be good for us. There was a little confusion first thing this morning because the Supersport bikes go out before anyone else and the track was very slippery after so much rain yesterday. Eighteen laps will be good fun tomorrow, and we have probably reached the maximum potential of the bike in qualifying. Tomorrow I will try a new race set-up anyway, but we know we are ready for the race.”

Kenan Sofuoglu – WSS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
(2nd position – 2’04.089)
“It was very important for me to test myself, because in the first two races I will learn the most and then I can hopefully grow step-by-step. After the first dry qualifying, to be in second position, is like a dream. We will see what happens tomorrow, but for today I have to thank Honda and my team for giving me this chance and my mechanics who have made such a fast bike for me.”