World Superbike 2006 - Round Two

James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) followed up his great start to the season in Qatar with a hard fought double podium finish, scoring third in race one and second in race two, to end raceday only one point from the championship lead. For his team-mate Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) it was a less happy day, being forced to pull out of race one due to concerns over tyre wear and machine handling, then being taken out by another riders’ crashing machine in the second outing. Muggeridge now finds himself 15th in the title chase, with an unchanged 11 points.

In the first race Toseland secured a fine third place finish, after early leader Troy Bayliss had used up his tyres in he desperate escape from a chasing pack, sliding down the order to finish sixth. Toseland held his nerve throughout, finishing seven seconds from the winner Troy Corser (Suzuki) and close second place man Alex Barros (Honda). In the second race Toseland stuck to the lead for the majority of the race but eventual race winner Troy Bayliss passed him on the 16th lap, leaving Toseland a clear second place finisher, five seconds adrift, but nine seconds up on Barros.

Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager
“We had some problems in the first race in preserving tyres, so we changed the settings a little but for the second race. It helped quite a lot. We could run a little longer on the pace, which is what James wanted. It was good to see him in front of Bayliss for so long, as Troy had been the fastest rider all weekend long here. Towards the end Bayliss managed to put a couple of quick laps in, and James could not follow. But in any case we are very happy to take two podiums away from here, and be just one point behind the lead. That’s a good way to come home again. For Karl I feel really sorry, because the problem James had in the first leg was even worse with Karl, so we also had to make adjustments to Karl’s bike. It was running a lot, lot better in race two, until he got T-Boned. It was a difficult weekend for him because the first day was such a nightmare we had to play catch-up. We just ran out of time but I am quite sure that he has got the potential in him to get the best out of the bike.”

James Toseland – SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
(Race 1: 3rd position – Race 2: 2nd position – Championship Position: 2nd with 75 points)
“In race two I kept getting a plus zero on my pit board, because Troy was right behind. I didn’t make a mistake but Troy just out braked me into the hairpin and then he pulled away at the end there. It was a great race though, and I made sure I rode well in the places where it would be difficult for him to get past me. In the first race Troy was unlucky not to win. In race two I waited to see if he would have similar problems as race one but when it was obvious he was fast and I had to settle for second. But I’m happy; we had a good, consistent weekend again. We’re pushing them hard and we’re only one point from the lead right now.”

Karl Muggeridge – SBK Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
(Race 1: DNF – Race 2: DNF – Championship Position: 15th with 11 points)
“A terrible weekend in the office, but at least in the second race we had the bike a lot better. We made a bit of a mess on Friday so we had to catch up all weekend. Even though it was a crash from someone else that took me out of race two, I can walk away confident. The bike is a lot better now so we can do it for sure.”

Supersport

Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) scored his second win of the 2006 championship season, after 21 hot and challenging laps of the classic Phillip Island Circuit. His winning margin of 1.361 seconds was earned the hard way after a race long fight with Kevin Curtain, and the race was only ended as a contest after Charpentier upped the pace on the last three laps. With Curtain second overall, Charpentier’s championship lead now stands at ten points, 50 points to 40.

Kenan Sofuoglu was in a battle for fourth place when he fell on lap 12, at Honda corner, and he was unable to re-start. He suffered a hard impact on his right wrist, but examinations in the medical centre showed no fractures. A rookie at the Phillip Island circuit, Sofuoglu had enjoyed a good qualifying session, and looked set for a comfortable double-digit point score until his fall. Sofuoglu’s misadventure now puts him sixth overall in the championship fight, on 16 points.

Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager
“It was another good win for us and it is particularly pleasing because we didn’t have any pre-season testing at this track. We know that the two Yamaha guys had both been testing around here. That makes it all even better. Sebastien had to ride for his money today but it seems that he was ultimately in control. Just like in Qatar, he could go for a few quick lap times even at the end, opening up a gap. He leads the championship by even more points now, so we couldn’t be happier for him. It was a shame for Kenan, because he was riding very well in warm-up, after we had confirmed some things with his set-up. He was a little bit behind the leading bunch, and he made a few little mistakes under braking, so he had to work hard. But he was making the same lap times as the leading group, and then I think he maybe asked too much from the front tyre and fell. It’s a learning year for him, he’s on a steep learning curve, so we’ll see more of him when we arrive back in Europe.”

Sébastien Charpentier – WSS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
(1st position – Championship Position: 1st with 50 points)
“Another nice race, for sure. Kevin was very strong, he pushed me very hard but this is normal, and it was a home race for Kevin as well. I tried very hard to win today and it was a very hot race. There was a lot of spinning from the rear, but the bike was very good today, even if the Yamaha was very close. It will be necessary to work extra hard for the next race in Europe, in Valencia. It was a very good weekend here, two wins in the season so far, so I have to say thank you to Honda and Pirelli.”

Kenan Sofuoglu – WSS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
(DNF – Championship Position: 6th with 16 points)
“I tried too hard to catch the first group but I made a mistake and fell back down the order a little. There was a small gap to the leaders but I worked my way up to fifth position again, in the second group, managed to overtake another rider, and then I crashed. Not the best weekend result but I hope I can be strong again in Valencia.”