After a recent test session at Brno the Winston Ten Kate Honda Superbike squad approaches the halfway point of the 2006 season at Misano with spirits high at the prospect battling for top placings once more. New electronics packages were tested at Brno, and may be used at Misano, to help riders James Toseland and Karl Muggeridge move further up the championship table. A regular venue on the SBK calendar, Misano is a circuit of contrasts, with ultra-fast left hand corners leading onto the back straight, mixed in with a plethora of tighter corners and two chicanes. Hot Adriatic weather is expected to add to the intensity of the challenge, with track temperatures often the highest encountered all season.

Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager
“We had a very good Brno test where we played with the new electronic system on the bike. We still have to decide if we’ll use it for the first time in Misano but so far it looks like we will, as the first impressions have been quite positive. We also tested many news parts on the bike to further improve chassis set up. We also tried out a lot of tyres and all the work went very well. We proved to be consistently fast, although we didn’t work too much on qualifying tyres, mainly concentrated on full race settings like we usually do during testing.”

James Toseland – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
“I like the Misano track although I’ve had some bad results in the last couple of years there, so I’m looking forward to erasing them with two strong results. It’s a great race track in a great area. It’s going to be a good weekend of racing, and my family will come along, so I don’t want to disappoint them. Last year I could have one win, but I didn’t qualify too well and that prevented me from winning. After the Brno test, where we tried lots of new things, I believe we are going to Italy even stronger than before so we will try our best to bring home as many points as possible.”

Karl Muggeridge – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
“I’m always happy to go to Misano, it’s a beautiful place. The test in Brno was been quite successful for me and I am sure we will carry all the things we learned from the Czech republic to Italy. In the three days of work at Brno we tried many new solutions and they have made us confident for Misano; I am sure we’ll have a good couple of rides. My physical condition has also improved and this gives me even more hope for Sunday’s races.”

Supersport

After sustaining injuries at the recent Brno tests, world championship leader Sebastien Charpentier underwent an operation last Thursday, during which doctors in Paris inserted one plate in his collarbone and one in bone three of his pelvis. Seb is recovering well after his restorative surgery and should be back for a Lausitz tyre test session, just a week before Brno race on 23 July. Arie Vos will take Charpentier’s spot during the Misano weekend. The Dutch rider is back again with the Winston Ten Kate Honda Team after last year’s experience outing at Magny-Cours. Arie knows the bike, the tyres and the track very well and should be able to achieve a positive result on the Italian circuit. For the team’s regular second rider, Kenan Sofuoglu, it will be the first time with his Honda CBR 600 on this circuit, and last year a broken hand prevented him from competing in the Superstock Championship.

Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager
“Obviously it’s quite sad to lose Sebastien in the middle of the championship, even for a race. The crash in Brno made him suffer extensive injuries, but he is now in good hands in Paris. For sure he will be back for the Brno race or even one week before for the Lausitz test. We know he can lose some points this weekend but hopefully not too many. His position on the bike will be taken by Arie Vos, who already knows the bike and the track and could, for sure, ride for a good placing at Misano. Arie is the rider from our satellite team in Holland and is already doing quite a lot of test work on parts for us. For Kenan, after the disastrous weekend in Silverstone, he bounced back fully during the Brno test and he was the quickest guy of all Supersport riders. This was pretty good because we could see his confidence was right back. We are looking forward to this Misano race because we know our bikes work quite well, even if we didn’t share the test with other teams last month. However, the conditions on the track will be much different. They tested there with 16 or 18 degrees of air temperature while we will experience probably more than 30 degrees.”

Kenan Sofuoglu – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
“After the Brno test I feel stronger. In Silverstone I didn’t feel strong enough but now I can say I am back. This will the first time in Misano for me because last year I had a broken hand, but I am sure that after Friday, which I will use mainly to learn the circuit, I will be ready to compete with the fastest in final qualifying and the race. I am confident in what I can do, and I can’t wait to go to Misano.”

Arie Vos – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
“Last year I raced on this track for the first time and I really enjoyed it. It’s fast and it suits to my style of riding. I am also working a lot on fitness because I know it will be a very hot weekend and therefore it will be very important to be at a peak of physical condition. I already know the bike quite well because I compete on a similar bike and I tried the 2005 Winston Ten Kate Honda last year at Magny-Cours. I also know the team well and I am sure we will work together in a really good way. They are great people and true professionals. This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I’ll try to use it in the best way possible. I still hope that Sebastien will be back soon because he still has a championship to conquer."