Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) ended his first day of practice at Brands Hatch in fifth position in the official qualifying ranking, despite a late fall. The Aussie rider, twice a winner in Supersport at Brands Hatch, has one more session on Saturday, plus Superpole qualifying, to consolidate and improve his grid position, as he goes for an eventual front row starting place.

James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) ran out 11th, after experiencing issues under braking at the undulating Brands Hatch circuit. This unusual problem held back his schedule on day one, leaving him further down the ranking than his recent excellent qualifying performances would have suggested. Championship leader Troy Bayliss was fastest on day one, with Troy Corser second.

Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager
“In the morning things started out quite good for us, and the bikes seemed to be working OK, so we made only small adjustments in the afternoon. Then we had some strange problems with braking on James’ machine, which slowed us down in the session, as he had to swap between bikes. That did not help a lot. We also lost some time with the softer tyres on, but since we have never had these problems anywhere else, they will be resolved for tomorrow.”

James Toseland – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
“We had a few problems out with our control and that wasted some of our time in that session. We couldn’t try the things we wanted to try because of it. We are getting a good direction with the set-up of the bike but the problem was really holding us back. I can assure you that we won’t have the same problem tomorrow.”

Karl Muggeridge – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
“A good first day, all-in-all. The bike is getting better; we just need to improve it a bit on the corner entry, to stop the bike vibrating a little. There are a few more bumps on the track than last year. Maybe this has been our best start to the weekend of the whole season."

Supersport

Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda) continued his recent run of sparkling form to post the fastest time in the opening qualifying session at Brands Hatch, with World Championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) proving he is back to near full fitness, by setting the third fastest lap of the first day.

Sofuoglu was less than three tenths away from the previous best Supersport lap at Brands Hatch, as he goes for his first pole position performance in his rookie season of full-time World Supersport competition. Charpentier, still recovering from pelvic and collarbone injuries has nonetheless impressive at one of his favourite circuits, and is only 0.105 seconds from his younger team-mate’s best lap.

Each Winston Ten Kate rider will have one more chance to improve their times still further, in the final qualifying session on Saturday afternoon.

Ronald Ten Kate – Team Manager
“A very good start of the weekend for us in Supersport, and it is particularly nice to see Kenan on top of the sheets. It shows that he is picking up his form now, and although we are still in the first days, it is good that he is in the front already. For Sebastien, we are really moving forwards, and we say thanks to his leather supplier Spidi, who made a new suit for him here, which allows him more freedom to move his midsection. He feels a lot more comfortable on the bike and is building up more speed lap-by-lap. We are aiming for good grid positions tomorrow.”

Kenan Sofuoglu – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
“It has been a great first day, very good for the team. It will be enough on this weekend to finish on the front row after qualifying, but of course I would prefer to be on pole. From the front row we will be ready for the race on Sunday. I am still learning the track on the 600, and it is a little bit strange for me right now but it feels good and I am really ready for this weekend.”

Sebastien Charpentier – Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider
“For the first day it’s not bad and everyone is really close. It has been very quick, immediately, for everyone in the top five. The bike is not really set-up perfectly at the moment, but we will keep working after the session to start off tomorrow with the bike in even better condition. I am happy with the tyres we have used and the weather is not too hot. I’m OK, I just have a little bit of a problem in the left-hand corners still, but it is loosening up with every lap.”