Preview - HRC

Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) will start the final four rounds of the World Supersport Championship in the same fashion as he started the season itself, with no advantage over his expected number one championship challenger, Kevin Curtain.

Having enjoyed a massive 40-point championship lead before a testing injury disrupted the mid section of his championship defence, Charpentier’s bravery alone was not enough to overcome the lingering effects of a broken pelvis and collarbone, and he now shares a points total of 131 with Curtain, with third place rider Broc Parkes only 12 points behind.

Having missed the San Marino race entirely, and being forced down to 11th and then sixth at Brno and Brands Hatch respectively, Charpentier enters the Assen round confident that he can reassert his authority at the top of the championship table. His confidence is well founded in 2006 season statistics, with an injury free run of first, first, first, third and first being posted before his fateful crash.

Joining Charpentier at the sharp end of competition at Assen, the home race for their Winston Ten Kate Honda squad, will be the resurgent force of Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) a full-time season rookie in World Supersport. Two third places in the last two races have given him a boost up the championship table, putting him in a good position to both help his team-mate and help himself to more silverware at the new look Assen.

The classic Circuit van Drenthe has undergone another one of its many makeovers in terms of track layout and this year it is a stubby 4.555km version, hosting a WSS race weekend for the first time.

Supersport rookie Yoann Tiberio (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) is seeking his second win of the 2006 season, as he shares a total of 67 points with Sofuoglu.

Another Honda Supersport rider who has suffered unexpected complications after injury is Katsuaki Fujiwara (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) who now makes what he hopes will be a final comeback ride of the year, having been forced out of four meetings in total so far. Hence his championship total of 22 points does not reflect his true talents, as his ability to qualify on the front row for three of the four races he has started in 2006 shows he still has competitive pace.

After two agonising recent rides in WSS, Charpentier knows that the summer break since the last Brands Hatch race, on August 6th, should make all the difference to him at Assen, one of his favourite circuits. It was at this very track in 2005 that he took the points to give him the overall championship win.

“I have had a full month to recover and I did all things possible to get fitter,” states Charpentier. “I can guarantee that I feel much better compared to Brands Hatch, where I managed to remain with the leading group only for half of the race. It’s like starting the season from the beginning for me and I am really ready for these last four races.”

Sofuoglu’s roller coaster season is currently on a vertical climb, and maintaining that is the number one concern for the rider who wants to improve in leaps and bounds on his current seventh place points ranking.

“I am really happy to step back on my bike at Assen,” said Sofuoglu. “A month without racing is too much for me. It’s going to be a home race for the team but also for me, because I live only thirty minutes away from the circuit. I made it to Turkey for a short period to recharge my energies and now I am ready to race. I really hope to do well for the many fans that support the Winston Ten Kate Honda Team around here.”

After missing the first round of the year Tiberio enjoyed some immediate success, but the last two races have not been kind to the young French rider - a run of fortune he aims to turn around at Assen.

"Before the summer vacation I passed through a not so good period, with two bad races,” affirms Tiberio. “Now we will go on a track that I like very much and I want to change my situation. I know that the track is changed, especially the first part; it's slower and smaller than the old circuit… but for me it is the same. My target is to run a good race, and get into the first five positions. Only with this kind of result will I be happy come Sunday evening."

Even though Fujiwara has dropped to 13th in the championship table, and he expects to suffer pain in his right wrist once more, the tough Japanese is ready to return to the fray.

"Now I'm happy, because I will return to the World Supersport Championship after more delays, and for a round that I like very much,” said Fujiwara, glad to be returning at Assen. “The hand is OK now, the doctors have told me confident words about my situation and I feel good. Now I must understand the way my hand will work on the bike. I don't know if I will feel pain after three minutes or hours, but I know only that I want to return in competitive fashion."

World Superbike Round 9 of 12

TOSELAND OUT TO TRIM BACK THE LEADER’S ADVANTAGE

With four rounds and eight races left in which to catch and overhaul long-term championship leader Troy Bayliss, James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) knows he has to score every win possible to take the championship fight to the very end. He has good form at Assen, having scored a win there as recently as 2004, his championship winning season, and despite the fact that it will be a different and truncated Assen he faces in 2006, his form is such that nothing can be ruled out. Currently third in the standings, Toseland is 88 points behind Bayliss, but only 11 from second place rider, Noriyuki Haga, his immediate Assen target.

Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR) will find many aspects of the Assen layout familiar, after an extensive MotoGP career, but in his first ever season of World Superbike racing he would ideally have liked to approach the same Assen he has known and loved over the years. Unfazed by his tough introduction to World Superbike, Barros is currently fifth and looking for win number one, already scored four podium finishes.

Another rider in his rookie season, Michel Fabrizio (DFX Honda CBR1000RR) found the spark that ignited a double podium charge at Brno, valuable points which have now pushed him to tenth overall, despite a disappointing weekend in round eight at Brands Hatch.

Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) has had a tough season, with illness and injury sapping his strength and true form away at crucial times. Two crashes at Brands Hatch belied his rapid qualifying pace (third
quickest) and at his team’s home round, he is expected to be a real threat to the top few positions.

Pierfrancesco Chili (DFX Honda CBR1000RR) is another Honda rider who has suffered serious problems through injury this season, but the most experienced SBK rider of all is a big fan of Assen, and has won a race at the old style Dutch venue, in 1998. A lowly 20th currently, he hopes the new Assen will allow him to shine, just as the old version did on numerous occasions.

For Toseland, the championship battle will never be over until it’s over, and he enters Assen with optimism and confidence.

“I had a good break which has really recharged my batteries,” said the determined rider, now resident on the Isle of Man. “I also kept myself in shape during this time because I still believe we can have a shot at the World Championship. We are not so far from the top considering that there are still 200 points to be won. I know it’s an important race for the team because they are at home and I will do my best to make them happy.”

Barros scored a 500c Grand Prix victory for Honda at Assen during the 2000 season and, unsurprisingly, has fond memories of the old layout.

“I knew Assen very well and during the last years I took part in many races there with different bikes,” said Barros. “Now they changed the course a little bit - and I think I still prefer the old style of track. But this version now is new for all of the riders and I’m looking forward to ride at Assen once again.”

A back injury and an allergic reaction to an insect bite have held back Muggeridge in 2006, but he is prepared to give his very best on his team’s home circuit.

“I’m feeling good,” affirmed Muggeridge. “We had a good ‘warm up’ at the Ten Kate workshop last weekend for the pit stop day and a lot of fans showed up. The forecast seems to promise some rain for the weekend but this doesn’t worry me so much. I will try my best to earn as many points as possible for the Winston Ten Kate Honda Team and me. I know it’s a really special race for them."

Fabrizio has experienced the ecstasy and agony of SBK racing in the eight rounds so far, and expects Assen to be more of a leveller than in any previous season.

“After the highlights of the Brno race we went to Brands Hatch with big expectations,” said Fabrizio, “but in Great Britain traction problems were the reasons for the very poor results. The new Assen will maybe be a problem for everyone so I want run with the top riders.”

For Chili, curiosity is the initial watchword as Assen approaches, but in race mode Chili will be giving his all, as ever.

“I am curious to see the new Assen after the work they have done to the track,” said Chili. “I hope for my team, and for Honda, to take an important result. I want to leave my people with the ‘better’ Frankie to the fore. The race will not be easy because we don’t have the same electronic package as some of the official motorcycles - but with Domenico Brigaglia we will still find the correct set-up for the race.”

The entire SBK circus strikes canvas just after the final laps will have been completed at Assen, and heads across to the east of Germany, for round 10. The impressively proportioned Eurospeedway Lausitz hosts the German stop-off of the series, between 8 and 10 September.