World Superbike

WSS: Ten Kate Honda Qatar Friday notes

HANNspree Ten Kate Honda riders secure front row starts The first race of the 2007 World Supersport Championship in Qatar will see HANNspree Ten Kate Honda riders Sebastien Charpentier and Kenan Sofuoglu start from the front row. Today's final ...

Edited: Feb 24, 2007, 4:56 AM

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HANNspree Ten Kate Honda riders secure front row starts

The first race of the 2007 World Supersport Championship in Qatar will see HANNspree Ten Kate Honda riders Sebastien Charpentier and Kenan Sofuoglu start from the front row. Today's final qualifying saw the pair fight hard for the top spots in an exciting session that took place in the dry desert heat.

Sebastien Charpentier put in an impressive display and even managed to smash the Qatar Supersport lap record, which he set himself during the 2006 series. His best lap for 2007 now stands at 2'02.183 - nearly one full second faster than his previous record. The Frenchman held on to the best lap until the final 30 seconds of the 45-minute session when Kevin Curtain stole it with a time of 2'02.081.

Kenan Sofuoglu fought just as hard for his front row position, changing places with the top four riders throughout the session to finally finish in fourth place. The 22-year-old set his best lap times of the week so far with a final recording of 2'02.752. He hopes to continue this form in tomorrow's race now that the new CBR600RR has been adjusted to his preferences and is ready to go.

Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager

"To be honest, this a good result for the first event with a new bike. We didn't test here so this is the first time the new CBR600RR has been on this track. Second and fourth is good because it is important that we start tomorrow's race from the front row. Pole position would have been an extra bonus, but we just had it grabbed away from Sebastien in the closing stages. It's not too much of a problem though - we are making step-by-step improvements to the bike and the riders are becoming more and more familiar with the CBR600RR. I'm still confident that we can race to win tomorrow."

Sebastien Charpentier

"To be in second place is not what I wanted but it is OK. I am really happy with the set-up of the bike and the team has worked really hard to make sure the bike is good enough to get the best lap times. I have a plan for tomorrow, I know the other riders and I am ready for the race. I think I have a good chance to finish in front tomorrow."

Kenan Sofuoglu

"I can't say I am really happy but the good thing is that we are in the first row, which is the important thing. I'm also happy to have got my lap time down and if I can keep this up for the race it will be good. Today's times were much better than in yesterday's sessions and tomorrow is a new day so I hope we improve further for the race. The bike is now set up and ready to go, we have no more changes to make so in the warm up I can concentrate on my riding and getting ready to race. Hopefully I can get a win for the team."

-credit: htkh

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