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HANNspree Ten Kate Honda>> Sofuoglu and Pitt aim for Nurburgring boost

September 03 2009

Nieuwsbrief
 
Hannspree Ten Kate Honda World Supersport championship riders, Kenan Sofuoglu and Andrew Pitt, are both looking forward to this weekend’s (4-6 September) 11th round at the famous Nurburgring in Germany.
 
The Honda CBR600RR-mounted duo – both world champions with Ten Kate, Sofuoglu in 2007 and Pitt last season – have taken part in two tests during the six-week summer break enjoyed by the rest of the paddock. The first at Nurburgring itself two weeks ago, and the second at a wet Assen in the Netherlands, on Tuesday.
 
Both outings have aimed to improve the base setting of the 2009 CBR600RR to give both riders the best opportunity to challenge for victories in the remaining four races of the season.
 
Sofuoglu has taken two wins to date this year – one in the first round at Phillip Island in Australia and the other a hard-fought victory in the US round at Miller Motorsports Park. Pitt meanwhile, has slipped to seventh place in the standings despite two second place finishes. The Australian will be hoping to repeat his victory in last season’s race at Nurburgring.
 
Kenan Sofuoglu – championship position 3rd, 128 points
 
I feel really motivated now to get back to winning ways with the team on the CBR600RR. It’s not my favourite circuit, but we had a test at Nurburgring two weeks ago and another test at Assen this week. I think this shows the commitment that the team has to improving the bike. It has been a difficult year, but we’ve been improving step by step. Now I want to finish the season in the same way that we started, by winning. I have just returned from my first visit to Mecca, which was an incredible experience for me. Before now, it has been difficult with my racing schedule but, with the longer break this season, I was able to go. Now I want to try and go every year!
 
Andrew Pitt – championship position 7th, 85 points
 
I’m feeling absolutely brand new after a few weeks in Italy, cycling, swimming and generally relaxing. But there’s been some work going on during the break, too, and we’ve had a couple of tests since Brno – one at Nurburgring and another at Assen – looking for something that we can start a race weekend with, rather than trying to re-invent the bike all the time. I watched last year’s Nurburgring race recently and my win there looked pretty easy. I can’t think it’s going to be like that this year, but I’ve had faith in the Ten Kate boys for a long time and I know they can deliver. It’s going to be difficult, but I’m feeling a renewed confidence after the Assen test and we’ll work hard as always to keep trying to improve things.
 
Ronald ten Kate – team manager
 
It’s been no secret that we have struggled at times this season, which has been frustrating for everyone in the team. During the recent break, we’ve taken the opportunity to have a test during a track day Nurburgring. It was not an ideal situation to test but we got good feedback, which we have taken into another test at Assen this week. Although Assen was wet, it has been a good opportunity to get both riders back up to speed and to continue our development of the CBR600RR with the new suspension and engine components.

HANNspree Ten Kate Honda is sponsored by Hotbodies Racing and uses our windscreens and bodywork on all of their bikes. Hotbodies Racing specializes in manufacturing high-performance parts for high-performance sportbikes, and is the North American distribution of KR Tuned performance parts. Hotbodies Racing is the market leader in Undertails, Huggers, Windscreens, Flush-Mount Signals, Megaphone Exhausts and full-race Bodywork. Hotbodies Racing supports the sport with sponsorship around the world and encourages dealer and distributor inquiries. For more information visit: www.HOTBODIESRACING.com.