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HANNspree Ten Kate Honda>> Spanish podium delight for Sofuoglu

April 16 2010

Ten Kate Racing - Nieuwsbrief

Kenan Sofuoglu took second place in the third round World Supersport championship race at a sun-drenched Valencia in Spain this afternoon making it three podiums from three starts in the 2010 series. The race was won by local rider, Joan Lascorz, while Sofuoglu’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Michele Pirro, fought back from a lap three crash to take five valuable points in 11th place.

Starting from third place on the grid, Sofuoglu dropped a position in the early stages of the 23-lap race at the 4.005km Ricardo Tormo circuit. Choosing the harder option tyre, the Turkish rider was able to hang on to early front runner, Eugene Laverty, before slipping past him and Britain’s Chaz Davies, who finished third.

Kenan Sofuoglu – 2nd
I saw on the grid that the Kawasaki’s, which had been fast in practice and qualifying, had the softer tyre, but I went for the harder option because we were worried about the temperature. Chaz Davies held me up a bit in the early stages of the race when I really didn’t want to let Lascorz or Laverty get away. After I had passed Laverty, I made a couple of mistakes trying to get past Davies and towards the end of the race my tyres were completely broken. I’ve been suffering from a stomach problem since Portimao which has given me some pain and stomach cramps this week, so I’m pleased with this result and want to thank the team for working so hard to get the bike so good.

Michele Pirro – 11th
We went with the hard front tyre but Fujiwara crashed right in front of me and then I crashed as well, which I am really disappointed by. I managed to pick up the bike because there was not so much damage, but when I got back on the track I had lost a lot of time and the feeling from the front was not so good. I didn’t get a good start, it was not a good race and it has not really been a good weekend for me. We will go back to work on Wednesday in the test and look for some improvements in time for the Assen race.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager
I think we can be happy with the result that the team has achieved with Kenan. We always knew that Lascorz would be strong here at Valencia and that’s how it has been. I feel sorry for Michele because I believe that another podium could have been possible. However, we all know that ‘could haves’ and ‘would haves’ don’t count for anything. This coming week we are testing at Assen where we’ll look for further improvements to the CBR600RR.

2010 World Supersport championship – round three
Valencia, Spain (4.005km – 23 laps) – results:
1. Joan Lascorz (ESP) Kawasaki 37’32.610s
2. Kenan Sofuoglu (TUR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +3.193s
3. Chaz Davies (GBR) Triumph +5.417
4. David Salom (ESP) Triumph +8.317
5. Eugene Laverty (IRL) Honda +10.757
6. Gino Rea (GBR) Honda +38.866
11. Michele Pirro (ITA) Hannspree ten Kate Honda +1’06.573

Championship points after three of 13 rounds:
1 Lascorz 65, 2 Sofuoglu 61, 3 Laverty 41, 4 Davies 33, 4 Salom 32, 9 Pirro 21.

Next round: Assen, Netherlands – 23-25 April
 
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.