Español

Your shopping cart is empty

HANNspree Ten Kate Honda>> Rea seeking the next step in Kyalami

May 14 2009

Ten Kate Racing - Nieuwsbrief

After two impressive rides at Monza last Sunday, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea is looking to make the next step towards his debut World Superbike podium in round six of the 2009 series at Kyalami in South Africa this weekend (15-17 May).

Rea finished in fifth place in race one at Monza and took fourth in the second outing, underlining the steps he and his team have made since the third round at Valencia in the ongoing development of Honda’s CBR1000RR Fireblade.

His team-mate, Carlos Checa, will be looking for a return to the form that saw him take two wins and five further podium finishes in his rookie year last season. With a best result of fifth so far during the current campaign, the Spanish ace will be seeking a welcome return to the rostrum in South Africa.

The Hannspree duo tested at the 4.26km Kyalami circuit near Johannesburg last December and, in spite of significantly lower temperatures expected this weekend, are hoping that the data gathered then will serve them well.

Jonathan Rea
I really enjoyed Monza and, although it would’ve been great to get on the podium, it was really encouraging that we were able to build on the big step forward we made between Valencia and Assen. I feel like the bike is getting close to where I want it to be now. Everyone in the whole team has been working so hard and they deserve some real reward for their efforts now. We had a good test at Kyalami in December and got through a lot of work. Hopefully, it won’t take us too long to find a good setting and then we can start to fine tune things, but I’m definitely looking for another step forward this weekend. Maybe a step up, as well, to the podium.

Carlos Checa
I felt a little frustrated after Monza because after an encouraging start to the weekend, the bike developed a little bit of chatter again. The development is definitely going in the right direction and we could see this at Assen, but still there are some problems to look at, like the opening of the throttle while still on the side of the tyre. But I’m sure we can keep the momentum going when we arrive at Kyalami. The track is quite bumpy and I also had some chatter problems during the test, but the circuit is fun to ride and I’m looking forward to returning there.

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.