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HANNspree Ten Kate Honda >> Sofuoglu and Ten Kate are World Supersport Champions once more

October 03 2010

Ten Kate Racing - Nieuwsbrief

Kenan Sofuoglu duly secured the 2010 World Supersport championship in the final round at Magny-Cours in France today, finishing second in the race to series runner-up and fellow Honda rider Eugene Laverty. Second placed marked a completion of Sofuoglu’s 100% podium record for the season. The title is his second World Supersport championship for the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda squad – his first was won in 2007 – and it marks the eighth series victory in nine years for the team.

Sofuoglu began the 22-lap race from pole position and quickly opened a two-second lap from the start. However, the 27-year-old Turkish ace needed only to finish in sixth place and, without wishing to push himself or his Honda CBR600RR too hard, he eased off the pace and allowed Laverty to lead. Such was the domination of the pair, third placed rider, Chaz Davies, crossed the line some 17 seconds after Sofuoglu, who eased his pace even more in the closing laps to ensure that he brought the bike and the title home for the team.

His Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Michele Pirro finished in eighth place after gearbox problems.

Kenan Sofuoglu - P2 – 2010 World Supersport champion
It was not a difficult race, but when you’re thinking that in 20 minutes you will be world champion, it’s definitely not easy. The last six laps were very long for me – I was riding very slowly and I was still very afraid of making a mistake. In the end we won the championship, but this year it has been very strong with Eugene and Joan Lascorz. I was world champion in 2007 but this has been a much more difficult fight and I enjoyed it much more because of that. I want to thank Eugene and Joan very much for the competition, because I think racing each other has made us all even faster. Next year I will be in a different championship so I want to say a really big thanks t o the Ten Kate team because we have been on the podium in every race this year. We’ve never had a technical problem and I tried to stay on the bike all the time, although sometimes I have had to close the throttle and settle for a podium. I am so very happy today, so thanks to everybody who has helped to make this possible.

Michele Pirro – P8
The race was difficult because from the first lap I was unable to get the bike into first gear, which was not easy for the hairpin for sure. I didn’t have a good feeling from the bike and it didn’t feel so fast. OK, I took my first World Supersport win last week and I finished the championship in fifth place, but that’s not where I wanted to be, so I hope that next season can be better. I am very happy for Kenan though, and I am so pleased for him and the team that they won the championship. He has been very fast all season and helped me a lot in my first yea r with the team. I have improved a lot this season and even though I am not sure where I will ride next year I am happy for the team.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager
It’s been a very tense and tight year, which looked from the beginning as if it would be a battle between three guys. It ended up only two, with Eugene and Kenan fighting it out. I honestly believe the championship was decided at Imola last week, which really was racing at a very, very high level. This weekend was all about bringing the title home and, when Kenan couldn’t get away, the strategy was to go behind Eugene to avoid any risky situation. It’s Kenan’s second title for the team and the team’s eighth title and, of course, we wish Kenan the best of luck with his new challenge in Moto2. I hope that we can see him back here sometime in the future. He’s a nice kid so I hope his new team takes care of him. Michele had a bad start and although he pulled himself forward a bit, he couldn’t get in touch with the leading bunch. After a decade of Ten Kate Honda racing, we are trying to be here again next year and hoping to get confirmation on that in the next few weeks.

2010 World Supersport championship – final round
Magny-Cours, France (4.411kmkm – 22 laps) – result:
1. Eugene Laverty (IRL) Honda 37’46.575s
2. Kenan Sofuoglu (TUR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +4.769s
3. Chaz Davies (GBR) Triumph +17.658s
4. Massimo Roccoli (ITA) Honda +20.412s
8. Michele Pirro (ITA) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +25.174s

Final championship points:  1 Sofuoglu 263, 2 Laverty 252, 3 Lascorz 168, 4 Davies 153, 5 Pirro 99.

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 market leader in Windscreens, Undertails, Huggers, Flush-Mount Signals, MGP and Megaphone Exhausts, and full-race Bodywork.  Hotbodies Racing supports the sport with sponsorships around the world, and encourages dealer and distributor inquiries.  For more information visit: www.hotbodiesracing.com