The HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team prepares for another weekend of excitement as round eight of the Superbike World Championship, the San Marino round, will be held at the Misano circuit from 27 to 29 June. The team collected the 100th WSB win for Honda in the American round of the Championship and they added another celebration to their own impressive tally at the Nürburgring in Germany where the team earned their 50th Word Supersport race victory after participating in a total of 98 previous races. Having debuted on the WSS stage in 2000, the formidable team – this time with Andrew Pitt onboard the mighty Ten Kate tuned Honda CBR600RR – has proven that it is at the top of its game by dominating the series and claiming six consecutive World Supersport titles. The team is more than ready to perform this weekend on the 4.180km long Misano track, on Sunday June 29, and to compete for the top honour once more in a season where the championship appears to be heading right down to the wire. Carlos Checa CBR1000RR After collecting two wins at the Miller Motorsports Park, Carlos Checa struggled through the German round at the Nürburgring, where issues with grip resulted in a fifth place in both races. Checa still holds second place in the Championship but will need to take home some important points this weekend to close the gap on series leader Troy Bayliss and secure his lead over closest rivals Max Neukirchner and Noriyuki Haga, who are both hot on his heels. “Misano is a great track and I like racing in hot conditions. I just hope we can find the grip that we lacked at the Nürburgring and that brought us the wins in America.” “The bike is feeling good and I’m feeling in pretty good shape as well, so we should be in a strong position to push for a podium place. But anything could happen. If we can find the right setup early in the qualifying sessions I can secure a good spot on the starting grid. I’m still working on improving my starts, but I’m confident I can fight for a good result this weekend.” Ryuichi Kiyonari CBR1000RR Ryuichi Kiyonari made an impressive showing on the track in Monza, but hasn’t been able to turn his progression into top results through the American and German rounds. The hard working Japanese rider has demonstrated that he has what it takes and is eager to prove himself and add some points on the board this weekend, for his team and sponsors. “I have lived in Misano for a year and I like the track a lot. I’ll try to take a good result this weekend and learn from the mistakes I made in my last race.” “I wasn’t able to concentrate well in Germany. My thinking wasn’t good and I made some mistakes in the direction for the machine’s setting. If I can overcome my mistakes in Misano I will be able to set a better result in qualifying and start the race in a better position. I need to set a good result.” Kenan Sofuoglu CBR1000RR Kenan Sofuoglu endured a hard weekend in Germany, as he didn’t manage to take home the results he had awaiting so eagerly. After a season plagued with bad luck and dramatic personal circumstances, the reigning World Supersport champion is now focusing on the Misano round, where he hopes to improve his riding and achieve better finishing positions onboard the CBR1000RR. “I hope the results will be better than the last race in Germany. I was expecting to take some good results away from there but it was a personal drama for me.” “It will be a tough race in Misano, very hot, but it will be a change for everybody. My aim is to set a good result in qualifying. If I manage to qualify well, then the race should not be so hard as I won’t have to start all the way from the back of the field and then chase forward. I would like to end both races within the top ten.” Andrew Pitt CBR600RR Andrew Pit collected his third win for the team this season at the Nürburgring and currently holds a first place in the World Supersport standings, while Jonathan Rea sits seventh. With only a marginal difference in points between the riders in the top five after what was the sixth round of the series, and the battle will be on once again in Misano. “We need to have another good race this weekend. We’ve recovered the two races we lost earlier in the season, now we need to build a points differential and try and confirm the lead. It’s like starting from scratch again now. The bike is working well and we should be able to perform.” “I have never been on the new Misano track so I will have to familiarise myself with the circuit on my first outing on Friday and do as many laps as possible. The tyre choice for the race will be important this weekend in the hot Misano conditions. We need to be strong at the end of the race, like we were last time in Germany, to get a good result.” Jonathan Rea CBR600RR “I am looking forward to the Misano round. I have never raced on the track before, but I’ve studied last year’s race on DVD and it looks like a nice track.” “We are still making good progress with the bike. We made done a good job in Germany and my motivation is quite high. Hopefully we can gather some momentum and get on the podium again to get the ball rolling.” “It’s good for my motivation that Andrew is now leading the championship. He has managed to convert the speed of the CBR600RR into race wins and provoked a bit of a healthy rivalry between us. It’s a good target for me, now I must try and do the same as Andrew.”