2007 FIM Supersport World Championship Magny Cours, France October 7, 2007 Race Results: 1. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Honda CBR600RR), 22 laps, 37:55.892 2. Broc PARKES (Yamaha YZF-R6), -2.794 seconds 3. Craig JONES (Honda CBR600RR), -11.135 4. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Yamaha YZF-R6), -11.551 5. Tommy HILL (Yamaha YZF-R6), -12.359 6. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF-R6), -16.473 7. Josh BROOKES (Honda CBR600RR), -17.861 8. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Honda CBR600RR), -22.019 9. Gregory LEBLANC (Honda CBR600RR), -22.540 10. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yamaha YZF-R6), -22.640 11. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yamaha YZF-R6), -23.534 12. Arne TODE (Honda CBR600RR), -29.480 13. Simone SANNA (Honda CBR600RR), -40.098 14. Kenny FORAY (Honda CBR600RR), -40.283 15. David PERRET (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -42.882 16. Stefan NEBEL (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -43.136 17. Lorenzo ALFONSI (Honda CBR600RR), -54.566 18. Gilles BOCCOLINI (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -57.557 19. Julian ENJOLRAS (Yamaha YZF-R6), -58.750 20. Joe DICKINSON (Honda CBR600RR), -58.911 21. Vesa KALLIO (Suzuki GSX-R600), -59.076, ran off track 22. Joan LASCORZ (Honda CBR600RR), -65.603, crash 23. Barry VENEMAN (Suzuki GSX-R600), -75.572, crash 24. Arturo TIZON (Yamaha YZF-R6), -1 lap, DNF 25. Mauro SANCHINI (Honda CBR600RR), -1 lap, DNF, retired 26. Fabien FORET (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -10 laps, DNF, retired 27. Sebastien CHARPENTIER (Honda CBR600RR), -12 laps, DNF, retired 28. Miguel PRAIA (Honda CBR600RR), -13 laps, DNF, crash 29. David SALOM (Yamaha YZF-R6), -13 laps, DNF, crash 30. Javier FORES (Honda CBR600RR), -15 laps, DNF, retired 31. Pere RIBA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -18 laps, DNF, crash 32. Nicklas CAJBACK (Honda CBR600RR), -23 laps, DNF, crash Final World Championship Point Standings (after 13 of 13 races): 1. Sofuoglu, 276 points 2. Parkes, 133 3. Foret, 128 4. Fujiwara, 101 5. Jones, 94 6. Roccoli, 90 7. Harms, 83 8. Veneman, 70 9. Anthony West, 66 10. Vizziello, 60 11. Charpentier, 51 12. Checa, 50 13. Gianluca Nannelli, 49 14. Matthieu Lagrive, 46 15. Alfonsi, 45 16. Sanna, 43 17. Andrew Pitt, 40 18. Lascorz, 38 19. TIE, Riba/Gimbert, 37 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Record-breaking Sofuoglu HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Kenan Sofuoglu ended a near-perfect 2007 World Supersport season at Magny-Cours today with another spectacular race win. The victory sees the 2007 World Superbike Champion’s results tally reach 12 podium finishes, including eight race wins from 13 front row starts. Sofuoglu now holds the record for the highest number of victories in a single season. Today’s race was by no means easy for Sofuoglu as he entered into a fierce battle against Australian Broc Parkes. Parkes got the early lead, but it wasn’t long before the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda rider chose his moment to slip passed into first. On lap 13, Sofuoglu made a mistake and narrowly avoided crashing out of the race. Shaken but intact, he remained behind Parkes until lap 17 when he manoeuvred into the lead and held on to pass the chequered flag in the premier position. For the second time this season, Sofuoglu secured the best lap, pole position, fastest lap, the race win and a new Magny-Cours lap record. He ends the 2007 World Supersport Championship with a record-breaking 276 points – 143 points clear of second-placed rider Broc Parkes. He will now leave the series to enter the 2008 World Superbike Championship. Following a gruelling season, two-times World Superbike Champion Sébastien Charpentier was hoping for a good result at his home track. However, the Frenchman was forced to retire from the race on lap 11. He ends the season in 11th place in the standings with 51 points. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager: “This was the perfect end to a perfect season for Kenan. Once again he had to fight really hard for the win – last week with Craig Jones and this week with Broc Parkes. The lap times that both boys put in were just amazing. It was really great to see him end his Supersport career on top with the pole position, race win, best lap and lap record. Now we see him enter the Superbike class and I just hope to see him shine there as much as he has in Supersport. I’m sure he has a very bright future. “We are sorry again for Sébastien – he was up there in qualifying but he dropped back in the race and was forced to retire.” Kenan Sofuoglu: “I lost the front tyre half way through there and just a managed to hold on to the bike, but that was very close. I didn’t push too hard in the first few laps because I know that I can be strong at the end of the race. I followed Broc and waited for the right time to pass. After I nearly crashed I thought I had better take it easy so I waited a few more laps before trying to overtake again. It was a big ambition of mine to win here and to get the record for the most Supersport wins in a season. I am really happy to end this season on top before I go into World Superbikes next year.” Sébastien Charpentier: “It has been a pretty unlucky season for me overall and I really wanted to end on a good note. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. I have tried my best this year and I want to thank the team for everything they have done and the support they have given me this year and throughout my career.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: World Supersport Round 13 of 13 Temperature: Air 21°C – Track 23°C Conditions: Dry, largely overcast, heavy fog until past midday Attendance: 75,000 claimed, all weekend. SOFUOGLU DEMOLISHES YET ANOTHER RECORD WITH WIN NUMBER EIGHT Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) scored the win by 2.7 seconds at Magny-Cours, in a race delayed because of early morning fog at the 4.411km circuit in the centre of France. In taking his eighth victory in 13 attempts, Sofuoglu became the first rider ever to win eight WSS races in a single season, and ended the year with an extended record haul of 276 points. In qualifying, the Turkish rider scored his fifth pole of the year, and he has now started every 2007 race from the front row of the grid. Just to underline Sofuoglu’s weekend of glory, he also set a new lap record of 1’42.740, on lap four, to go with his new absolute Supersport best lap from qualifying, 1’42.057. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) had only qualified 12th for the race but in earning an eighth place finish in France he held on for fourth place in the championship, with a total of 101 points. Craig Jones (Honda CBR600RR) was third in the Magny-Cours race, behind Broc Parkes, and in doing so Jones has now secured fifth place in the title fight, with 94 points in total. Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) had qualified third and was as high as fifth in the race, but pulled in to retire after slowing once more in the middle of the 22-lap run. He ends an unhappy year with 51 points, in 11th place. Lorenzo Alfonsi (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) had to start from 27th place on the grid after a crash affected his final qualifying push, and he ended his last race of 2007 in 17th place. His championship position of 15th, was not helped by three no-scores. In the Manufacturers’ Championship Honda ended a successful season with a total of 296 points, 68 clear of second place. Sofuoglu’s win was not without risk at some points, but the champion had it all under control at the end of 22 laps. “I lost the front half way through and just a managed to hold on to the bike, but it was very close!” said Sofuoglu. “I didn’t push too hard in the first few laps because I know that I can be strong at the end of the race. I followed Broc and waited for the right time to pass. After I nearly crashed I thought I had better take it easy so I waited a few more laps before trying to overtake again. It was a big ambition of mine to win here and to get the record for the most Supersport wins in a season. I am really happy to end this season on top before I go into World Superbikes next year.” Charpentier ended yet another race sliding down the order as the laps clicked by, leaving him disappointed after such a strong qualifying showing. “It has been an unlucky season overall,” said the 2005 and 2006 World Champion. “I really wanted to end things on a good note. Unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be. I tried my best and I want to thank the team for the support they have given me this year and throughout my career.” Fujiwara battled hard for his top ten race finish, especially as he is still in pain from a previous injury to his left foot and ankle. “I made a good start, but after only three laps the pain really started in my left leg,” said Fujiwara. “I realised then that I just had to ride to get to the finish at a good pace and keep fourth position in the championship. The last five laps were very hard but we kept fourth overall, and that was important for both the team and myself.” Alfonsi knew that the race would be hard after his qualification near the back of the grid, but fought hard all the same. “I tried my best to get into the points,” said Alfonsi, “but I missed out. It was difficult with so many riders in front to pass but I made up nearly nine places. The group in front was too far to catch on the last few laps. Over the season I am reasonably satisfied, and if we had finished all the races we would have got a lot better points score, enough to put me in the top ten.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Parkes Takes Championship Second for Yamaha Second place in the race was enough today for Broc Parkes to secure second place overall in the 2007 World Supersport Championship. With four of the top six riders on Yamahas, including Hill who finished in fifth, today’s result shows the strong performance of the R6. Both Parkes and Hill got good starts with them taking second and third respectively behind Sofuoglu. Parkes and Sofuoglu proceeded to break away from the rest of the pack and tousle with each other for the win. The two swapped paint as they passed each other numerous times until Parkes’ tyre wore off and he had to settle for second. Second place was enough though to secure second championship position for the Australian. Hill spent most of the race stuck in a three-way battle for third with fellow Yamaha rider Vizziello and Jones. He held them off until three laps from the end when his tyre also started to wear out. Massimo Roccoli put in a solid ride today to finish tenth in the race and take sixth in the championship overall. Broc Parkes (2nd – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “I went for a soft rear tyre but then the temperature raised more than we expected. I had a great battle with Sofuoglu throughout the race and we both had our own moments but I just couldn’t get past him because my rear tyre had gone off. I knew that to get second in the championship all I had to do was finish second in the race and; in the end I had to settle for that. I wanted to finish the season with a win but it wasn’t to be. The team have been great to with again this year and I’m confident for the next season. I’d like to thank everyone for all their support and help during this year.” Tommy Hill (5th – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “I felt comfortable today with the tyre choice we made but who could’ve predicted the temperature would rise by nine degrees in half an hour! I got a good start and was having a good dice with Vizziello and Jones when my rear tyre went off in the last seven laps. I tried to push but I just couldn’t stay with them. I’m gutted because I wanted a podium today and I felt it was going to happen; everything was looking good for one. I’d like to thank the team; they’ve been great to work with. I’ve had some good consistent results. I’ve not got on the podium in the four races, which I would’ve liked to have done, but that’s sometimes how it goes.” Massimo Roccoli (10th – Yamaha Team Italia) “I had a problem with my gear shifter at the start and when I began to push the other riders were too far ahead. Also, my set-up wasn’t perfect today. I regret losing fifth championship position at the last race of the season.”