Sebastien Charpentier’s perfect title defense has brought him three race wins and three pole positions thus far, and as a fan of Monza, he will be given very short odds to make it four from four at the classic 5.793km Monza layout. His astounding form has delivered him a 15 point lead over Yamaha rider Kevin Curtain, who has finished second to him three times in three attempts. With a fine podium finish at Qatar new Honda signing Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) started the season in fantastic fashion, but a pair of crash-inspired DNFs have pushed him down the championship table somewhat. Monza is thus a chance for the Turkish rider to progress more rapidly to the overall position his obvious pace would suggest. Having partially recovered from an early season wrist injury in time for the previous round in Spain, Katsuaki Fujiwara (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) has been grateful for a further two weeks of convalescence. Fatigue in his hand may have slowed his final pace in Valencia but third, what was his only race finish of the year, was an indication of how the perennial WSS force can perform when fully fit. Yoann Tiberio (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) added an eventual seventh place in Valencia to his fourth place finish in Australia, and the 19-year-old French rider now sits fifth overall. Charpentier, second at Monza in 2005, wants to go one better, and feels confident about his chances. “Last year’s second place behind Fujiwara is still burning inside of me: I want to win at Monza, this is my only objective for the upcoming weekend,” said the Frenchman. “Last year the Winston Ten Kate Honda Team took a great team result, with a first and second place and I hope to be able to repeat this with Kenan. I would like to see him with me on the podium, like in Qatar. He deserves it because he has always been fast in every circuit.” For Sofuoglu Monza will bring back memories of his win in the FIM 1000 Superstock Cup last year, as he sets his sights on a podium finish in his rookie SBK year. “I am still sad about how things went in Valencia, but I have to look forward and learn from my mistakes,” stated Sofuoglu. “I want to thank the Winston Ten Kate Honda Team because they have always been close to me and I hope to give them a great performance: I have at my disposal a winning technical package therefore I am in the right condition to do well. The objective is to remain with the leading group and fight until the last turn. It would be fantastic to step back onto the podium.” Fujiwara draws on memories of last year’s race victory to bolster his pre-Monza preparations, not to mention his strong Valencia comeback race only two weeks ago. “During the Valencia race I understood that I could run for the podium,” said Katsuaki. “I raced with my left arm still not completely OK, but I earned a third, so my confidence for Monza is high. The bike is fast, very fast, and we made a good general set-up during the recent test of Misano. I want to win in Italy, especially to help with my championship position.” Tiberio’s start to the season has been impressive, despite the young Frenchman having missed out on the first race in Qatar. He knows Monza already, having scored second in the European Superstock 600 Championship race there last season. “Monza is a fast circuit and with the help of my bike, I will fight for an important result,” said Tiberio. “My immediate target is to gain experience with the bike at a fast circuit like Monza. The podium may be a difficult goal to reach at this stage but I can possibly speak about this when the official practices are complete.” World Superbike Round 4 of 13