FIM Supersport World Championship Brno, Czech Republic July 23 Race Results: 1. Kevin CURTAIN (Yam YZF-R6), 18 laps, 38:23.594 2. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), -1.535 seconds 3. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR600RR), -3.940 seconds 4. Yoann TIBERIO (Hon CBR600RR), -19.396 seconds 5. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Yam YZF-R6), -21.495 secondcs 6. Johan STIGEFELT (Hon CBR600RR), -22.058 seconds 7. Mauro SANCHINI (Yam YZF-R6), -24.958 seconds 8. David CHECA (Yam YZF-R6), -25.795 seconds 9. Simone SANNA (Hon CBR600RR), -26.684 seconds 10. Christian ZAISER (Duc 749R), -32.440 seconds 11. Sebastien CHARPENTIER (Hon CBR600RR), -36.106 seconds 12. Javier FORES (Yam YZF-R6), -45.429 seconds 13. Stephane CHAMBON (Kaw ZX-6RR), -51.659 seconds 14. Tatu LAUSLEHTO (Hon CBR600RR), -52.437 seconds 15. Kai Boore ANDERSEN (Suz GSX-R600), -56.566 seconds More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: SOFUOGLU THIRD AS CHARPENTIER DEFENDS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) rode a battling race in temperatures of 32°C to score third in the 18-lap Brno Supersport race, tailing the top two riders for virtually the entire race. His third place finish was his best result since his opening race third at Qatar, and pushes him up one place in the championship fight, to eighth overall. Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) rode to a battling 11th, having to fight all the way against tyre grip issues, but earning five points in his comeback ride after pelvic and collarbone injuries. He survived a pre-race scare unharmed, after a crash on the entry to the final corner during morning warm-up. He now leads Kevin Curtain, today’s race winner, by ten points, with second place rider at Brno, Broc Parkes, now 27 points back. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “I am very pleased for Kenan, as it appears that if he returns to a track we have already tested at he performs very well. Physically, Sebastien had no problem of any kind but we had a big, big problem with the rear today and we have yet to find out why. For sure we will, and I feel very sorry for Seb that we could not give him the package he deserved today. Doing 2’09 and 2’10 laps is nothing, that’s cruising, so I don’t know what happened. We did a long run on the tyre and it was the same one that Kenan used. Kenan was strong and had a strong ride. It was nice to see him back again. It was a mature ride, and no big moments. He has had a difficult period recently but has got through it by working very, very hard with the team. He is up where he belongs. It has also been a long road for Sebastien after his injures at the Brno tests. In practice everything was going quite well, and we could have had a top five finish with him, for sure. There is a ten point difference between Sebastien and Curtain now, but it is better to take that to Brands now than to got there ten behind.” Sebastien Charpentier WSS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (11th Championship Position: 1st with 121 points) “From the very start of the race it was very difficult for me because I felt the rear spinning too much and it stayed like that for all the race. It was impossible to get closer to the leaders in front because of that, so it was disappointing not to get more points. But we still have a ten point lead going into Brands Hatch, and it could have turned out a lot worse.” Kenan Sofuoglu WSS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (3rd Championship Position: 8th with 51 points) “I am happy because I am back on the podium and gained a lot more experience in running near the front in World Supersport. I think from now on I can make a high standard and in all the races I will be aiming for a podium. I was just as fast as the other two bikes in most places but I lost a bit entering the start-finish straight; so later in the race I could not try to pass them. After half of the race the bike started to move too much. But I am happy to make a podium for the team and they have worked really hard with me.” CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING: 1. Charpentier – Winston Ten Kate Honda – 121 points 2. Curtain – Yamaha – 111 points 3. Parkes – Yamaha – 94 points 4. Harms – Honda – 74 points 5. Roccoli – Yamaha – 71 points 8. Sofuoglu – Winston Ten Kate Honda – 51 points More, from a press release issued by Team Klaffi Honda: There were only 20 of the 38 riders which crossed the checkered flag of World’s Supersport Championship today at Brno/CZ. 18 riders had to retire cause they had a technical problem or a crash. William de Angelis and Matthieu Lagrive the riders of Team Intermoto Czech Klaffi were super motivated for the home race of the team. Both did an excellent start and had a lot of chances to achieve a top ten position. William and Matthieu fired up and where chasing Checa and Sanchini. Matthieu, the French rider of the Team Intermoto Czech Klaffi opened the throttle but he had no good luck today. In lap three a technical problem occured. The engine stopped. No chance for Matthieu to start his bike again. Only a few minutes later it was the turn of his team mate. William had an immense highsider – just after crossing the dark section of the track were James Toseland crashed in the warm-up of the Superbike race. Winner of of the race was Curtain in front of Parkes and Sofuoglu. It was a weekend with a lot of bad luck for the team. Now we concentrate on the next race which will take place at Brands Hatch on the first weekend of August. More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: SOFUOGLU SCORES A PODIUM AS CHARPENTIER FIGHTS FOR POINTS With his team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) riding a mature and forceful ride to third place at Brno, championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) fought against rear traction problems throughout the 18-lap race to score 11th place. The five points he earned were vital to his overall title ambitions, as his chief rival Kevin Curtain scored his first race win of the 2006 season. Charpentier now has a ten point lead, with seven of 12 rounds completed. Sofuoglu, who was in the top three for the entire race, scored his second career Supersport podium, to add to his third place at Qatar during the opening round of the series. He had qualified in second at Brno, with Charpentier fifth on the grid. Sofuoglu has now promoted himself one place in the championship standings and is eighth, on 51 points. Yoann Tiberio (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) replicated his fourth place in qualifying in the race, some 19 seconds from the winner, after experiencing traction problems in the hot 47°C track temperatures. His team-mate, in the absence of regular rider Katsuaki Fujiwara (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR), was once more Simone Sanna (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR), who scored ninth place. Sanna had qualified sixth, making it four Hondas in the pre-race top six. Honda still has a firm grip on the Manufacturers’ Championship battle, with an 18-point lead over the next closest challenger, and by five race wins to two. Sofuoglu’s second podium of the year gives him hope that he can continue to record more, in the remaining five rounds. “I am happy because I am back on the podium and gained a lot more experience in running near the front in World Supersport,’ said Sofuoglu. “I think from now on I can make a high standard and in all the races I will be aiming for a podium. I was just as fast as the other two bikes in most places but I lost a bit entering the start-finish straight; so later in the race I could not try to pass them. After half of the race the bike started to move too much. But I am happy to make a podium for the team and they have worked really hard with me.” Charpentier’s 11th place earned him five points, and he is now on 121 points, ten ahead of Curtain, and 27 ahead of Parkes. “From the very start of the race it was very difficult for me because I felt the rear spinning too much and it stayed like that for all the race,” said Charpentier, who had a fall shortly before the race started, in morning warm-up. “It was impossible to get closer to the leaders in front because of that, so it was disappointing not to get more points. But we still have a ten point lead going into Brands Hatch, and it could have turned out a lot worse.” Tiberio cited a lack of rear grip after the first few laps as the reason for his inability to get into contention with the podium men, but he set a new lap record of 2’06.602, on his second lap. “I would have liked to have followed the three in front but it was impossible,” said Tiberio after a tough 18-lap race. “It was better to finish fourth than to crash. More points for the championship, to take forward to the next race. The tyres were not so bad because I finished fourth but it was impossible to do more.” Sanna had reduced feel and grip from his front in the race, with his team looking into the reason why after the race. “I did not have the same confidence in the front in this race, although we chose the same tyre we used before,” said the rider who scored second at Misano. “So something has changed but we need to look into what. Maybe the track conditions were a factor as well.”