Jonathan Rea will make his World Superbike debut this weekend as the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team heads to the final round of the 2008 championship at Portimao in Portugal. The 21-year-old will race the Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade at the brand-new, 4km Portimao circuit, which is hosting its first race meeting this weekend (31 October 2 November), following recent homologation by the FIM. Ryuichi Kiyonari will make a welcome return to the team at Portimao, following surgery on the collarbone he broke during a testing session at Magny-Cours five weeks ago. Meanwhile, Kenan Sofuoglu will return to the Supersport garage at Portimao to race alongside newly-crowned World Supersport champion Andrew Pitt, who secured the 2008 title his second and the team’s seventh at the last round at Magny-Cours in France. Jonathan Rea Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade: “It’s going to be quite different from riding the supersport bike and I’m really, really happy to get this chance, although I’m sad not to be able to finish off the year with my supersport crew. They’ve been brilliant all season and I really wanted to win the title for them. If everything clicks and I can ride to my potential, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be near the front. Portimao is new to everyone, but everyone has also had all season to get their bikes working how they want, so I know how hard it’s going to be. The first session on Friday will be just getting comfortable on the bike so I don’t expect anything spectacular then. But I’ll be aiming for Superpole and looking to score points in both races.” Carlos Checa Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade: “I hear a lot of good things about the new Portimao circuit so I’m looking forward to riding it myself. It’ll be great to be among the first riders there, but I hope the track surface doesn’t give us too many problems with grip. I’m hoping of course to finish the season on a high note and it will be good to prepare for 2009 with a positive finish. It’s been a great first season in World Superbike for me, with a new team, new bike, new tyres, new championship. There has been a lot to learn and it’s been tough, particularly since the wins in America. But we’ll use this last race to finish as high as we can in this year’s championship and to start making improvements for next season.” Ryuichi Kiyonari Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade: “I had the operation on my shoulder in Japan so I’ve just been relaxing at home there and got back to Europe around a week ago. The shoulder feels good but I’ve seen the video of Portimao on YouTube and it looks like it will test the injury! It seems to be very up and down a bit like Brands Hatch or Phillip Island but it also looks fun. I am relaxed and want to finish the season with two strong results this weekend.” Andrew Pitt Honda CBR600RR: “There were some crazy days after we tied up the championship in Magny-Cours phone calls and emails to answer, and some interviews to get through but it was a great feeling. I spent a few days in the UK and I’ve just been chilling and looking forward to riding this new track at Portimao. Because it’s so new, I have a feeling it might be a bit like Qatar in that there’ll be one racing line because of all dust and dirt on the track, but it’s the same for everyone, so we’ll wait and see. It’ll feel weird turning up for a race without any pressure a bit like the BSB round we did at Donington. But we’ll try to set the tone for next season with a win.” Kenan Sofuoglu CBR600RR: “I’m really excited about getting back on the CBR600RR with the team that helped me win the World Supersport championship last year. I’ve been relaxing in Turkey with my friends and family and working a lot on my fitness so now I feel strong to finish the season in a good position. We will see this as a practice race for next season, but Portimao looks like a very interesting place and I am really looking forward to riding there.” Ronald ten Kate team manager: “It’ll be very exciting to see Jonathan for the first time on our Superbike. It certainly won’t be easy for him, but at least it will allow us one more test session in preparation for next season. It’ll also be good to have Kiyo back after missing the last round because of the surgery on his collarbone. He’s very motivated to finish the season well, as is Carlos Portimao is a new circuit and hopefully a level playing field for everyone. In Supersport, the pressures of winning the championship may be lifted, but Andrew also wants to finish on a high note. Hopefully, Kenan will provide some competition for him although, like Jonathan, it won’t be easy to swap bikes for a race weekend. However, Kenan knows the CBR600RR he even developed it last year so there’s a chance for a good result for him.”