2007 FIM Supersport World Championship Valencia, Spain April 13, 2007 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.521 2. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.729 3. Kevin CURTAIN (Yam YZF-R6), 1:37.885 4. Pere RIBA (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:38.095 5. Andrew PITT (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.478 6. Fabien FORET (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:38.524 7. Barry VENEMAN (Suz GSX-R600), 1:38.532 8. Gianluca NANNELLI (Duc 749R), 1:38.564 9. Robbin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.568 10. Joan LASCORZ (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.649 11. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), 1:38.681 12. Javier FORES (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.734 13. Lorenzo ALFONSI (Hon CBR600RR), 1:38.753 14. Davide GIUGLIANO (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:38.915 15. David SALOM (Yam YZF-R6), 1:39.008 16. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6), 1:39.016 17. Simone SANNA (Hon CBR600RR), 1:39.086 18. Craig JONES (Hon CBR600RR), 1:39.160 19. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Yam YZF-R6), 1:39.243 20. Vesa KALLIO (Suz GSX-R600), 1:39.245 27. Chris PERIS (Yam YZF-R6), 1:39.915 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Supersport success for HANNspree Ten Kate Honda in first Valencia qualifying The Spanish sun appeared just in time for the first qualifying session for round four of the 2007 World Supersport Championship in Valencia today. HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Kenan Sofuoglu is already well on the way to securing a front row start in Sunday’s race after he finished at the top of the timesheet. Despite being caught out by an oil spill on turn two of the 4km track, temporary team-mate Andrew Pitt recorded the fifth fastest time. Sofuoglu started the day on top form and completed the morning wet free practice with the fastest lap time of 1’39.549. He followed this up in the official qualifying by beating his earlier time by almost two full seconds. After putting in some consistently fast laps for much of the 45-minute session, he finished with a best time of 1’37.521. With only eight minutes left on the clock, an oil spill on track caused Pitt and six other riders to run off. The session was red flagged while the substance was cleared, allowing Pitt to regain his focus and swap to his spare bike. He re-joined qualifying and put in an impressive final lap on the CBR600RR to be placed fifth with a time of 1’38.478. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager: “The Supersport riders have started very well. Kenan not only concentrated on a single fast lap, he also made a longer run while doing it. Whether we race in the wet or dry we are pretty sure which tyres we will use. Andrew is steadily becoming more acquainted with the bike and he got a good result in the end. He was very unlucky to crash at the end of the session as he had to move to his second bike, but he still managed to secure his single fastest lap. All in all, fifth position is good and I am sure that after what we have seen from Andrew today he can definitely improve tomorrow.” Kenan Sofuoglu: “I am happy with the position today. We tested here about three months ago and found a really good set-up for the bike but now it does not feel so right. I have learned that testing and racing are two very different things and the set-up we like at the test is not always right for the race. Overnight we will be looking at this and we will change some things in time for tomorrow. I hope the weather stays good and I look forward to the second session.” Andrew Pitt: “I was fifth this morning in the patchy conditions and then fifth again this afternoon so I’m pretty happy with that. I feel like I’m working well with the guys and the bike is feeling good. I had a bit of a crash on the oil at the end and had to go out on the spare bike for the first time, but I was able to get one lap in and managed to improve my time. So far, so good – I’m happy enough.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Curtain and Parkes show their determination in first qualifying Kevin Curtain took third place in this weekend’s first qualifying session – only two weeks after breaking his left collar bone in four places at Donington Park. Team mate Broc Parkes struggled with his collar bone injury also, managing 11th place during the 45 minute session. Both riders have broken collar bones – Parkes his right and Curtain his left – after crashing in practice at the previous round at Donington. Since their respective accidents both riders have undergone surgery to plate and bolt the collar bones. They have had less than two weeks recovery since the last round and have surprised everyone by the efforts they have gone to in order to race here this weekend. Having attending last month’s Pirelli tyre test, the team preferred to sit out the damp morning practice session rather than aggravate the riders injuries, confident that they have good set up information from these testing sessions. In the dry afternoon session, Kevin had an unexpected but excellent ride and secured third place whilst Broc found his injuries were more aggravated by the many twists and turns in the middle section of the circuit. Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni rider, Massimo Roccoli, had an average performance and only managed to qualify in 16th position. Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) topped today’s qualifying session with a best time. Fujiwara (Honda) came in second with Curtain taking third and Riba (Kawasaki) completing the provisional front row in fourth place. Kevin Curtain (3rd – 1’37.885 – Yamaha Word Supersport Team) “My injuries don’t feel too bad – until I have to brake hard. I surprised myself in that session, getting third slot, considering I’ve just had quite a major operation. The doctor has done a good job! I’m happy with securing third position today because, if it rains tomorrow as it is forecast to, the risk of crashing will be higher. I have to consider my injuries and take it a bit more gently if it rains tomorrow.” Broc Parkes (11th – 1’38.681 – Yamaha World Supersport Team) “My collar bone is giving me some trouble in the middle section of a lap when I have to use my right arm a lot. It really hurts when I have to switch from left to right, which makes changing direction quite difficult. I’m okay on the brakes with it, but then I have a different riding style to Kevin. I’d like to qualify in the top eight; hopefully I can get to the second row in tomorrow’s qualifying, depending on the weather.” Massimo Roccoli (16th – 1’39.016 – Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) “Unfortunately today was a bad day for me. There was no technical problem; it was more of a personal issue with me struggling with my feeling of the track. The bike and the tyre is the same when we tested here in March, but for some reason I am 1.5 seconds slower than at that test. The difference is too big to be technical, it is something I need to try and resolve myself for tomorrow.”