2007 FIM Supersport World Championship Vallelunga, Italy September 30, 2007 Race Results: 1. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Honda CBR600RR), 17 laps, 28:42.956 2. Craig JONES (Honda CBR600RR), -0.181 second 3. Joan LASCORZ (Honda CBR600RR), -5.822 seconds 4. Broc PARKES (Yamaha YZRF-R6), -7.063 5. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Yamaha YZF-R6), -15.412 6. Matthieu LAGRIVE (Honda CBR600RR), -17.246 7. Arne TODE (Honda CBR600RR), -18.062 8. Simone SANNA (Honda CBR600RR), -18.565 9. Sebastien CHARPENTIER (Honda CBR600RR), -20.676 10. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Honda CBR600RR), -20.909 11. Graeme GOWLAND (Honda CBR600RR), -24.514 12. Vesa KALLIO (Suzuki GSX-R600), -25.772 13. Sebastien GIMBERT (Yamaha YZF-R6), -26.529 14. Fabien FORET (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -26.643 15. David CHECA (Yamaha YZF-R6), -26.999 16. Stefan NEBEL (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -37.511, crash 17. Alessio CORRADI (Ducati 749R), -38.400 18. Gilles BOCCOLINI (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -38.789 19. Vladimir IVANOV (Yamaha YZF-R6), -39.765 20. Arturo TIZON (Yamaha YZF-R6), -43.005 21. Michal FILLA (Honda CBR600RR), -66.416, jump start/ride-through penalty 22. Javier FORES (Honda CBR600RR), -1 lap, DNF 23. Lorenzo ALFONSI (Honda CBR600RR), -1 lap, DNF 24. Gregory LEBLANC (Honda CBR600RR), -1 lap, DNF 25. Stefano CRUCIANI (Honda CBR600RR), -2 laps, DNF, crash 26. Pere RIBA (Kawasaki ZX-6R), -8 laps, DNF, retired 27. Josh BROOKES (Honda CBR600RR), -9 laps, DNF, crash 28. Barry VENEMAN (Suzuki GSX-R600), -9 laps, DNF, retired 29. Miguel PRAIA (Honda CBR600RR), -10 laps, DNF, crash/retired 30. Julien ENJOLRAS (Yamaha YZF-R6), -11 laps, DNF, retired 31. David SALOM (Yamaha YZF-R6), -12 laps, DNF, crash 32. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yamaha YZF-R6), -13 laps, DNF, mechanical/retired 33. Tommy HILL (Yamaha YZF-R6), -17 laps, DNF, crash 2007 FIM Supersport World Championship Point Standings (after 12 of 13 races): 1. Sofuoglu, 251 points 2. Foret, 128 3. Parkes, 113 4. Fujiwara, 93 5. Roccoli, 84 6. Robbin Harms, 83 7. Jones, 78 8. Veneman, 70 9. Anthony West, 66 10. Charpentier, 51 11. Nannelli, 49 12. Vizzielo, 47 13. Lagrive, 46 14. Alfonsi, 45 15. TIE, Sanna/Checa/Andrew Pitt, 40 18. Lascorz, 38 19. Riba, 37 20. Salom, 34 More, from a press release issued by HANNspree Ten Kate Honda: Sofuoglu secures seventh Supersport success HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Kenan Sofuoglu added another race win to his already impressive tally at the Autodromo di Vallelunga today. The result marks his seventh victory of the season and his 11th podium finish from 12 race starts. It also sees Sofuoglu equal the current record for the highest number of wins in a single season, held by former Ten Kate Honda rider Karl Muggeridge. Despite already securing the series title at Brands Hatch in August, Sofuoglu remained determined to claim the race win in Italy today. He started from third on the grid and quickly picked up the pace to settle into second behind pole-sitter Craig Jones. Sofuoglu maintained station for the majority of the race, staying within one tenth of a second of his race rival and waiting for the right time to overtake. By lap 16, the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda rider had stolen the lead, however Jones was hot on his tail and has passed Sofuoglu by the start of lap 18. At this point, a crash on the first sector of the track caused an oil spill and, subsequently, a red flag situation. The race was stopped and the positions at the end of lap 17 determined the final results, with Sofuoglu in first and Jones in second place. Sébastien Charpentier had difficult race after experiencing problems with grip on the tyres of his CBR600RR. He got off to a strong start, but eventually finished ninth position to pick up seven points and climb into the top ten in the championship standings. The Frenchman remains positive that he can secure a good result at the final round of the season at his home circuit of Magny Cours in seven days time. Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager: “This was another perfect race for Kenan, although he had to work hard today because Jones has been riding so well this weekend. Kenan was just in time with his move on Jones before the red flag. We are happy that he is achieving his personal ambitions and breaking records in the Supersport class. I feel sorry for Sébastien. He struggled with grip and couldn’t keep up his lap times. Hopefully his home race next week will be a lot better.” Kenan Sofuoglu: “I am really surprised by how good Jones was today – every weekend I seem to have different competition and Jones was really strong round here. I made a mistake early on and then I took it steady and stayed behind Jones, watching his lines and planning to catch him in the last five laps. By lap 17 I had passed him, but it was really close and at that point the red flag came out. I was pretty lucky there because if it had been one lap later Jones would have got the win. I’m really happy, especially after my second place at Lausitz. The Honda CBR600RR is working really well and I want to say a big thanks to the team because we have had 11 podiums in 12 rounds and that is not bad!” Sébastien Charpentier: “Today has been another difficult day for me. Again, I had a great feeling on the bike during qualifying and free practice and I was confident about the race, but the grip went and I couldn’t keep up with pack. My mechanics have all been working really hard to sort out the issues we have been having and I thank them for that. Hopefully we will be able to improve in time for my home race next week.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: SOFUOGLU WINS RACE NUMBER SEVEN OF CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) was the eventual winner of a shortened Supersport race at Vallelunga, called to a halt on lap 17 because of an oil spill that claimed several riders before the race was stopped. Due to the count back of laps in these situations, it was Sofuoglu, not his fellow Honda rider and long-time front-runner Craig Jones (Honda CBR600RR) who was declared the winner at the new-to-SBK circuit near Rome. The 4.110km track was a stiff test for all, with very fast and very slow sections demanding a well-balanced machine set-up. In race conditions Vallelunga proved to be a playground for Honda riders, and in third place Spanish privateer Joan Lascorz (Honda CBR600RR) scored his first podium in the 600cc division, giving Honda a clean sweep of podium places. Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) once more dropped through the field from a potential podium finish, scoring ninth, while the still-injured Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) was a gritty tenth. His team-mate Lorenzo Alfonsi (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) was one of the riders unfortunate to find the oil spill at the fast entrance to the Curva Cimini rights before the oil flags came out, and he was not classified with a finish. Qualifying in Italy had been headed up by three Honda riders, with Jones on pole, from Sofuoglu from Charpentier. Alfonsi was 11th and Fujiwara worked hard to get to a final tenth place in the race, from a 14th place on the grid. In the championship, Sofuoglu leads second place rider Fabien Foret by a vast 123 points, with Fujiwara on 93, and still in with a chance of finishing third – if he can make up 20 points on Broc Parkes at the final round of the year. Charpentier is tenth overall, with 51 points, while Alfonsi is now 14th in the standings, on an unchanged 45 points. In the Manufacturers’ Championship Honda has a 63 points lead, having already secured the silverware earlier in the season. Sofuoglu, who won the championship with three races to spare, was desperate to win at this race and he got his wish in the first ever visit of World Supersport to the Vallelunga track. He leaves with a new lap record for the 4.110km circuit, 1’40.231, set on lap six. His seventh win of the year equals the best-ever record of victories in one season, set in 2004 by former Honda Ten Kate rider, Karl Muggeridge. “Craig had a great start and I had to work hard to close him down,” said Sofuoglu, “I made a mistake early on and then I sat behind him for a while in second position and then we had a good fight before the flag came out. I was pretty lucky because if the red flag had come out one lap later Jones would have had the win. I think the Honda works very well at Vallelunga, and my team made the bike great today. I really wanted to win another race at least in Supersport, after winning the title, and I want to try and get another one next weekend at Magny-Cours.” Charpentier’s weekend ended in disappointment despite his front row qualifying pace, leaving him once more unsure why his early lap speed could not be maintained over race distance. “Same story as previous races, I’m afraid,” said Charpentier. “No grip after a while and I don’t know why. Then, with maximum lean angle, I experience a lot of chatter. It will be important to make a good race in the final round at Magny-Cours next week.” Fujiwara rode the race with a left foot still injured from a crash in the previous Lausitz race, and paid the price in pain and overall fatigue, because his normal fitness regime had been affected in the run up to Vallelunga. “It felt like the race was 40 laps,” said Fujiwara. “In the high speed corners things were not so bad, I could push there, but this track has an incredibly tight infield, and you have to hold on a lot because you have to hang off very far to get round. That was very difficult with my injured foot, and all my muscles hurt. It was very hard today, but it was important to finish in the points and I will never, never give up this year.” Alfonsi was unhappy at losing the chance to score points at his home round, especially as he had been pushing in the race, and was up to 11th at one stage. “There was oil down but no flag,” said Alfonsi, “so I fell at the entrance to the Curva Cimini. I am OK, not injured in the crash but very beaten up. I made up some places but I think there was a problem with the air pressure in the rear tyre, as I was spinning a lot before the crash anyway.”