Supersport World Championship Race Results Losail International Circuit Doha, Qatar February 25, 2006 1. Sebastien CHARPENTIER (Hon CBR600RR) 18 laps, 37:30.955 2. Kevin CURTAIN (Yam YZF-R6), -5.396 seconds 3. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR600RR), -11.657 seconds 4. Javier FORES (Yam YZF-R6), -38.142 seconds 5. Johan STIGEFELT (Hon CBR600RR), -39.168 seconds 6. Robin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR), -45.547 seconds 7. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6), -47.631 seconds 8. Christian ZAISER (Duc 749R), -47.682 seconds 9. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Yam YZF-R6), -48.575 seconds 10. Josh BROOKES (Duc 749R), -49.814 seconds 11. Sebastien LE GRELLE (Hon CBR600RR), -54.509 seconds 12. Anthony GOBERT (Yam YZF-R6), -54.702 seconds 13. William DE ANGELIS (Hon CBR600RR), -57.362 seconds 14. Tom TUNSTALL (Hon CBR600RR), -63.436 seconds 15. Gianluca NANNELLI (Yam YZF-R6), -65.482 seconds 18. Chris PERIS (Yam YZF-R6), -74.340 seconds 31. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Hon CBR600RR), -14 laps, DNF 32. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), -17 laps, DNF More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: CHARPENTIER WINS AS SOFUOGLU TAKES THIRD ON HIS DEBUT Reigning Supersport champion Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) scored his first win at the Losail International Circuit, after an impressive display of front-running saw him lead every single one of the 18 laps. He also took the new lap record of 2’03.921, which was less than nine tenths from his new circuit best from qualifying. Having led most of the 2005 race at Losail, only to finish second behind his team-mate, Charpentier had all the motivation he needed to win this time around. After dropping his closest challenger Kevin Curtain with a handful of laps to go, he ran out a clear victor by 5.396 seconds. To add to the unbounded joy of the whole Winston Ten Kate Squad, new signing Kenan Sofuoglu scored a fine third place in his first Supersport race for the team. At one stage had claimed the lap record for his own, shortly before Charpentier’s late burst of record speed. Each Winston Ten Kate rider can now go to the Phillip Island race next weekend in the certain knowledge that their fast off-season form has carried on in real race conditions. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “Obviously a great start of the season, having both riders on the podium is ideal. Seeing Sebastien win might not be a big surprise for a lot of people but it doesn’t diminish the achievement for all of is. There are new bikes in the field this year and it is good to know that the CBR600RR is still the gold standard in World Supersport. To get Kenan on the podium is special, because he rode a very mature race. When he realised he couldn’t get to the winning position himself, but was clear in third, he took it home safely. That was a solid result we can build on for the future. What else can I say except that I am a very happy man.” Sébastien Charpentier WSS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (1st 25 points) “In testing in December we made a lot of improvements and set some good times here in Qatar. We pushed very hard for many laps, and today we did 2’04s consistently, with some ‘2’03s, so I am very pleased about that. It improved on last year and proved to us that we have many possibilities this year. I felt very comfortable on the bike and we are in a good condition. Kenan did very well; he is young and hungry to finish on the podium so it’s perfect for me. You need a fast rider in your team to compare yourself against.” Kenan Sofuoglu WSS Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (3rd 16 points) “I am very happy with this result, even after we knew would could be fast after the pole time I set. I ran in the first group in the race, and even though it was very difficult in the first laps, I knew I could go with them. After ten laps I was in third position and I realised that I had to keep the podium, so I stopped trying to challenge Kevin Curtain for second. This is a good result for us and thanks to the team for providing me with such a fast bike. The bike is completely different from my 2005 Superstock machine, there are many things you can change in Supersport, and more you can do with suspension.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: World Supersport and Superbike Championships 2006 Round 1 Losail International Circuit – Doha, Qatar Weather: Dry, Sunny, 30°C Qatar Race Report 23 – 25 FEBRUARY 2006 World Supersport Round 1 of 13 CHARPENTIER SCORES FIRST RACE WIN OF 2006 SEASON Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR rider Sebastien Charpentier started his championship defence in the best fashion possible by winning the Losail race, setting a new lap record and scoring pole position in final qualifying. The Frenchman ran out a five second winner over Yamaha rider Kevin Curtain, after 18-laps in desert sunshine at Qatar. Charpentier took a new lap record of 2’03.921, having set pole with a 2’03.093. Charpentier led every one of the race’s 18-laps. A successful day for the Winston Ten Kate Honda team saw their newest Supersport recruit, Kenan Sofuoglu, score a podium in his first Honda CBR600RR Supersport ride, taking a safe third after challenging for the lead in the first few laps. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) was fully in contention in the early stages, as he led off the line before being swamped by Charpentier’s pace. He was to fall at high speed on lap five, breaking a scaphoid bone in his wrist and will now miss the Phillip Island round in Australia. Yoann Tiberio (Megabike Honda CBR600RR) was forced to miss the Qatar race in its entirety after suffering a cycling injury, but is heading of to Australia, hoping to be fit in time. For Charpentier the race, conducted at a high pace throughout, was a vindication of not only his machine, but the preparations of his team in pre-season. “In testing in December we made a lot of improvements and set some good times here in Qatar,” said the 2005 champion. “We pushed very hard for many laps, and today we did 2’04s consistently, with some 2’03s, so I am very pleased about that. It improved on last year and proved to us that we have many possibilities this year. I felt very comfortable on the bike and we are in a good condition. Kenan did very well; he is young and hungry to finish on the podium so it’s perfect for me. You need a fast rider in your team to compare yourself against.” Sofuoglu, fast from first to last this weekend, raced with a maturity in the final few laps, taking an outstanding podium in his first ride for his new team. “I am very happy with this result, even after we knew would could be fast after the pole time I set,” said the charging Kenan, who played it safe towards the end. “I ran in the first group in the race, and even though it was very difficult in the first laps, I knew I could go with them. After ten laps I was in third position and I realised that I had to keep the podium, so I stopped trying to challenge Kevin Curtain for second. This is a good result for us and thanks to the team for providing me with such a fast bike. The bike is completely different from my 2005 Superstock machine, there are many things you can change in Supersport, and more you can do with suspension.” Fujiwara was firmly on course for a strong finish after a fourth place qualifying, but his crash stopped not only his race, but his ambitions for the next round in Australia. “It’s a shame for this to happen, not only crashing out but losing the chance to race in Australia,” said Fujiwara. “I am going home to Japan now to have an operation to pin my wrist, so it should be OK for the Valencia round.” More, from a press release issued by FGSport Group: SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP In the Supersport World Championship race, of 18-lap duration, Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) scored the race win, to start his title defence on a strong footing. Always in the lead, he nonetheless battled with Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) until he set a new lap record in the 13th tour, with a 2’03.921. Charpentier’s team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Honda Ten Kate) took third after an often tactile battle with Curtain ended in the Turkish rider easing up for an impressive third place finish. In fourth place, Javier Fores was a strong entrant for the SLM Yamaha team, despite the closing Johann Stigefelt, who had to settle for fifth place. Christian Zaiser had a fight on his hands to finish top Ducati, ending up 8th on his LBR twin. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Megabike Honda) crashed out while running in the wake of the leaders, breaking his scaphoid. Superbike and Supersport classes return to action at Phillip Island next weekend, with raceday on Sunday March 5. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: WSS : Curtain second on R6 debut Round: 1 – Qatar Circuit: Losail Circuit Date: 25 February 2006 Crowd: 1000 Temp: 30ºC Weather: Sunny Kevin Curtain gave the 2006 Yamaha YZF-R6 a promising debut, taking second place in today’s opening world supersport round in Qatar. The Yamaha Motor Germany rider rode a cautious race to take the flag behind world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda). Although despite having only had 90 minutes dry weather practice at the circuit, Curtain was still able to run under lap record pace to start the season with 20 valuable points. Charpentier had made a good start to lead from the line and pull away in the opening laps, while the Australian rider endured some inimical moves from Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda). Curtain was able to break away from his young Turkish opponent, running several laps on record pace to close right up with the champion. But Charpentier was able to increase his pace and build a gap over Curtain, who decided discretion was the better part of valour. Unsure of the endurance of his front tyre, he decided to bring his R6 home in a safe second place, five seconds behind Charpentier but a similar distance ahead of third placed Sofuoglu. Curtain’s team-mate Broc Parkes’ Qatar outing was a short one, ending in the gravel on lap two. The Australian burnt the clutch out on the startline but continued anyway, only to be caught out by a lack of engine braking caused by the slipping clutch. The new R6 is powering the bulk of riders in this year’s championship with Spanish privateer Javier Fores showing the potential of the machine with a fine fourth place. Italian riders Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello also finished in the top 10 on their Lorenzini by Leoni entered R6s. Anthony Gobert’s world supersport debut saw him end up 12th on the Yamaha GMT94 machine. Round two takes place in eight days’ time at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia, Curtain and Parkes’ home race. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) “We’re not that far off for the first time in a race with the new bike. We have a little bit to go yet but I’m really happy we can just about match them, especially in top speed. It was close but not close enough. Sebastien ran a fast race today, and the opposition has shown that they are still strong this year. But I am happy that the new R6 has performed this well this quickly so it can only get even better. We didn’t have much time in the dry and I wasn’t sure if the front tyre could last the distance. In the end it was fine but I didn’t want to risk a DNF at this stage. Now it’s off to Phillip Island, where we’ve already tested and have a good set-up, so that’s something to look forward to.” Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) “I burned the clutch on the start line and I could feel that after a few corners it was not right, but I decided to continue anyway. As I went into one corner it was just slipping all the way, no engine braking at all, and then I ran into the gravel and couldn’t save it. Of course, it’s a disappointing start to the season but there’s a long way to go and I’m looking forward to racing at Phillip Island next weekend.” Javier Fores (SLM Racing) “I thought I would get fifth but then Fujiwara crashed, so it was a bonus to get fourth. I didn’t know that there was a rider closing on me until near the end, but I managed to hold the gap to him. The bike was revving to the red line even in the top gears so I think we could have done something else with the gearing and gone even faster.” Anthony Gobert (Yamaha GMT94) I struggled a bit at the start but once I got going and into the groove of it, it went better. There were so many things different today, the suspension, the gearing shorter and so on. By the time I had adjusted to the new settings I was 24th but then worked my way back up to 12th at the finish.”