Kenan Sofuoglu and Michele Pirro will both start from the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s opening 2010 World Supersport championship race at Phillip Island in Australia.

The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda riders set the second and third fastest times respectively in this afternoon’s final qualifying session, with Spain’s Joan Lascorz taking pole position and Ireland’s Eugene Laverty completing the front row as the third fastest Honda rider.

After struggling with grip and tyre durability in yesterday’s warm conditions at the 4.445km Phillip Island circuit, the World Supersport championship’s most successful team made progress in today’s cooler conditions and both riders are confident for tomorrow’s season-opening 21-lap race.

Kenan Sofuoglu – P2 1’34.116s

That wasn’t so bad and I am really much happier than I was after yesterday’s sessions. We have really improved our package today and I only hope that it stays cool for the race tomorrow. I think I could have gone faster but on both my fast laps I came across slower riders which took away my rhythm. I think maybe I could have taken three or four tenths off my time, but I am happy enough with a front row start. It’s important to get a good start tomorrow because I will try, of course, to win the race. We also found a way to get a longer life for the tyre today and I will do my best to save it for the end of the race tomorrow.

Michele Pirro – P3, 1’34.156s

Well, of course I am happy because I said yesterday that my target today was to get a front row start. We achieved this goal but I had some problems with grip at the front, especially on the corner exit. The bike is new for me this season so the race tomorrow will be my first. It’s difficult to know what to expect but, for sure, there are a lot of fast riders and they will be at the front in the race. I am looking forward to it, but the front row is a good place to start.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

Well, after the problems we had during the test here and yesterday, we put on a clean shirt today and made the improvements we needed.  Things really started to shape up for us today and I am delighted that both riders will start from the front row. Big compliments especially to Michele who has arrived immediately at the front in his debut for the team. Hopefully, both riders can finish the job off tomorrow.

2010 World Supersport championship, round 1 – Phillip Island, Australia (4.445km)

Final qualifying results:
1. Joan Lascorz (ESP) Kawasaki 1’33.847s
2. Kenan Sofuoglu (TUR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’34.116s
3. Michele Pirro (ITA) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’34.156s
4. Eugene Laverty (IRL) Honda 1’34.300s
5. Katsuaki Fujiwara (JPN) Kawasaki 1’34.494s
6. David Salom (ESP) Triumph 1’34.873s

Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s opening two races of the 2010 World Superbike championship from the second row of the grid after setting the seventh fastest time in this afternoon’s Superpole qualifying session at Phillip Island, Australia.

In much cooler conditions than yesterday, the 23-year-old Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider from Northern Ireland saved his allocated qualifying tyres for the final two Superpole sessions, but experienced no significant improvement in grip or subsequent lap times.

Rea’s team-mate, Max Neukirchner, was eliminated after the first Superpole session after setting the 17th fastest time, but the German rider remains positive that improvements made in his CBR1000RR’s set-up will stand him in good stead for tomorrow’s two 22-lap races around the 4.445km Phillip Island circuit.

Jonathan Rea – P7, 1’31.912s

We’ve struggled all weekend to get the most out of putting a new tyre in the bike. We had exactly the same this afternoon in Superpole when we got no more grip from the qualifiers than we had from the race tyre. Of course, I’m frustrated and quite disappointed to be starting from the second row. However, the positive thing is that our race pace has been improving steadily and I’m really excited that the racing finally starts properly tomorrow. I’m looking forward to getting amongst it, pushing to the front and seeing what we can do.

Max Neukirchner – P17, 1’32.782s

I know it looks bad, and it’s not a great starting position, but I’m actually feeling quite positive. We made some improvements this morning and I went faster as well as being able to improve on the life of the tyre. We will make some more changes to follow that direction and try these in warm-up tomorrow morning. We have two long races tomorrow and I’m feeling very fit and positive. I don’t think I can win but it shouldn’t be so bad if we can keep making the progress we made today.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

The race pace for both riders is looking well and we’ve definitely moved forward there. On the qualifiers during Superpole we couldn’t go any faster, however, and that’s a little frustrating to deal with. For the race, with Jonathan, we should be in a position to fight for a podium. On Max’s side we’ve been changing the bike a lot – especially at the rear. For sure, tomorrow we need to try some other settings during warm-up because we’re too far off at the moment.

2010 World Superbike championship, round 1 – Phillip Island, Australia (4.445km)

Final qualifying results:
1. Leon Haslam (GBR) Suzuki 1’31.229s
2. Michel Fabrizio (ITA) Ducati 1’31.245s
3. C Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha 1’31.642s
4. Carlos Checa (ESP) Ducati 1’31.671s
7. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’31.912s
17. Max Neukirchner (GER) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’32.782s

Less than three tenths of a second separated the top five riders after this afternoon’s opening qualifying session for this weekend’s first round 2010 World Supersport championship race at Phillip Island in Australia.

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider, Kenan Sofuoglu, set the third fastest time in this afternoon’s 45-minute session, which took place in temperatures of more than 30 degrees with a track temperature of almost 50 degrees. The Turkish rider was just 0.054s behind provisional pole sitter, Joan Lascorz.

Sofuoglu’s new team-mate for 2010, Michele Pirro, was fifth fastest today, his debut competitive outing for the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team. The 23-year-old Italian was less than two tenths behind his more experienced team-mate and only three tenths away from Lascorz’s time.

Kenan Sofuoglu – P3, 1’34.683s

I am actually very disappointed because it seems that we have only two tyre options and we are experiencing problems with both. We have a pretty good set-up to do a fast lap, but we have had to concentrate today’s time on trying to make the tyres last. I know I can probably go 0.5s faster but there is no point going for that. We don’t have many ideas for a solution right now, but we will all sit down later and try to come up with some ideas for tomorrow.

Michele Pirro – P5, 1’34.918s

The times are very close so I am not so unhappy with my performance today. The bike is not perfect, however, and we have worked hard to find the right set-up and tyre choice for the race on Sunday. Tomorrow we will try some different ideas to get the tyre to work better and I will try very hard for a front row starting position.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

We have spent a lot of time today trying to find a good race set-up. Although we’re not far off, there is still a lot more to come. We have both riders fully up there and we’re confident that things will improve both tomorrow and on Sunday.

2010 World Supersport championship – round 1
Phillip Island, Australia – 4.445km
1. Joan Lascorz (ESP) Kawasaki 1’34.629s
2. Eugene Laverty (IRL) Honda 1’34.634s
3. Kenan Sofuoglu (TUR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’34.683s
4. Katsuaki Fujiwara (JPN) Kawasaki 1’34.783s
5. Michele Pirro (ITA) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’34.918s
6. Chaz Davies (GBR) Triumph 1’34.939s

In today’s 11th round World Superbike championship races at Nurburgring in Germany Jonathan Rea won the second race after placing fourth in the first outing. It was his and the team’s second World Superbike victory of the season and his fifth podium finish.

His Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Carlos Checa, also enjoyed a successful day with two third place finishes – the first behind new championship leader, Ben Spies, who was second in race two.

Rea’s first race was affected by technical difficulties after it was red flagged on the second lap. His CBR1000RR Fireblade had not been giving him the correct level of engine braking so he swapped to his number two machine for the restart.

In the second encounter, the 22-year-old Northern Irishman had to fight through to the lead on lap four after a sluggish start. Japan’s Noriyuki Haga fought back and the pair appeared to touch on the exit the first corner, the Ducati rider crashing out. Rea went on to hold off a late challenge from Spies and was even able to break the Nurburgring lap record on his final lap.

Checa meanwhile had to force his way past his team-mate in the opening 20-lapper after starting from eighth on the grid. The Spaniard also put moves on Fabrizio, Biaggi and Corser to grab his third podium of the season.

A delighted Checa enjoyed a better start to race two and even led briefly on lap three before settling for third behind Rea and Spies.

Jonathan Rea – 4th and 1st

Apart from the issues with my number one bike in the first part of race one, I had a real problem with turn three and messed up the race. I was a bit disappointed with fourth and was really motivated to ride better in race two. The guys sat me down in between races and gave me an instruction manual on how to win. We changed nothing on the bike and I tried to ride my own race and mind my own business. I got a really bad start and had to get a bit aggressive on pe! ople in turn one. Haga ran quite wide and I went on the inside and, although I didn’t see him I felt a big bang and only found out he crashed after the race. I’m sorry for that but don’t think it was my fault and I wouldn’t blame him. I gave it all I could in the race and the package was very strong today so I can’t thank the team enough. I knew I had to make no mistakes on the last lap because Ben was so close, so breaking the lap record then was great. But it’s really a testament to how strong the bike is now and hopefully we can take this momentum on to the next race.

Carlos Checa – 3rd and 3rd

We knew it would be tough going into turn one and in the first race I just tried to catch the top guys. I got up to Johnny and had a good fight with him but right up to the last turn I didn’t know what would happen. I made a really great start to race two – I couldn’t believe it. Got into another battle with Haga early on but I could see Johnny was strong when he passed me. I tried to stay with Ben Spies and lost a few meters in the middle of the race but it was very good to keep third for me and for the team. It’s been a really satisfying weekend.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

All in all, we’ve had some good results this weekend. Jonathan had some problems to resolve after the race but, to his credit, he solved them himself – we didn’t change anything on the bike. Going back to his number one machine for race two would have helped and our congratulations to him on the win. Also to the whole staff who have worked so hard over the last couple of weeks to keep us where we are. Jonathan’s win in race two maybe overshadowed Carlos’s results, but fair play to him for two brilliant podiums. He has worked and ridden really well this weekend and we’ll now try to improve the bike even more for Imola.

Ryuichi Kiyonari took 14th and seventh place finishes in today’s two races of the 11th-round World Superbike championship race at Nurburgring in Germany.

The races were won by America’s Ben Spies and Kiyonari’s Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Jonathan Rea, as the Japanese rider continues his adaptation to new suspension components which he has been using since the last round at Brno in the Czech Republic.

After qualifying in 18th place yesterday, Kiyonari had sluggish starts to both races, but continued improvements to his Ohlins suspension allowed him to climb several places to seventh in race two

Ryuichi Kiyonari – 14th and 7th

Race two was a big improvement for me and I felt more comfortable on the bike. It had a better feeling and balance and I was able to push a little harder in the second race and pass quite a few riders. Of course, there is still a lot of work to do but I am looking forward to see how much more we can improve in the final three races of the season.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

Unfortunately, Kiyonari-san was unable to make very much progress in the first race, even though we made some improvements to the bike overnight. The changes seemed to work better in race two and Kiyo was able to improve his lap time as well as passing some other riders for a solid top ten finish. We will continue working as a team to find some more improvements when we reach Imola, which is a circuit Kiyonari knows after our test there earlier in the summer.

2009 World Superbike championship, round 11 – Nurburgr! ing, Ger many (5.13km, 2 x 20 laps) results:

Race one:
1 Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha 39’04.818s
2 Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Ducati +3.850s
3 Carlos Checa (ESP) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +6.990
4 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +7.109
5 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia +12.825
6 Leon Haslam (GBR) Honda +13.243
14 Ryuichi Kiyonari (JPN) Ten Kate Honda Racing +31.188

Race two:
1 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 39’01.561
2 Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha +0.786s
3 Carlos Checa (ESP) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +4.993
4 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia +8.191
5 Leon Haslam (GBR) Honda +10.907
6 Troy Corser (AUS) BMW +17.152
7 Ryuichi Kiyonari (JPN) Ten Kate Honda Racing +19.743

Championship points after 11 of 14 rounds:
Spies 364, Haga 346, Fabrizio 289, Rea 244, Biaggi 224, Haslam 201, Checa 177, Tom Sykes (GBR) Yamaha 165, Shane Byrne (GBR) Ducati 134, Kiyonari 130.

WSS

Kenan Sofuoglu crashed out of a comfortable second place in today’s 11th-round World Supersport championship race at Nurburgring in Germany – a race won by series leader Cal Crutchlow. Sofuoglu’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Andrew Pitt, was seventh.

Starting from second place on the grid, Sofuoglu challenged Crutchlow on the opening laps, breaking the lap record on lap two. However, as drizzle began to fall on the 5.13km Nurburgring circuit, the Turkish rider slid off at the tight first corner.

He lost his right footpeg in the crash but was able to remount in eighteenth place and move up to 10th place before a small bolt that he was resting his right foot on worked itself loose, leaving a bitterly disappointed Sofuoglu unable to continue.

Pitt, meanwhile, got a good start from his 10th place on the grid but was affected by the rain in the early stages, when his lap times dropped. The Australian rallied in the second part of the race, however, and climbed as high as sixth before dropping back to seventh at the flag.

Andrew Pitt – 7th

I was basically just too cautious when it was wet and lost too much time. I saw a couple of other riders go down and just took it steady for a couple of laps but came back strong at the end, when my lap times were better and I was able to get into a rhythm. We still need to do some work on improving the way the bike turns – I’m just having to wait too long to get on the gas. But we’re going in the right direction and making small steps forward. We’ll have a good base to start with at Imola and know what we have to do.

Kenan Sofuoglu – DNF

I am so disappointed because I was in a good position when I crashed. I felt I had to push to stay with Crutchlow, but I just pushed too hard. I lost the footpeg but the rest of the bike was OK and I was able to do some good lap times before the bolt ! fell off and I had no alternative but to pull in. I’m sorry for the team who worked so hard to give me a good bike this weekend and I will try to make up for it at Imola.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

It’s a shame of course, but second position seemed secured until Kenan’s little off. The positive is that we had made a big step forward this weekend and in our small tests during the break. Andrew’s first half was slow, but in the second part of his race he seemed to be quick enough for maybe fourth place. However, we are moving in the right direction and look forward to continuing at Imola.

2009 World Supersport championship, round 11 – Nurburging, Germany (5.13km, 19 laps) results:
1 Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha 37’56.481s
2 Eugene Laverty (IRL) Honda +10.109s
3 Joan Lascorz (ESP) Kawasaki +10.250
4 Massimo Roccoli (ITA) Honda +31.980
5 Fabien Foret (FRA) Yamaha +34.575
6 Mark Aitchison (AUS) Honda +34.724
7 Andrew Pitt (AUS) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +36.632

Championship points after 11 of 14 rounds: Crutchlow 210, Laverty 188, Lascorz 138, Kenan Sofuoglu (TUR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 128, Foret 99, Anthony West 96, Pitt 94

Next round: Imola, Italy – 25-27 September

Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s two 11th-round World Superbike championship races from the front row of the grid after setting the second fastest time in this afternoon’s Superpole session at Nurburgring in Germany.

It looked as though Rea might take his first WSBK pole start but Japan’s Noriyuki Haga pipped the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland with his final lap, beating Rea to the top slot by two hundredths of a second.

Rea has been running at the top of the timing sheets all weekend but he lost almost 20 minutes of the free practice session just before Superpole. His main bike developed a technical problem and Rea then crashed his spare machine, cutting his left index finger and thumb. However, his technicians were able to repair his number one bike in time for Superpole.

His Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team mate, Carlos Checa, progressed to Superpole 3 this afternoon and will start from the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s two 20-lap races.

Jonathan Rea – P2, 1’55.749s (Superpole 3)

I put a pretty good lap in at the start of the last Superpole session and thought it would be enough. But all credit to Nori – it was a really good lap on a not exactly 100% qualifying tire. But my package was working really well and I’m glad the guys didn’t go to sleep during the summer break. We’ve come here with some really good development parts for the bike and I can’t thank the boys enough for digging deep. I really love this circuit but didn’t ride so well in the Supersport race here last year but this is a new year and I think our race package is pretty good. I can sleep solidly tonight and really look forward to tomorrow.

Carlos Checa – P8, 1’56.699s (Superpole 3)

We changed a little bit for the last run and I thought I would be able to do a low 56 or even a high 55, but it did not come. I am pre! tty happ y with the race tire, though and the package is feeling good, even though I am still struggling a little in the first sector. I wasn’t feeling so good today – a headache and maybe a little temperature. So we’ll hope for more tomorrow, both from me and the bike.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

I think we can all be quite happy with the results achieved today. It’s good to see that the work we did during the summer break has paid off. We honestly thought that Jonathan had secured pole position and I think Haga’s lap caught everyone in the paddock by surprise! Anyway, we are quite ready for the races tomorrow with both Jonathan and Carlos strong on race tires. So hopefully we’ll get some good results to maintain our recent progress.

Ten Kate Honda Racing’s Ryuichi Kiyonari qualified for Superpole after this morning’s qualifying session for tomorrow’s two 11th-round World Superbike championship races at Nurburgring in Germany.

However, the Japanese ace was not able to find the right feel with his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade in order to progress beyond Superpole 1 from which the 16 fastest riders proceed to the final two sessions.

A disappointed Kiyonari finally qualified 18th fastest on the fifth row for tomorrow’s two 20-lappers at the 5.13km Nurburgring.

Pole position was taken by his fellow Japanese Noriyuki Haga with Kiyonari’s Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Jonathan Rea, taking the runner up slot.

Ryuichi Kiyonari – P18, 1.57.522s

I am very disappointed with today’s qualifying sessions and Superpole because yesterday it felt like we were making some good progress with the bike and I had a good feeling in the wet. Today in the dry the feeling was not so good and I’m not so sure what we can do to improve things. But we will look at everything again later to see where we can improve the bike and maybe the rider. Of course, I will try my best in tomorrow’s races and hope for a better result than today.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

We felt that we were making some good progress with Kiyonari-san’s new suspension set up yesterday, but he appears to have lost some of that good feeling today. I strongly believe that we are still moving forward, however, so the Superpole result today is a real shame. Kiyo is a fighter though, and we all know he will give it his best shot in the races tomorrow.

2009 World Superbike championship, round 11 – Nurburgring, Germany
Final qualifying results:

1 Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Ducati 1’55.489s
2 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’55.749s
3 Leon Haslam (GBR! ) Honda 1’55.776s
4 Michel Fabrizio (ITA) Ducati 1’55.927s
5 Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha 1’55.938s
6 Troy Corser (AUS) BMW 1’56.296s
7 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia 1’56.440s
8 Carlos Checa (ESP) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’56.699s
18 Ryuichi Kiyonari (JPN) Ten Kate Honda Racing 1’57.552s

WSS

Kenan Sofuoglu will start from the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s 11th-round World Supersport championship race at the Nurburgring in Germany after setting the second fastest time in this afternoon’s qualifying session.

The Turk lapped the famous 5.15km circuit in a time of 1’59.201 as Britain’s Cal Crutchlow took pole position for tomorrow’s 19-lap race.

Sofuoglu’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Andrew Pitt, will start from the third row after setting the tenth fastest time, but the Australian’s renewed confidence in his Honda CBR600RR continues to grow.

Kenan Sofuoglu – P2, 1’59.201s

It wasn’t too bad today and we are definitely improving the bike each time we go out. I went a second faster than this morning, which shows the progress we are making, and second place on the grid is a good place to start. Of course, Crutchlow was very fast today but P1 in the race is the one that counts. I think I will be racing with him and Laverty tomorrow. The team has worked so hard and I am able to hold a line when I open the gas, which is a big improvement. We will look to make another step forward in warm-up tomorrow.

Andrew Pitt – P10, 2’00.455s

It doesn’t look such a great result from the outside, but my confidence is growing all the time and I think we probably have a top five package at the moment. I did a couple of laps with Kenan this afternoon and I’m having to keep the throttle closed just a little bit longer than him, which I think is down to the balance of my bike. But we’re definitely making progress and we’re closer than we’ve been for a while. It’s tough in the first three turns and then at the end of the lap, but we’re seeing problems better and fixing them. There’s some work to do but it’s all going in the right direction.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

We definitely found a way forward this afternoon but unfortunately we were not in a position that allowed Andrew to capitalise but Kenan is going pretty well. Of course, we need to go faster, so we have some more work to do tonight and in the morning in order to challenge for a win tomorrow.

2009 World Supersport championship, round 11 – Nurburgring, Germany
Final qualifying results:

1 Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha 1’57.866s
2 Kenan Sofuoglu (TUR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’59.201s
3 Eugene Laverty (IRL) Honda 1’59.373s
4 Garry McCoy (AUS) Triumph 1’59.716s
5 Michele Pirro (ITA) Yamaha 1’59.765s
6 Katsuaki Fujiwara (JPN) Kawasaki 1’59.779s
10 Andrew Pitt (AUS) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 2’00.455s

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea set the fastest time in today’s wet opening qualifying session for Sunday’s 11th-round World Superbike championship races at Nurburgring in Germany.

The 22-year-old spent most of the hour-long session – some of which was held in torrential rain – at the top of the timing sheets with a comfortable 1.5-second margin. The gap was reduced to half a second by Britain’s Tom Sykes right at the end of the session, but Rea remained comfortably the fastest rider today.

His team mate, Carlos Checa looked to be heading for a provisional front row slot with his final lap. He was slowed by another rider at the final chicane but remains comfortable in the progress made in today’s sessions.

Jonathan Rea – P1, 2’11.278s

I thought the guys in the team would have rested during the summer break but it seems they’ve been working right through, developing new things to try. We’ve been working on how the rear behaves on corner entry and the work they’ve done has helped a lot, especially in the wet today. We did a lot of laps to confirm things but I really think we’re just scratching the surface of the potential we have – it really is working. I’m feeling really at ease on the bike and with the whole way the team is working together. If I have a problem, I come in, we fix it, and I go faster again. It’s feeling really good.

Carlos Checa – P1, 2’13.550s

We worked on wet settings throughout today and the important thing is that the balance of the bike, the overall feeling on the brakes was all good. I didn’t want to risk too much in the conditions today but the last lap was OK until I got to the final chicane where another rider almost high-sided and crashed in front of me. I though I might get another lap in but the flag was down. I hope we can get some dry! track t ime tomorrow because the forecast for Sunday is for dry conditions.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

It was good to see both riders up to speed today. Jonathan was clearly on it from the very first moment with his bike and some new settings and he fully attacked Friday! Tomorrow may be a different ball game with some dry track time and Sunday is showing a fully dry forecast. It’s good to see that the progress we were making before the summer break is being maintained here and we look forward to some more tomorrow.

2009 World Superbike championship, round 11 – Nurburgring, Germany
Friday qualifying – results:

1 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 2’11.278s
2 Tom Sykes (GBR) Yamaha 2’11.781s
3 Troy Croser (AUS) BMW 2’12.086s
4 Michel Fabrizio (ITA) Ducati 2’12.354s
5 Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Ducati 2’12.635s
6 Shane Byrne (GBR) Ducati 2’12.819s
12 Carlos Checa (ESP) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 2’15.863s

Ten Kate Honda Racing’s Ryuichi Kiyonari earned himself a provisional top ten grid position for Sunday’s two 11th-round World Superbike championship races at Nurburgring by setting the ninth fastest time in today’s opening qualifying session.

Provisional pole position was taken by Kiyonari’s Ten Kate Honda team-mate Jonathan Rea but the Japanese ace worked steadily with his crew today to make improvements to his Honda Genuine Accessories backed CBR1000RR Fireblade.

The 5.13km Nurburgring circuit in Germany is the second circuit at which Kiyonari has used the team’s new Ohlins suspension and he and his crew declared themselves satisfied with the progress made today.

Ryuichi Kiyonari – P9, 2’13.215s

My lap timer stopped working towards the end of the qualifying session but I think my last lap was looking OK until I nearly highsided at the final chicane and I was lucky not to crash. We made some progress today and the feeling is definitely continuing to improve, step by step. The new suspension is still a challenge, especially in the conditions we had today, but we are making forward steps – maybe two steps forward and then one back. But it is in the right direction!

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

Kiyonari-san is definitely showing that he is getting to grips with the new components a lot better now. During the summer break we spent a lot of time analysing data and creating new suspension settings. The work definitely paid off for Kiyo today and we’re looking for further improvements tomorrow.

WSS

Kenan Sofuoglu and Andrew Pitt were happy with the pace of their Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RRs at a wet Nurburgring in Germany today after the first practice session for Sunday’s 11th World Supersport championship round.

Pitt was eighth fastest at the rain-lashed 5.13km circuit, as series leader Cal Crutchlow edged Sofuoglu into second place on the leader board by just three tenths of a second.

The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team has been working through the recent summer break, including undertaking two recent tests at Assen and Nurburgring itself, the latter during a general track day.

The Ten Kate pairing have a further free practice session tomorrow morning before the afternoon qualifying session to determine the grid for Sunday’s 19-lap race.

Kenan Sofuoglu – P2, 2’13.480s

I am quite happy with the performance for our first day here. I had a crash early in the session at the slow second corner when I got on the gas a little too early. It was a sign of some rear grip problems that we had early on but we managed to make some steps towards solving that problem. I could have gone faster for sure, but I prefer to keep making small steps forward and save a quick lap for tomorrow’s qualifying. But wet or dry, I’m happy with where we are and very happy to be back on the bike.

Andrew Pitt – P8, 2’15.863s

I’ve actually got a smile on my face because the bike is working really well and the feeling is coming back. My last lap was going to push me up the leader board but it got a little messed up by a slower rider. Kenan tried a new engine mapping to improve acceleration, which is an! area wh ere we’ve been struggling. He seems really happy with it, so we’ll try that on our bike tomorrow and see how that goes. But the important thing is my confidence is growing with every lap and I’m enjoying riding the bike again.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

It’s a promising start to the weekend and it seems that we’re definitely making some good steps forward with our electronics and suspension set up. The recent tests have been very important for that. Both Kenan and Andrew are smiling again at the end of a session, which is a strong indicator of the amount of progress we have made.

Jonathan Rea will start tomorrow’s two tenth-round World Superbike championship races at Brno from the front row of the grid after setting the fourth fastest time in this afternoon’s Superpole sessions. American Ben Spies took the pole slot at the 5.4km Czech circuit.

Despite setting the fastest time at a two-day World Superbike test in Imola, Italy last week, Rea’s performance this afternoon was a surprise to many after the Northern Irishman initially struggled to find a rhythm around the undulating Brno circuit.

However, a step forward during the first Superpole session today saw the 22-year-old set his fastest lap of the weekend. Rea then went out on a used qualifier in Superpole 3 to set his front row lap and underlined it with his fastest lap on a race tire.

Rea’s Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Carlos Checa, will start tomorrow’s races from row three, despite running in the top five in the weekend’s free practice and regulation qualifying sessions.

The Spaniard – who crashed unhurt during free practice this afternoon – was unable to convert the additional grip from his allotted two qualifying tires into fast laps during the Superpole session and could set only the tenth fastest time.

Jonathan Rea – P4, 1’59.740 (Superpole 3)

In free practice, just before Superpole, we found something in between the two set-ups we were trying. It worked during Superpole and then I was able to set a good time on a race tire. It’s no secret we were struggling during the weekend and, although I’m now happy I can do good laps on a race tire, I haven’t been able to do a long run.  But at least I can sleep a little more happily tonight. It shows how hard the team has been working. I feel like I’m really finding my feet on the Superbike now and I’m enjoying life! I hope we can keep the momentum going through to the end of the season.! I now k now I can race tomorrow, so I’m really looking forward to it.

Carlos Checa – P10, 1’59.748 (Superpole 2)

Well, the race is tomorrow and of course it would be better to start from the front two rows. However, I struggled when I put in the qualifier and couldn’t improve my lap time. Usually, you would expect to go at least one second quicker here at Brno, but today it didn’t come. The bike suddenly did not turn so well, especially on the gas and there was a lot of movement from the rear. I’m happy with the overall balance of the bike and I believe we have a good pace for tomorrow. But we need to do some more work with qualifiers to try to keep a good feeling like the race set-up.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

We’re honestly in quite an unexpected position in a negative and a positive way. On the negative side, Carlos has been top five all weekend and our minimum goal was to help him to a start from the front two rows. Of course, his crash during the free practice just before Superpole did not help the position, but I’m still quite sure he will be a front runner tomorrow. On the positive side is Jonathan, who was struggling all weekend to find a rhythm here. We didn’t quite expect him to be able to propel himself up to the front row during Superpole. But an even bigger positive was the fact that he matched his best Superpole time with a race tire right at the end in his final outing.

Ryuichi Kiyonari will start tomorrow’s two tenth-round World Superbike championship races from the fifth row of the grid after setting the 18th fastest qualifying time at Brno today.

After beginning the weekend in good form yesterday with the sixth fastest time, the Japanese Ten Kate Honda Racing rider found it difficult in today’s free practice and qualifying sessions to improve his setup as he becomes accustomed to the new Ohlins suspension he is running in his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade.

Ryuichi Kiyonari – P18, 2’00.811s

It’s very frustrating because we have not been able to make an improvement after yesterday’s good start but everybody else has. In reality, the bike is not that much better than yesterday. I’m not sure where the main problem is because there are so many small ones. But we’ll try to eliminate a few of them tomorrow morning and I will of course try my best in both the races.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

We’re quite puzzled by Kiyo’s problems – especially because during the Imola test last week he became quite familiar with his new settings. So far, we have struggled to give him a good feeling in the front end of his bike and we have been going through a wide range of settings looking for it. It means we might have to try something drastic in warm-up tomorrow, but we’ll look at everything again tonight to see what we need.

Carlos Checa earned himself a provisional front row start for Sunday’s 10th round World Superbike championship races at Brno by setting the third fastest time in this afternoon’s opening qualifying session.

2009 World Superbike championship, round ten – Brno, Czech Republic
Friday qualifying, results:

1- Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia 1’59.982s
2- Michel Fabrizio (ITA) Ducati 2’00.066s
3- Carlos Checa (ESP) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 2’00.205s
4- Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha 2’00.558s
5- Lorenzo Lanzi (ITA) Ducati 2’00.581s
6- Troy Corser (AUS) BMW 2’00.603s
13- Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 2’01.023s

The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider lapped the 5.4km Czech circuit in a time of 2’00.205s, just two tenths off the time of provisional pole setter, Max Biaggi.

Checa’s team-mate, Jonathan Rea, was 13th fastest today as he rode his Honda CBR1000RR Superbike for the first time at the undulating Brno circuit – the scene of his maiden World Supersport championship win a year ago.

Carlos Checa – P3, 2’00.205s

Today we have been constantly on the pace near the front. We carried our setting from last week’s Imola test over here to Brno and started pretty much with that this morning. We changed a few things to fine tune the setting but, as a team, we have been quite clear about the direction we need to go in. As long as there is no rain tomorrow, I think we can keep moving forward. We need to work a little bit on finding some more front grip in the first sector but our minds are clear and we are in a good position.

Jonathan Rea – P13, 2’01.023s

The bike is actually working quite well at the moment and we’ve just changed a couple of things after last week’s test at Imola – I’m just not sure what I’m looking for from the bike. But I was in a similar position last year with the Supersport team and we managed to sort things overnight. We need to do that again here, so we’ll sit down later to look at what needs improving. I can’t see the front guys going that much quicker, so it’ll be down to me getting a bit closer to the limit, which we’re not near yet.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

We seem to be quite close to the bull’s-e! ye with Carlos today. We are not that far off, even though, of course, there is still some work to do. We’re a little puzzled by Johnny’s struggles – he seems to be having problems getting into a good rhythm with the track Hopefully a good night’s sleep will sort it as it’s a little like the position he was in last year in Supersport. I think the Friday sessions then could best be described as a waste of fuel! But he made a big step forward on Saturday to win his first World Supersport race on the Sunday. Hopefully, this is just the way he does things at Brno.

Ryuichi Kiyonari set the 19th fastest time in this afternoon’s opening qualifying session for Sunday’s two 10th round World Superbike championship races at Brno in the Czech Republic.

The Japanese Ten Kate Honda Racing rider was sixth fastest after the morning’s opening free practice session at the 5.4km circuit outside the Czech Republic’s second city. However, a problem with his number one machine just before the afternoon qualifying session commenced left Kiyonari with only his number two Honda CBR1000RR on which to make progress.

Ryuichi Kiyonari – P19, 2’01.439s

We had a different setting on the spare machine and, although the feeling was nearly the same, it was different enough to make things a bit more difficult. The setting didn’t really work and we are still quite early in the relationship with Ohlins so it was difficult to know which way to go. But with the test at Imola last week, and today, we are learning more about the new parts each time we go out. I used a similar setting to Imola for this morning’s session and that went OK, so I’m confident that we will go forward again tomorrow and close that small gap to the front.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

Kiyo-san had a good free practice session this morning, but a problem with his number one bike just before the afternoon session made things difficult. He jumped on his spare machine which was set up a little differently and it didn’t really work out. We’ll try some more tomorrow and I’m sure we can help Kiyo to improve his position.

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s Kenan Sofuoglu set the third fastest time in this afternoon’s opening free practice session for Sunday’s tenth round World Supersport race at Brno in the Czech Republic.

The Turkish rider was the fastest Honda rider today as Britain’s Cal Crutchlow set the fastest time around the undulating 5.4km circuit. Sofuoglu’s team-mate, Andrew Pitt, crashed early in the scheduled 45-minute session, sustaining a deep cut in his arm which affected the rest of his session, the Australian using his spare Honda CBR600RR to set the 17th fastest time.

Kenan Sofuoglu – P3, 2’03.997s

It’s much smoother here than at Imola last week, so that makes its own issues! But Brno is one of my favourite tracks so I was enjoying myself out there. We had a problem with the rear tyre near the end – it was causing quite bad chatter, but there are a lot of other things we can improve tomorrow as well. I’m sure we can be faster so we’ll check the data tonight and see where we can make some positive changes.

Andrew Pitt – P17, 2’05.634s

I was pushing right from the start and ended up in a big highside on the exit from turn one. I probably held on to the bike a bit too long and it’s left me with a big hole on the inside of my elbow – maybe from a footpeg or something. For the rest of the session I just tried to do some laps to get back into it, but the balance of the bike is still not quite there. It’s trying to push wide as I accelerate out of the turns. Hopefully the guys can come up with a solution tonight and we’ll give it another go tomorrow.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

Obviously Andrew’s highside crash disrupted his whole session this afternoon, but hopefully he found a bit of a direction to follow in his set-up tomorrow. Kenan was making s! trong pr ogress throughout the session, but came across a problem with the new tyre which we put in the rear towards the end. It caused quite a bit of chatter so we’ll have to look at that. For sure there’ll be more to come tomorrow from both riders.

The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda World Supersport team suffered an uncharacteristically poor qualifying session this afternoon as Kenan Sofuoglu and Andrew Pitt prepare for tomorrow’s tenth-round race at Brno in the Czech Republic.

Despite topping the timing sheets after a two-day test at Imola last week, Sofuoglu could manage only a fourth row start in 14th place, as Britain’s Cal Crutchlow took pole position at the 5.4km circuit. Sofuoglu’s Australian team-mate and reigning world champion, Andrew Pitt, faired even worse, qualifying 24th.

Kenan Sofuoglu – P14, 2’04.463s

It’s really disappointing to be where we are after last week in Imola. I was actually slower today than yesterday and this morning! We made a very big change in gearing for this afternoon – probably the biggest single change that I can remember – but it wasn’t enough for today. The potential is there though, so I will stay with this tomorrow and look at all the data with the guys later to try and find some improvement in warm-up.

Andrew Pitt – P24, 2’05.667s

I don’t really know what to say, but it’s been a very difficult day. The big change we made this afternoon didn’t really work and we just didn’t have time to try little changes to find an improvement. I went out on the number two bike but it wasn’t running so well and was also backing into the turns. About the only positive thing I can say is that my practice starts are as good as they’ve ever been, which is a bonus because we’re going to need a big one tomorrow.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

Yes, not good at all. It’s difficult to understand how we can take the bike from the Imola test, where Kenan was so fast, and then struggle so much here. It shouldn’t really happen, so I think we just need to go back to ! basics a nd hope we can find some good things in warm-up tomorrow.

The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team heads for round 10 of the World Superbike championship at Brno in the Czech Republic this weekend (24-26 July) in buoyant mood following a successful test at the Italian circuit of Imola last week.

Jonathan Rea, who sits fourth in the current points table, was fastest at the Imola test as the team continued to test new suspension and other components following the switch to Ohlins last month.

The 22-year-old from Northern Ireland won last year’s World Supersport race at the 5.4km Brno circuit – a debut world championship victory that sparked a late-season charge to second place in the series.

Rea’s Spanish team-mate, Carlos Checa, was also satisfied with the progress made during the two-day Imola test, concentrating on finding a strong base setting to take to the Brno event, where he took eighth in last season’s first race. A technical issue forced Checa’s early retirement from the second outing.

Jonathan Rea – championship position, 4th

Imola was good for us – not just the result and the progress that we were able to make, but because of the way we went about it. It showed how well everyone is working as a team now and how motivated we all are to get the kind of results that we know we can achieve. Brno was good on the Supersport bike last year and I think the track should suit the Superbike even better. We’ve got a good setting with the new package now and we’ll be pushing on as hard as we can to get some more good results this weekend.

Carlos Checa – championship position, 9th

I am looking forward to the Brno race, even though we had some problems during qualifying and the races last year, which meant that the results weren’t so good. We made some good progress during the two days at Imola last week and, even though we have some more work to do to get some more stability in! the rea r, I think we have a good base to start from to find a better performance.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

Although last year was not so good, we have enjoyed good results at Brno before and the circuit’s fast and flowing nature should suit the characteristics of the bike. However, in spite of our good performance at the Imola test last week, we know that it will represent a new set of challenges. We gathered a lot of data from the test and I know that we can improve further, so we are really looking forward to the weekend and the challenges it will bring.

Ryuichi Kiyonari of the Ten Kate Honda Racing team is confident of improved results heading into this weekend’s (24-26 July) 10th round World Superbike championship event at Brno in the Czech Republic.

The Japanese rider has had an inconsistent string of results thus far in 2009, in spite of two podium finishes in round five at Monza in Italy, and is seeking improvement on his fifth and sixth place finishes at the 5.4km Brno circuit last year.

Kiyonari completed a successful two-day test at Imola in Italy last week, when he was able to test fully the Ohlins suspension that the rest of his Ten Kate team switched to last month.

Ryuichi Kiyonari – championship position 10th

I tried the new suspension at Donington Park but a race weekend is not the best time to be testing things like this. After the two days at Imola last week, there was definitely a better feeling coming. It’s still not perfect but, for me, new things are sometimes difficult. We were testing new suspension at a new circuit, so it was not so bad! Brno is not new for me, and it is also not my favourite circuit, but I am confident that we can get better results than last year, and this is what I will try my best to achieve this weekend.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

We tested fully with Ohlins last week and now Kiyo-san has made the switch. His riding style is very sensitive to the smallest changes, so the two days we had at Imola were very important. We didn’t quite achieve the perfect setting for Kiyo, but we did make some really good progress and that should give us a good starting point for this weekend’s races at Brno.

The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team heads to Brno this weekend (24-26 July) for round 10 of this season’s World Supersport championship looking to extend its 100% record at the Czech circuit.

The team has won the Brno race each year since 2005 – the first season that the 5.4km circuit hosted a World Supersport event – and scored an impressive one-two last season, with Jonathan Rea taking his first world championship race win.

Kenan Sofuoglu, who won the 2007 race, is in good form as he journeys to Brno after topping the timing sheets at a two-day test at Imola in Italy last week. The Turkish rider sits third in this year’s championship, with two wins to his credit.

His team-mate, Andrew Pitt, finished second last year at Brno, just two hundredths of a second behind Rea, but went on to clinch the World Supersport title four rounds later. The Australian is fifth in this season’s title chase and looking for Brno to provide his first win of the year.

Kenan Sofuoglu – championship position 3rd

I am really looking forward to the race at Brno because we completed a really satisfying test at Imola last week which left me feeling really happy and confident. The first couple of races with the new suspension have been a little bit difficult because it is such a big change to make halfway through a season. We had two good days at Imola with perfect weather, which gave us the chance to test many things, including the new Ohlins forks. I like Brno and won there two years ago, so I want to do it again this weekend.

Andrew Pitt – championship position 5th

Although the Imola test was generally good, I’m still looking for something at the front of the bike where I need to have a bit more confidence. We spent the two days concentrating on the rear but got through a whole heap of work, which was very positive. I like Brno, but last year was my first ! visit to the podium there. I’ll be looking for another one this time around, but the work starts all over again on Friday and we need to find a good setting early on for a decent qualifying lap.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

It’s no secret that we’ve experienced a few very difficult races this season. After changing our suspension before Misano, we had to wait until the Imola test last week to receive the new Ohlins front forks. Now we’ve had the chance to test for two days, I don’t think there should be any excuses for us not being competitive at Brno this weekend.