After an eventful first race at Qatar’s Losail circuit last week, HANNspree Ten Kate Honda rider Andrew Pitt was determined to show the competition he’s ready for battle and grabbed first place in a spectacular round of racing at his Phillip Island home circuit. It was a close fought battle at the front with Pitt and Brookes swapping places throughout most of the session. Pitt reclaimed the lead in the last lap, before Joshua Brookes and Robin Harms, who completed the successful day for title sponsor HANNspree. Jonathan Rea managed to put in a good performance finishing 6th despite the hand injury he sustained in last week’s Qatar crash.
Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager;Andrew put in a fantastic performance today. He really did well on his home soil, which will hopefully prepare us for the forthcoming races. Johnny was a bit in a bad shape this weekend, not only encountering problems with his hand but also some technical problems with his CBR600RR throughout the practise days. The first part of the race he was riding too cautious but in the second part he showed what kind of racer he really is and almost made it to the podium. I’m very confident after this race and am sure we’ll be having a really nice Supersport-racing season.
Andrew Pitt, 1st;First I want to thank Ronald and Gerrit ten Kate for having faith in me and putting me on the CBR600RR in their team. The guys in the team have worked very hard to make it work this weekend. We came here very determined after the first race in Qatar. We had to bounce back and we’ve done so in the best possible way. It was a tough race, with a big group of guys battling at the front but I was confident I could work it out in the last laps. Am very happy with the result.
Jonathan Rea, 5th;I am happy enough. We scored a 5th today, I rode very hard but still struggle to understand the tyre when its brand new. The last 10 laps I can be as fast as the front guys, but in the opening laps when the tyre is new, I still have to learn to push it harder. That was my biggest mistake today as I lost so much time at the start of the race. I would like to give a big thank you to my team and the mechanics for all the work they put into the bike over the weekend. I am really looking forward now to going to the track in Valencia. I know the track and should be able to fight back and score some points.
Conditions: sunny
Race results:1. A. Pitt
2. J. Brookes, 0.062
3. R. Harms, 0.597
4. F. Foret, 0.780
5. J. Rea, 0.976
6. G. McCoy, 1.228
7. J. Lascorz, 6.590
8. G. Vizziello, 10.266
9. M. Roccoli, 10.594
10. G. Nannelli, 10.991
