The hard conditions at Misano continued for the HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Superbike team today where, after two days of poor qualifying, the team still struggled to optimise the performance of the Honda CBR1000RR and find the right pace in the Superbike races.
Carlos Checa qualified eleventh on the grid after issues with the grip of his bike played havoc throughout the qualifying session. His qualifying spot put him in a difficult position to make passes on his frontrunners in the strong field. However, some crashes at the front enabled Checa to make up some ground and he finished the first race in fifth position.
The second race was ended prematurely after a crash left an oil spill on the track. Checa had another imperfect start in the second leg of the session and came through the first lap in 18th position which made it almost impossible for him to turn his loss into a top 5 finish. Checa finished 8th in the second race.
Team mates Kiyonari and Sofuoglu also focused at the difficult task at hand to push the pace of their bikes but were not able to set satisfactory results. After finishing the first race in eighteenth position, Sofuoglu ended his second race prematurely after he crashed out in the first lap. Kiyonari made a jump start in the first race and lost valuable places after a hesitant start in the second race. He was able to recover some ground and ended the race in 13th position.
Carlos Checa Race 1: 5th
Race 2: 8th
“It was not easy at all today. We had a lot of chattering and lost precious time in some sections of the track. It was different to be on the pace and keep it consistent. In the second race we made some small adjustments to the bike but it didn’t increase our pace.”
“We knew it would be difficult racing here after yesterday’s results and were pleased to at least set a top 5 result in the first race. It’s hard to start from the back of the field and my pace was too slow to make much ground. Some riders at the front crashed out so the damage was not too bad. In the second race it was impossible for me to improve my position after a bad start.”
”We leave this track with a lot of new information on the CBR1000RR. We’ll look at the data to find out why we cannot be fast here. We still continue to grow up and hopefully will be able to catch up on the loss in the next round.”
Ryuichi KiyonariRace 1: 14
Race 2: 13
“I want to thank my mechanics for the hard work they put into
The races have been very difficult. My pace in race one was not too bad but after the jumpstart and the ride through I just wasn’t able to move up to the front.
I had a bad start in race two and couldn’t make as much progression as I wanted. I couldn’t ride a good lap and keep my pace consistent. We’ve used my standard base setting for both races and the feeling was definitely better then it was at the last race, but unfortunately I failed to finish the races with some good results.
Kenan SofuogluRace 1: 18th
Race 2: DNF
“After the poor results in qualifying I wasn’t expecting much progression in the races. My 18th place in the second race is far from satisfactory for me. In the second race I lost my rear brake and crashed out. I just hope we can improve things for the next round.”
Ronald ten Kate, Team manager;“It didn’t take and expert’s opinion to see it was going to be difficult today to set some good results after the poor qualifying. In the first race we got away with a fifth place after some of the faster guys in the field crashed out.”
“In the second race Carlos had a difficult situation after an imperfect start. At the end of the day the damage is not as bad as I thought it would be after qualifying.”
”We are now going for a test in Vallelunga and will obviously have some work to do to get our bikes on the pace again. We don’t go out racing to make the numbers and want to be up front again for the next round in Brno.”
“Sofuoglu and Kiyonari were both in difficult situation from their places on the grid. It was almost impossible for them to bring some good results back home. Let’s see if we can turn this around and come back strongly at Brno.”
Results Race 1:1, M Neukirchner (Suzuki) 39m27.918s
2, T Corser (Yamaha) +0.542s
3, T Bayliss (Ducati) +2.249s
4, R Xaus (Ducati) +3.028s
5, C Checa (Honda) +5.408s6, L Lanzi (Ducati) +5.518s
7, J Smrz (Ducati) +6.202s
8, G Lavilla (Vent Axia VK Honda) +18.279s
9, S Nakatomi (Yamaha) +19.072s
10, N Haga (Yamaha) +19.132s
Results Race 2:1, R Xaus (Ducati) 39m19.710s
2, M Biaggi (Ducati) +1.035s
3, T Bayliss (Ducati) +4.158s
4, N Haga (Yamaha) +5.466s
5, T Corser (Yamaha) +6.759s
6, L Lanzi (Ducati) +13.468s
7, M Neukirchner (Suzuki) +15.221s
8, C Checa (Honda) +16.687s9, J Smrz (Ducati) +17.030s
10, F Nieto (Suzuki) +17.681s
14, G Lavilla (Vent Axia VK Honda) +32.339s
DNF: K.SOFUOGLU
