SS Losail preview: Charpentier and Sofuloglu head up strong Honda presence
SBK | Share |
pubblicato il 21 febbraio 2007
Last year’s epic battle for the riders’ crown was punctuated by injury and slow recovery, grinding determination and final drama for the French rider, but however the championship plays out this season, it seems very possible that Charpentier’s main rival will come from within his own Hannspree Ten Kate Honda Team. Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) won two races last year, and has been fast in testing all through the winter build up towards round one, to be held at the Losail circuit in Qatar on Saturday 24 February 2007. The Turkish rider has finished in the top three of each championship he has competed in the past few years, and despite some dips in his learning curve during his first full rookie season in 2006, he finished third overall in the series. Once more Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) returns to the Supersport fray for Honda, and he will be hoping to stay injury free in the early stages, to allow him to build a secure early points total and thus put him in with a chance of a high final classification. An important part of Honda’s development programme, as well as a potential winner in his own right, Fujiwara has won six previous WSS races. Lorenzo Alfonsi (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) was the Superstock 1000 champion in the 2004 season, and joins a new team this year to ride the latest CBR600RR, after finishing third in the Italian Superbike Championship in 2006. He rode two WSS races last season, but is otherwise a rookie in this competitive racing class. In the push for another historic title win, Charpentier knows he could not be better placed than he is now, in the same team which has won the championship for five years in a row - especially as the first race is at one of his ‘best’ circuits. “Qatar is a good track for me, I won the first race of the series there last year and it just suits my style,” said the 2005 and 2006 champion. “I think with the new bike there is a good possibility for me to finish on the podium. I am happy with our most recent test at Valencia and confident about the first race. I feel quite good and I can’t wait to be back. I will understand my real physical condition only when I will make my first few laps on the track. I will only think about last year’s victory, and I am convinced that this will give me the right motivation.” Sofuoglu, an intense rider who knows he must overcome a formidable group of riders to take his first major title win, has been happy with all aspects of his off-season. “I am really looking forward to the start of the season,” said the talented Turkish rider. “For me, it is better than last year because 2006 was my first year in Supersport and I had no idea what would happen. Now I know the class, I know the other riders, I know my team and I know what to expect. We have already tested with the new bike and it is a big improvement. The test times are much faster than last year. We did not have ideal track conditions for our last test at Valencia but I am feeling very happy and we were still setting better lap times than before. We have done some good testing and I feel more confident with the new bike.” Fujiwara’s talents are a well-known quantity in Supersport, and this year he knows he may have to start with a high degree of realism to attain his ultimate objective. "I will not be thinking about victory even before the first practice,” said ‘Kats’. “Last year I made a mistake when I started the race very fast, without the best machine set-up and I crashed when I pushed hard, breaking my scaphoid. This year I want to work step-by-step, with my target in Losail to take a good finishing position. There are many important riders in Supersport this season, but I believe I will have a good year.” Alfonsi is going for a top ten at Losail, and knows that this is a big ask for himself first time out in his new squad. “I have a good feeling with the guys of the team,” said the 26-year-old Italian. “They work very well, with a good experience in the Supersport class and I have confidence. I will start in Qatar with the target to finish inside the first ten positions. I know that this target will be hard, but I want to conquer it anyway, because a good start to the season will be important for me and the squad". The second round of the Supersport championship takes place at Phillip Island, Australia, just one weekend after the first round in Losail. |
|
Print version
Send to a friend
Write your comment »
Related headlines
Commenti dei lettori| I commenti sono inseriti dai lettori, che se ne assumono la responsabilità |
|
Commento |
Ultime news:
