Checa Takes Podium To End Rookie Season Fourth Overall

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PORTIMO, Portugal, November 8, 2008: The final round of the World Superbike Championship, at the all-new WSB venue of Portimao, saw Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) finish his season in fourth place overall, thanks to a podium finish in race one and a fighting seventh in race two. Checa's second place in the opener came after a strong charge to make up from his third row qualifying place of 11th, and he was aggressive in his passes on the other top riders to make a gap for himself behind runaway leader, and eventual double race winner, Troy Bayliss.

Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) was an outstanding fourth in his first WSB ride, 15 seconds from the victory after 22 laps of intense action. He had started from third place on the grid, earned during a wet Superpole qualifying session on Saturday. He was 15th in race two, after running with the leading riders once more, until he took to the gravel and narrowly avoided crashing while trying to outbrake two other riders into turn one.

Checa was the first regular WSB Honda rider home in race two, seventh, while Leon Haslam took his BSB Honda to third after an always thrilling race between a mix of seasoned veterans and wildcards, who included second best qualifier, Cal Crutchlow, Haslam’s team mate. Checa was lucky to avoid a fallen rider in race two, but lost places as a result.

Poor weather was a major factor in the early part of race weekend, leaving limited dry track time in practice which led to a few gambles in terms of tyre choice and machine set-up on a dry raceday. Crutchlow was particularly badly affected, retiring from race one and finishing ninth in race two, despite strong rides in each race.

Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) had a tough weekend at this new track, qualifying 19th and then racing to eighth in race one and 11th in race two.

Gregorio Lavilla (Vent-Axia VK Honda CBR1000RR) looked set for a top five finish in race one until a dramatic rear end slide on the final corner saw him almost crash, run off track and recover to post a sixth place. In race two he went eighth and finished the year as top four-cylinder privateer rider, 12th overall.

Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR) rode to 12th in race one but slid backwards to be 18th in the second leg. He ended his season 17th in the rankings.

Karl Muggeridge (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) battled to 14th in race one and 21st in the afternoon, and he ends his year 15th. Shuhei Aoyama (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) was hit particularly hard by his lack of dry practice time and went 18th and 26th in the races. Chris Walker (Vent-Axia VK Honda CBR1000RR) was 17th and 19th, and finished up just behind Aoyama in the final points table..

Checa said: “Overall, I am satisfied with the weekend’s performance. We had some problems during qualifying but I was able to start well and had a great feeling from the bike in race one. In the second race, everything felt good again and I was able to fight my way to the front. Unfortunately, things happened that were beyond our control, but this track is fantastic because, in the tarmac run-off, I was able to avoid first Ruben and then his bike.”

Kiyonari said: “It’s been a difficult weekend, mostly because it has taken me too long to learn the track. Race one was OK though and I felt more comfortable than in practice. In the second race the bike felt better and I was happy to push a bit harder to catch the groups in front. But I pushed a bit too hard and nearly highsided twice.”

Rea said: “It’s been OK for a first weekend on the Superbike and I managed to get back into the groove OK. In the second race, I got forced wide and ended up back in eighteenth. But I was strong enough to get back to fifteenth and to take fourth in race one was mega. Big thanks to both my Supersport and Superbike teams for making the transition so easy for me – and to hold on to second place in the World Supersport championship was fantastic. I can’t wait to start testing in South Africa next month for next season.”

Rolfo said: ”In the first curve I lost a lot of positions and during the first few laps I did not have a good feeling with my bike, in addition to my rear tire sliding a great deal. Around the middle of the race I got a better feeling with my bike and I began to recover some important positions. In the second race my bike performed much better compared to the first race, because we modified some things on the bike and this improved the suspension and the engine performance.”

Lavilla said: “I tried to pass Jonathan and I almost high sided and went right up in the air came down hard. I smashed the screen, and was lucky not to crash. We have had our ups and downs this year and worked hard to set-up the bike and make valuable improvements as a team. I feel that I have done what was expected of me this year and all the team can be proud of finishing in 12th place in the Championship and the first privateer team.”

Sofuoglu Comes Back In Winning Supersport Style

The early return of 2007 World Supersport Champion Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) to the WSS paddock saw him make an immediate impact, winning the 20-lap race after taking pole position in qualifying.

The Turkish rider had been in the leading group in the early and middle parts of the race but towards the end he overtook three riders in one move going into turn one and eventually ran out the clear winner, 3.844 seconds ahead of Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR).

Pitt, the current WSS Champion, had also started off the front row, in fourth, and finishes his winning year with 214 points.

Despite not riding in the WSS class at this race, Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) finished second overall in the series, 50 points behind Pitt, after Josh Brookes (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) could only finish 11th in Portugal, after experiencing a loss of grip as the race progressed. He was therefore only two points behind Rea, and third overall.

Privateer Honda rider Joan Lascorz took the final podium place, just holding off Josh Hayes (Parkalgar Honda) in a thrilling late battle for the last piece of 2008 silverware.

Gianluca Nannelli (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR) went sixth today after qualifying in fifth and fighting right to the finish line. His team-mate Russell Holland (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR) was only 14th, two places down on his qualifying position.

Robbin Harms (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) fell out of contention today and finishes his up and down season ninth overall.

Sofuoglu said: “It’s been a really nice weekend! I’ve already signed a contract to ride World Supersport with this amazing team next year, so this is a great way to start back on the CBR600RR. To be honest, I really didn’t expect to be on pole this weekend but, after yesterday, I just wanted to finish the race on the podium. To take the win is an amazing way to finish a difficult year. Now I’m ready to make a really good job next season.”

Pitt said: “Johnny (Rea) has been a really tough opponent all season and, as soon as he goes, Kenan comes back with a performance like that! I was comfortable with the race, and the bike felt really good, so it’s a good way to finish when the big trophy is already in the cabinet. I’m really happy for Kenan because it’s been a really tough season for him. But I can tell him it won’t be so easy next year!”

Brookes said: “I'm really happy to finish this season in third place, although today’s race wasn’t very good. I didn’t get a good start and was blocked in by some riders on the first lap. I got into a good rhythm after a couple of laps and the bike felt OK, but not great. Pretty soon I felt my front tyre was getting worn out and just a few laps later that the same happened to the rear. I kept pushing, trying to keep my position, but it was just not possible. It was not a good finish to a great season, but I'm happy and content with third place in the championship.”

Harms said: “I got a good start from 13th place on the grid and managed to move up some places on the first lap. I got in to a good race pace and fought my way up to seventh place. But it was really hard because it felt like I was on the limit all the time. I was battling for a top five finish but, as I went into a corner off throttle, the front tyre bounced and the bike slid away from me and I crashed.”

Nannelli said: “I’m pretty disappointed with today’s race. I was very aggressive during the first laps trying to reach the leading group. Unfortunately, I made some small mistakes around the middle of the race and I lost contact with the first group of riders, also because of Veneman’s crash. Near the end of the race my rear tyre started losing grip, I tried to move forward struggling against Parkes and I finished my race in sixth place.”

Holland said: “Starting from the third row was always going to be tough for these races. I made quite a good start but I did not have a good feeling with my front tyre and I was only able to keep my place. I’m not satisfied of the pace that I was able to hold up for the entire race, and of course I’m not pleased with my final position, but when I tried to overtake several riders I didn’t feel enough grip on the front.”

Hayes said: “That was a great race and I am just disappointed that I didn’t get on the podium for the team or our main sponsor, the circuit. My Parkalgar Honda was real good and it was very close for third – all I could have asked for was a little smoother delivery on initial throttle to stop the wheel spinning and increase drive towards the end of the race.”