Fujiwara Ruled Out Of Phillip Island World Supersport Race Due To Injury

Fujiwara Ruled Out Of Phillip Island World Supersport Race Due To Injury

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World Supersport and Superbike Championships 2006 Round 2 Phillip Island Australia Phillip Island Race Preview 3 5 MARCH 2006 World Supersport Round 2 of 13 HONDA RIDERS MAKE READY FOR SECOND RACE IN EIGHT DAYS The second flyaway round of the 2006 World Supersport season takes place at Phillip Island in Australia on Sunday 5 March, with the leading Honda competitors having recently undergone their first points’ scoring test of the year. Winston Ten Kate Honda rider Sebastien Charpentier scored the win at the opening round in Qatar, making it the perfect start to his title defence. To add to the achievement, his rookie team-mate, Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR), secured an impressive third place last weekend, and is now looking to build on his success with another top three finish. An unhappy Losail race for Katsuaki Fujiwara (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) saw him crash out of the leading group, breaking his scaphoid and ruling himself out of contention for the Phillip Island race. Yoann Tiberio (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) is now pencilled in to take his place in Australia, despite the lingering effects of an injury that put him out of the Qatar round, before he had even started. The contrasting fortunes of the Winston ten Kate and Megabike Honda teams could not be more stark, with Charpentier especially having a near faultless weekend in Losail, setting him up for what he hopes to be another chance of a win. “We proved in Qatar that there are still a lot of possibilities open to us,” said round one winner and 2005 champion Charpentier. “There are some new bikes competing against us again this year, but it’s always difficult, year-after-year. I will be working to win again and have a nice performance at Phillip Island. We did a lot of work over the winter, especially with the tyre supplier, so we hope that will pay off in Australia.” For Sofuoglu, Phillip Island is the second peak on a stiff learning curve, but as his performance in Qatar showed, he is a willing and energetic climber. “I was pleased to get a podium finish in Qatar,” said Sofuoglu, “especially because I knew I could stay near the front for most of the race. I just hope now I can carry this on for the rest of the year, starting at Phillip Island. There have been so many things to learn for me in the pre-season, having just come up from Superstock to ride a Honda Supersport bike, but I am enjoying it a lot.” At 19-years-old Tiberio is hoping to be fit, after having to miss the Qatar round when he suffered a cycling injury. He has been called back into action after his regular team-mate, Fujiwara broke his scaphoid and lost his chance of competing in Qatar. Fujiwara had to be flown back to Japan for surgery, in an effort to be ready for the Valencia round, on April 23. “When my team manager called to tell me to come to Australia,” said Tiberio, “I knew that it was important. I don’t know how things will be but for sure my ankle will be better than it was before I was supposed to go to Qatar.”

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