World Supersport and Superbike Championships 2006 Round 6 Misano Adriatico Italy 23 25 June 2006 World Supersport Round 6 of 12 CHARPENTIER OUT BUT SOFUOGLU BACK ON FORM Reigning World Champion Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) has been forced out of contention for the Misano round of the World Supersport Championship, after a crash in tyre testing at Brno, but such is his current 40 point championship lead he will remain well ahead in the push for his second title in as many years, regardless of the result on Sunday. Charpentier has already undergone surgery to fit plates to his broken collarbone and pelvis, and should be fit to ride at the Brno round, on July 23. His place at Misano will be taken by Ten Kate satellite team rider, Arie Vos. After a disappointing Silverstone round last month, the second regular Winston Ten Kate rider, Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) was back to full form at the recent Brno tests, and is expected to challenge for podiums once more. Injury has been unkind to one half of the Megabike Honda squad, with team regular Katsuaki Fujiwara (Megabike Honda CBR600RR) also declared unfit to ride after injuring his already broken left scaphoid at the previous Silverstone round. Former WSS regular Simone Sanna, a rider who still holds the best Supersport lap of Misano, set in 2003, will replace him. The last time the WSS championship was held in Italy, at round Monza, championship rookie Yoann Tiberio (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) scored a famous race victory, a feat that is not beyond his precocious talents to repeat. With his team-mate out of the race, the responsibility of keeping the riders chasing Charpentier on as few points as possible falls to Sofuoglu, a competitor who believes he has regained the x-factor which was missing at the previous round. “After the Brno test I feel stronger,” said Sofuoglu. “In Silverstone I didn’t feel strong enough but now I can say I am back. This will the first time in Misano for me because last year I had a broken hand, but I am sure that after Friday, which I will use mainly to learn the circuit, I will be ready to compete with the fastest in final qualifying and the race. I am confident in what I can do, and I can’t wait to go to Misano.” Vos is an experienced rider and has already gleaned valuable data about Misano. “Last year I raced on this track for the first time and I really enjoyed it,” affirmed Vos. “It’s fast and it suits to my style of riding. I am also working a lot on fitness because I know it will be a very hot weekend and therefore it will be very important to be at a peak of physical condition. I already know the bike quite well because I compete on a similar bike and I tried the 2005 Winston Ten Kate Honda last year at Magny-Cours. I also know the team well and I am sure we will work together in a really good way. They are great people and true professionals.” With Fujiwara out, Tiberio hopes to be the team’s talisman of hometown victory once more, especially after a disappointing 14th place at Silverstone. “I know that the last race was not good for me and the team,” admitted Tiberio. “Silverstone is a track that I do not like so much but now we will be at Misano, a track that the team knows very well. Of course it will be difficult to repeat the Monza win, but I know that I do not want to repeat the English race. My consistent target during this season is to finish all races in the first five and I will fight for that from Misano Adriatico.” For Sanna, currently a rider in the Italian championships, a return to WSS is another chance to show what he can do. “I want to say thanks to both Honda and the Megabike Team for this opportunity,” acknowledged Sanna. “I can run well at Misano, and I’m very happy because I will have the possibility to return to World Supersport Championship with a high level machine; one of the best of the class and with the help of a well-proven team. Misano is, for me, a good circuit and I will push hard to take an important result. Not just for me but for the whole squad.” World Superbike Round 6 of 12 MISANO CRUCIBLE AWAITS HONDA’S STRONG SUPERBIKE ENTRY After a recent test at Brno, to evaluate a new electronics package and try out the latest spec control tyres, James Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) and Karl Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) can both approach the forthcoming Misano race meeting full of confidence and hunger for success. Toseland has already landed a single win this year but, like the rest of his peer group, he is looking to end Troy Bayliss’ run of seven straight victories in the class. Muggeridge was also in impressive form in the recent Brno tests, setting fast times in preparation for Misano, and the subsequent round at Brno in late July. Misano was the venue where Alex Barros (Klaffi Honda CBR1000RR) had his first rides of a true Superbike spec machine since entering the championship this year, during the official test in mid April. This will be the first round at which he already has prior knowledge of the exact track layout on his current full-spec machine since the start of the year. A three rider DFX Treme Honda squad will be present at Misano, with team rookie Michel Fabrizio (DFX Honda CBR1000RR) being joined by wild card rider Gianluca Nannelli (DFX Honda CBR1000RR) and returnee from injury, Pierfrancesco Chili (DFX Honda CBR1000RR). Chili’s recent pelvic and shoulder injuries were suffered at the Misano circuit, during the aforementioned Misano official tests, but his record recovery, and the fact that Misano is his home circuit, has keyed up Chili to make a return at the first possible moment. Toseland, who has already shown some of the qualities this season that made him champion in 2004, feels Misano may not be the best circuit for the team, but the entire package has improved yet again. “I like the Misano track although I’ve had some bad results in the last couple of years there, so I’m looking forward to erasing them with two strong results,” said Toseland. “It’s a great race track in a great area. It’s going to be a good weekend of racing, and my family will come along, so I don’t want to disappoint them. Last year I could have taken a win, but I didn’t qualify too well and that prevented me from challenging. After the Brno test, where we tried lots of new things, I believe we are going to Italy even stronger than before, so we will try our best to bring home as many points as possible.” Muggeridge, still shaking off the hangover of a spinal injury suffered earlier in the season, during testing at Valencia, is a fan of the Misano circuit. “I’m always happy to go to Misano, it’s a beautiful place,” said the Aussie rider. “The test in Brno was quite successful for me and I am sure we will carry all the things we learned from the Czech republic to Italy. In the three days of work at Brno we tried lots of new solutions and they have made us confident for Misano; I am sure we’ll have a good couple of rides. My physical condition has also improved and this gives me even more hope for Sunday’s races.” Barros knows that Misano will be an opportunity to score more podiums especially given that he will be at little disadvantage in terms of set-up or equipment. “We tested here in April, when we had some new suspension and engine specs, and it was not so bad.” said Barros. “We made big improvements in top speed compared to the factory bikes, but Misano is a tricky place to gauge things like that. It is a very short track, very special. The top factory riders had different tyres from us at the Misano test earlier in the year, but for the race everyone will have the same tyres, so the conditions should be more even.” Pierfrancesco Chili is not back to his normal levels of fitness after his recent injuries, but the legendary SBK figure wants to race at Misano, to say thanks to his legion of local fans. “I am ready to go fast in Misano even if my body isn’t OK,” stated Chili. “I have an ache in my shoulder but I believe in the abilities of the Clinica Mobile. I will go fast for my public and for my fans because this will be the last time for me in Misano.” Michel Fabrizio took part in a test session at the Eurospeedway Lausitz circuit in Germany recently, and posted respectable times as he ironed out some set-up issues with chatter. “The development work we did in Lausitz was very important,” said Fabrizio in the run-up to the Misano weekend. “Chattering, my big problem at the Monza and Silverstone races, disappeared after that test. I am still a little nervous about the effect of the hot temperatures and relative lack of grip at Misano, but will give 200% to take a very important result.” Nannelli is ready for another ride on the DFX Treme Honda, after his stand-in duties while Chili was injured. “My thanks go to Pierfrancesco Chili and my team because originally there was no possibility for me to ride at Misano,” said a grateful Nannelli. “I am at Misano to help Chili and it will be important to achieve a result.” Both World Supersport and Superbike classes will cross over the halfway barrier of the season at the next round, Brno, on July 23.