FIM Supersport World Championship Valencia, Spain April 22 Race Results: 1. Sebastien CHARPENTIER (Hon CBR600RR), 23 laps, 38:12.713 2. Kevin CURTAIN (Yam YZF-R6), -6.537 seconds 3. Katsuaki FUJIWARA (Hon CBR600RR), -9.454 seconds 4. Broc PARKES (Yam YZF-R6), -11.750 seconds 5. Robbin HARMS (Hon CBR600RR), -17.007 seconds 6. Yoann TIBERIO (Hon CBR600RR), -19.548 seconds 7. Javier FORES (Yam YZF-R6), -22.400 seconds 8. Massimo ROCCOLI (Yam YZF-R6), -22.513 seconds 9. Gianluca VIZZIELLO (Yam YZF-R6), -24.708 seconds 10. Barry VENEMAN (Suz GSX-R600), -25.317 seconds 11. Josh BROOKES (Duc 749R), -27.194 seconds 12. William DE ANGELIS (Hon CBR600RR), -31.740 seconds 13. Tatu LAUSLEHTO (Hon CBR600RR), -37.082 seconds 14. Sebastien LE GRELLE (Hon CBR600RR), -41.951 seconds 15. Tom TUNSTALL (Hon CBR600RR), -42.816 seconds 16. Greg LEBLANC (Hon CBR600RR), -48.139 seconds 17. Maxime BERGER (Kaw ZX-6RR), -48.715 seconds 18. Alessio ALDROVANDI (Hon CBR600RR), -55.319 seconds 19. Alessio VELINI (Yam YZF-R6), -55.964 seconds 20. Miguel PRAIA (Hon CBR600RR), -59.054 seconds 21. Chris PERIS (Yam YZF-R6), -66.039 seconds 25. Mauro SANCHINI (Yam YZF-R6), -7 laps, DNF, mechanical 26. David FORNER GARCIA (Yam YZF-R6), -10 laps, DNF, mechanical 27. Andrea BERTA (Yam YZF-R6), -11 laps, DNF, mechanical 28. Kenny NOYES (Yam YZF-R6), -12 laps, DNF, crash (twice) 29. Kai Borre ANDERSEN (Suz GSX-R600), -14 laps, DNF, mechanical 30. Johan STIGEFELT (Hon CBR600RR), -16 laps, DNF, crash 31. Christian ZAISER (Duc 749R), -19 laps, DNF, crash 32. Kenan SOFUOGLU (Hon CBR600RR), -20 laps, DNF, crash 33. Sebastien CHAMBON (Kaw ZX-6RR), -20 laps, DNF, mechanical More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: PERFECT CHARPENTIER TAKES WIN NUMBER THREE Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) scored his third race win of the 2006 season after 23-laps of the Valencia racetrack, adding another race victory to his perfect score of three pole positions earned in qualifying. His win extends his championship lead to 15 points over second place Valencia rider, Kevin Curtain, with Charpentier now on a perfect 75 points. Charpentier’s young team-mate, Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda) fell on the fourth lap of the race, losing a points’ scoring opportunity after his fall. He now lies 11th in the championship table, with 16 points. The race was held in dry and warm conditions, a great relief to all after the day had dawned wet and overcast. Charpentier made use of the dry track to set a new lap record, 1’38.664, on his second time around the 4.005km circuit. Ronald Ten Kate – Team manager “It was a very good race from Sebastien once again, he pulled a little gap almost immediately and then kept control of the race. It was not easy in the hot conditions and the track had a lot less grip than during qualifying, as we can see the big gap in the lap times. But still Sebastien managed to make a perfect weekend. He was on pole with a new best lap and he also won the race with a new lap record. You can’t get any better than that. So thanks to him for providing such a consistent weekend again. I felt sorry for Kenan because he proved that he was on the pace again but lost the front early in the race; just bad luck really. It is another part of the learning curve his is on. It’s never easy to move up from a lower class to where we are, and I am quite sure he will pick up his racing again at Monza, demonstrate how fast he is there, and provide a good result for us.” Sébastien Charpentier Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (1st Championship Position: 1st with 75 points) “The race went just perfect, just like I had planned. I tried to gain as much of an advantage as I could, as quickly as I could, so I could control the race without risking too much at the end. The bike was perfect; the tyres were perfect until the very last lap. I knew after the test we had some advantage here, so I felt strong straight away. I am looking forward for Monza. I want to thanks Pirelli and the team, as usually all the support came in the best way possible.” Kenan Sofuoglu Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider (DNF Championship Position: 11th with 16 points) “I don’t have too much to say. It seems like everything was going well but I guess I pushed too much on that lap and I crashed. In the second corner I lost control of the front and found myself on the ground. I was trying to stay with Fujiwara but I should have controlled my pace at the beginning and then tried to push towards the end.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: CHARPENTIER ONCE MORE MR PERFECT FOR HONDA Sebastien Charpentier (Winston ten Kate Honda) used all the pace he had demonstrated in taking his third straight pole position of the 2006 season to take his third straight WSS race win. He led the entire 23-lap Valencia race in masterful fashion, breaking the lap record on the second lap. His new best of 1’38.664 was set on a dry track, but one which was not in perfect condition after overnight and morning rains had fallen. Charpentier is still the clear championship leader, sitting on 75 points to second place man Kevin Curtain’s 60. In the first three races of the 2006 season, Curtain has finished second to Charpentier on each occasion. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) joined Charpentier on the Valencia podium having scored third despite the pain in his recently injured left wrist. He battled over second place with Curtain for some time but had to ease off after ten laps or so, thanks to the pain from his injury. Fujiwara’s team-mate Yoann Tiberio (Team Megabike Honda CBR600RR) settled for a seventh place finish at the end of a tough race for the WSS rookie, but he only gave up on his battle with fellow Honda rider Robbin Harms (Stiggy Motorsports CBR600RR) when his tyres lost optimum grip. Kenan Sofuoglu (Winston Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) was in contention for a top five finish when he fell on lap four, losing the front on the entrance to turn two. For Charpentier, Valencia was another flawless weekend, one of a few in his championship defence so far. “The race went just perfect, just like I had planned,” said the Frenchman. “I tried to gain as much of an advantage as I could, as quickly as I could, so I could control the race without risking too much at the end. The bike was perfect; the tyres were perfect until the very last lap. I knew after the test we had some advantage here, so I felt strong straight away.” Fujiwara’s third place delivers him his first points score of the year, and he is in tenth place overall, on 16 points. “I had a good feeling with the bike today,” explained Fujiwara, who had qualified third fastest. “But, after ten laps, I had a lot of pain from my injured wrist and so I decided to exercise control and not take a risk. After two races with no points I took important points here.” Tiberio’s race was conducted at a high pace at the beginning, but tailed off towards the end as tyre wear played its part. Nonetheless, the French rookie is now ranked fifth overall, with 22 points. “I had a good start and I pushed hard for 18 laps,” affirmed Tiberio, “but after that the rear and front tyres started to slide and as I am not experienced with the tyres in Supersport I closed the gas a little so I would not crash. I don’t like the Valencia track much, but today I had a good finish, so I can think of the other races now.” After his fall and no score Sofuoglu sits 11th in the standings, still on the 16 points he earned for third place in the opening round at Qatar. “I don’t have too much to say,” stated the young Turkish rider. “It seems like everything was going well but I guess I pushed too much on that lap and I crashed. In the second corner I lost control of the front and found myself on the ground. I was trying to stay with Fujiwara but I should have controlled my pace at the beginning and then tried to push towards the end.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Yamaha scored its 100th podium finish in the Supersport World Championship with a second place for Yamaha Motor Germany’s Kevin Curtain in Valencia today. Curtain’s podium makes Yamaha the first manufacturer to reach that milestone in a class in which it has consistently been strong. Massimo Meregalli’s win at Misano in 1997 was the manufacturer’s first podium finish in the class and since then Yamaha has gone on to win three manufacturer and a rider’s world title with Yamaha Motor Germany’s Jörg Teuchert in 2000. Australian rider Curtain made a poor start in today’s race, ending the first lap in fourth place but fighting his way through to second at the flag. After moving into second on lap four Curtain had something of a lonely race, six seconds behind race winner Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) but three ahead of third placed Katsuaki Fujiwara (Honda). In a good day for Yamaha Motor Germany, Broc Parkes came home fourth in what is only the third race for the latest model YZF-R6. With showers throughout the weekend limiting the amount of dry practice time both Yamaha’s Australian riders failed to find a perfect set-up for what turned out to be a dry race. Having worked hard to move through the pack, Curtain found his rear tyre was unable to provide the grip needed to close down Charpentier and was forced to settle for what was his third second place of the season. Parkes meanwhile had a problem of brake fluid leaking onto his footpegs after the top of the rear brake cylinder was displaced by the rider’s boot. Despite not affecting the performance of his machine, Parkes understandably rode cautiously as he was unaware of the source of the fluid. Yamaha’s third-generation YZF-R6 was well represented in the race, with six machines in the top ten and several young riders catching the eye. Nineteen-year-old wild-card Jordi Torres equaled his fine qualifying position with fifth in the race, while fellow Spaniard Xavi Fores, 20, ran second in the early laps but faded to eighth at the flag. Yamaha Team Italia riders Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello finished just behind Fores, ending the day ninth and tenth respectively. The race was led from lights to flag by world champion Charpentier to extend his lead over Curtain to 15 points in the championship. Parkes moves up to fourth in the points with three of the 13 races completed with Fores and Roccoli sharing fifth place alongside Yoann Tiberio (Honda). Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) “I didn’t get the best of starts and by the time I made it through to second Sebastien had got away. I tried hard to catch him but I’d worked my rear tyre too hard and didn’t have enough grip. I’m happy enough with the result though. Our bike is still developing and we lost a lot of set-up time here due to the rain. Fair play to Sebastien though, he was the best rider today and deserved to win. Hopefully we’ll have a new specification engine at Monza, if not then by Silverstone, and Pirelli will be supplying a new front tyre which we have tested and works much better with our bike.” Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) “I suppose I got some points today but I’m not that happy. I realised in the middle of the race that there was some fluid leaking onto the bike and I thought it was maybe oil from the rear shock. It turned out it was the cap that had come off the rear brake master cylinder, but it was always in the back of my mind that something could maybe go on the tyre, so I had to hold back a bit.” Jordi Torres (Speed Moto) “I was very nervous at the start of the race and in the first corner a lot of riders passed me. I regained my concentration and started to pass a few other riders. At the end of the race my tyre was pretty much finished but I tried to control the situation I was in and scored fifth place. I am very pleased about that because this is my first race in this championship, which is run at a very high level.” Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) “I rode quite nervously in the opening laps but by lap five I had settled down and was able to make up some positions. With about five laps to go the bike seemed to be straining a bit and although I was still able to have a good battle with Fores I could not quite pass him. We definitely improved our set-up from yesterday and I am quite happy with the result, although I know we must still work harder.” Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) “I was having a good race in front of Massimo until close to the end, when I lost some grip at the front. I had a lot of front end slides and twice saved a crash on my knee. Massimo was able to pass on one of these moments and when I looked behind and saw no-one close I backed off and took a safe finish.” More, from a press release issued by Tom Tunstall Racing: Hard Charging Tunstall Secures Points in Valencia Race Tom Tunstall achieved his goal of securing more championship points in the third round of the World Supersport Championship in Valencia with a brilliant riding display that saw him go from 24th place on the grid to 15th place in the race. Onboard the Hardinge – Ice Valley Motorsport Honda CBR600RR, Tom was unfazed by the level of competition in the highly regarded championship and fought lap after lap to secure his second point-scoring finish in three attempts. With ever changing weather conditions typifying the Valencia race weekend, Tom and the team worked flat out to gain the optimum set-up for the Hardinge – Ice Valley Motorsport Honda CBR600RR. The key to Tom’s success was down to a brilliant start followed up by a committed first lap that immediately saw him gain a handful of positions and move him in to a point scoring finish. From there, Tom set an impressive pace and fought hard with Norwegian rider Kai Anderson and American Kenny Noyes, but whilst Noyes crashed out, Tom kept his composure before becoming embroiled in a tough battle with Sebastian Le Grelle for the last of the championship points. “I made an absolutely mega start and gained a load of places into the first corner. Because of my position on the grid I was on the inside line going in and as a result I didn’t get the best drive to turn two and actually lost a couple of places. In the opening laps the bike felt great and I was able to do some really good times, but after about five laps my tyres started to wear and I was unable to push as hard because the rear was starting to slide too much.” explained Tom “I had some tough battles with Anderson and Noyes, but when I lost the side grip from the rear tyre it was difficult to stay with them because as soon as I touched the throttle the rear started to slide. With about 12 laps to go Le Grelle came past, he clearly had more grip than me on the exit of the corners but I was definitely faster going in to and through the turns, but I just couldn’t find a way past.” he said. “All in all I’m happy with the weekend. We came here for points and that’s what we got and I feel that as a team we’ve learned a lot, which is important. There are still some areas in which we can improve, but for a new team, we’re working well. Now I’ll be aiming to continue the momentum next time out at Monza.” he continued. The World Supersport Championship now heads to the ultra fast and spectacular Monza circuit in Northern Italy where Tom and the Hardinge – Ice Valley Motorsport team will be aiming to build on their strong opening results and secure more championship points.