After a recent test session at Brno the Winston Ten Kate Honda Superbike squad approaches the halfway point of the 2006 season at Misano with spirits high at the prospect battling for top placings once more. New electronics packages were tested at Brno, and may be used at Misano, to help riders James Toseland and Karl Muggeridge move further up the championship table. A regular venue on the SBK calendar, Misano is a circuit of contrasts, with ultra-fast left hand corners leading onto the back straight, mixed in with a plethora of tighter corners and two chicanes. Hot Adriatic weather is expected to add to the intensity of the challenge, with track temperatures often the highest encountered all season. Ronald Ten Kate Team Manager “We had a very good Brno test where we played with the new electronic system on the bike. We still have to decide if we’ll use it for the first time in Misano but so far it looks like we will, as the first impressions have been quite positive. We also tested many news parts on the bike to further improve chassis set up. We also tried out a lot of tyres and all the work went very well. We proved to be consistently fast, although we didn’t work too much on qualifying tyres, mainly concentrated on full race settings like we usually do during testing.” James Toseland Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider “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. 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 one win, but I didn’t qualify too well and that prevented me from winning. 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.” Karl Muggeridge Winston Ten Kate Honda Rider “I’m always happy to go to Misano, it’s a beautiful place. The test in Brno was been 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 many 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.”