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[Andy]

Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda
CBR600RR) leads the world into the third round of
the World Supersport Championship after an
astonishingly effective start to the 2007 season.
Having won one race and finished second in the
other, he now enjoys a seven point lead and
further proof of how effective the 2007 CBR600RR
has been in its first season of competition comes
from the fact that third place in the rankings is
occupied by well-known championship challenger
Katsuaki Fujiwara (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR).

An unlucky and occasionally dramatic start to the
season by 2005 and 2006 champion for Honda,
Sebastien Charpentier (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda
CBR600RR), sees the most successful Supersport
rider ever languishing in ninth place at present.
The obvious talent and determination that
characterised his 2006 championship push are,
however, expected to propel him upwards at the very next opportunity.

Riding a 2006-specification CBR600RR Lorenzo
Alfonsi (Althea Honda Team CBR600RR) will be
racing at Donington Park for the first time in
any form of competition. His excellent start to
his 2007 campaign has nonetheless netted him a
top ten race finish already, and he holds tenth
in the overall rankings after two rounds.

In 2001, the last time Donington was used for a
World Supersport event, the very first CBR600RR
was still under development, but since its
appearance in World Supersport in 2003, all three
model variants have been stunningly successful at
garnering points and prizes. So much so that
CBR600RR riders having won every World Supersport
Riders’ Championship since 2003.

As a complete novice to Donington Park, Sofuoglu
is by no means alone in his inexperience in the
Supersport pack heading to England this year, but
few are as keen to get down to action as the remarkably talented Turkish rider.

“I am so happy with the way things have gone so
far and I’d like to thank the team for getting
the bike to such a high standard,” said Sofuoglu.
“I was so happy to get two podium finishes, but I
am trying to look forward to the race ahead
because you can’t take anything for granted. I
have never ridden at Donington Park before so I
can’t wait to get to grips with the circuit.”

Charpentier is aware that a good result at
Donington has now become a necessity, but he also
knows that few will enter the latest fray in such
good shape as he and his team.

“It’s been a difficult start for me,” admitted
Charpentier, “However the team has worked really
hard on the development of the new bike so there
is no reason why I shouldn’t be back at the top
for Donington. I’m more than ready for the next race.”

Fujiwara has been a revelation all over again
this season, and is happy to go to Donington
after a positive recent test at Valencia.

"We had a good test in preparation for Donington,
and we were able to experiment with the
suspension a little bit and that was very
useful,” said ‘Kats’. “I have been to Donington
three times in the past, on Superbike and
Supersport bikes, so I don’t think it will be too
difficult to re-learn. The start to our season
has been very good so far and I want to make it even better this weekend.”

Alfonsi has scored strong points in races so far,
in what is his first full Honda season in WSS
racing. For Donington, he is equally happy to
have tested only a few days before he heads off to England.

“Donington is an all-new track for me, but I
spoke with some other riders and they say it is
not such a difficult track in some parts, tricky
in others,” stated the former European Superstock
1000cc champion. “The only thing is the weather
but our recent test in Valencia was a good
preparation for us and my feeling with the bike was good again."

After the Donington race, Valencia in Spain is
the venue for round four on March 15 and Assen
takes an unseasonably early slot in the calendar this year, on Sunday April 29.

World Superbike Round 3 of 13

TOSELAND THE LEADING LIGHT ON EVE OF DONINGTON EVENT

James Toseland (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda
CBR1000RR) has had his best ever start to a
Superbike campaign this year and leads second
place rider Max Biaggi by an impressive 16
points, after two wins and two second places.
Toseland’s excitement at returning to home tarmac
for the first of three British races in the World
Superbike championship has been evident after his
race two win in Australia was concluded so successfully.

He is looking for his first pre-race Superpole
win of the 2007 season at Donington, but like
many of his peers he will have to spend some time
re-learning the track layout before laying down
any possible pole-winning times.

Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda
CBR1000RR) is currently just outside the top ten
in the championship order, but compared to most
of his peers he has great recent experience of
Donington, thanks to several year of competition
there in 250GPs and then MotoGP.

Michel Fabrizio (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR), his
team-mate Steve Martin (DFX Corse Honda
CBR1000RR) and Joshua Brookes (Alto Evolution
Honda CBR1000RR) are ranged out in order behind
Rolfo in the championship standings, with
Fabrizio 12th overall. Martin, despite being told
he would not have a ride at Donington, or for the
rest of the year, due to sponsorship issues, will
be present in the DFX team until at least round
six at Monza, and thus he will have the
opportunity to score points at Donington this weekend.

Karl Muggeridge (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR)
has suffered bad luck recently, but like Brookes
found real progress in his machine’s set-up at a
recent official test outing in Valencia, and thus
returns to a circuit he knows well with hope of
good results, and almost free of injury after a
big pre-race fall at the previous round in his native Australia.

Toseland has drawn confidence not only from his
own form but the comments of other riders, with
even more world titles than James’s single WSB crown from the 2004 season.

“So far, the racing has been spot-on for me,”
says an ebullient Toseland. “It’s an honour to be
riding with such great competition and to hear
the like of Troy Bayliss complimenting me at
Phillip Island is very flattering. It’s a great
feeling to be heading to Donington as the
championship leader – I couldn’t ask for a better
way to be going into the first home race. I feel
fitter than ever and I cannot wait to race in the
UK. I’ll give it everything I have to get a win for the fans.”

Rolfo now feels ready to move into the upper
echelons of his chosen class, after some tough
rides since joining his new team.

“Although the first two rounds did not go as
smoothly as I might have hoped, my aim was to be
inside the top ten and that’s where I am,” said
Rolfo before heading to England. “I feel more
confident on the bike and I know that I can do
well at Donington if I get my head down and
concentrate on the task. I have ridden at the
track before from my days in the 250cc World
Championship so I’ll use that to my advantage and
hopefully get the top six place we are aiming for.”

Despite two retirements so far Fabrizio is still
close to a top ten placing and holds memories of
2006’s three podium finishes dear as he enters a
track he has limited experience of.

“At the moment I am concentrated on the
championship and all my personal resources are
focused on getting the best results possible,”
said Fabrizio. “After the second Australian race
I have demonstrated that it is possible for us to
get onto the podium again. I know the Donington
circuit because I raced there when I was in the
125 GP World Championship. I am sure that my
motorcycle and my team are ready for this challenge.”

Martin, who was unsure of having a ride until
Monday of this week, is now ready to deliver his
usual large hit of talent and commitment to the
next task in hand. He also thinks Donington will
even things out through the field.

"Donington is the first track we get to ride this
year where the factory teams haven’t tested,”
said Steve. “Although my bike is unchanged from
Phillip Island I feel it will be easier to be
closer to the front as no one will have benefited from any testing there."

For Brookes the most recent test was a real step
forward and he hopes Donington will provide an
even bigger one in his first year of Honda World Superbike competition.

“Valencia was good, and it gave us the chance to
look at the main areas of concern for us,” said
the former WSS race winner. “The suspension is
still not working the way we would like it to,
but it’s better than it has ever been. I hope
that Donington will see another Superpole
qualification, and hopefully a little better
result again from Phillip Island. I don’t know
the circuit, but I’ve heard it rocks. Maybe the
team and I can crack a couple of top tens in the races! We’ll see.”

Karl Muggeridge is nearly back to full fitness.
“We did a lot of good work at Valencia,” he
stated, “and I can't wait to get down to it at
Donington. My foot is nearly healed after by
crash in Australia but I can't say it's healed
enough to let me go running on it just yet. But
it should be good for the next race. I haven't
been to Donington for some time, but I have raced there a lot in the past.”