World Supersport Championship
Round five: Assen Circuit, The Netherlands
Race report
 HANNspree
Ten Kate Honda secure second Supersport one-two
HANNspree Ten Kate Honda dominated the World Supersport race
once again today with another spectacular one-two finish.
Kenan Sofuolgu secured his fourth race win of the 2007 series
while temporary wingman Andrew Pitt crossed the finish line
in second place. Returning rider Sébastien Charpentier
put in an admirable performance to secure sixth position.
The majority of this afternoon's race was a fierce and incredibly
close battle between the three HANNspree Ten Kate Honda riders,
Fabien Foret and Broc Parkes. The five riders swapped places
numerous times and for six of the 21 laps, the top three spots
were held my Sofuoglu, Pitt and Charpentier.
On lap eight, Sofuoglu secured the lead and made it stick.
The Turkish rider proceeded to open the gap between himself
and the chasing pack with every lap, setting a new Assen record
three times before securing his victory. The success leaves
Sofuoglu with a 120-point lead in the standings - a huge 53
points ahead of nearest rival Fabien Foret.
With Sébastien Charpentier suffering after his month-long
break, the fight for second place was between Pitt, Foret
and Parkes. The Assen crowd enjoyed a thrilling display from
the three riders, before Parkes crashed out on the penultimate
lap. A mistake by Foret then enabled Pitt to pass the Frenchman
and maintain station to secure a second podium finish for
HANNspree Ten Kate Honda.
Ronald ten Kate, Team Manager:
"At the beginning of the race we were close to perfection
with the three riders up at the front. Anyway, I am more than
happy with the final result. Another first for Kenan is just
splendid. This is actually the circuit where it all started
last year when he delivered his first win. It just shows what
a great racer he is becoming. Andrew did a perfect job for
us yet again as the wingman. He had quite a big battle with
Fabien Foret in the last laps but he got the second place
for us. Sébastien was very brave at the beginning of
the race, but towards the end he started to have some problems.
However, he has shown how good his race pace is and in the
next round he should be back on top form once again."
Kenan Sofuoglu:
"I am really, really happy! To get pole position yesterday
was good, but most of the fast riders are back so I knew it
would be a lot harder this weekend. I was expecting this race
to be a difficult. I told myself in the beginning not to go
hard straight away. I gave myself a chance to look who was
coming up behind me and then I knew when to push a bit more.
When I knew the riders were closing in behind me I thought
'ok, now I will go' and tried hard to open up the gap. I did
my fastest lap time in lap 15 so I'm really pleased that.
This is just such a good result - I got my first race win
here at Assen and with it being the home track for the Ten
Kate it is even more special - it just couldn't have been
any better for me today!"
Sébastien Charpentier:
"Again after injury I have no power in my body. I had
to ride my bike in the race holding on with my fingers and
it was impossible for me to stay in the leading group. My
body just said no after a while. I think I got the maximum
we could today but I feel for everyone in the team who works
so hard to give me a good bike."
Andrew Pitt:
"I'm really pleased - what a great result for the team
and a great day overall! It was a tough race - I had a really
good rhythm at the start and I just kept up at the front.
Kenan's riding really well at the moment and I had a good
time riding with him. I made him work for it a bit today,
it wasn't so easy for him as in Valencia! I'm happy to be
on the podium again and happy to be able to help the team
out again."
Race results:
1 K. Sofuolgu 36.04.418
2 A. Pitt + 4.043
3 F. Foret + 5.479
4 B. Veneman + 8.140
5 D. Salom + 8.900
6 S. Charpentier + 11.090
7 D. Checa + 14.847
8 V. Kallio + 19.545
9 D. Giugliano + 19.880 1
0 S. Martin + 20.084
FL K. Sofuoglu 1'37.570
Championship standings:
1 K. Sofuoglu 120
2 F. Foret 67
3 K. Fujiwara 43
4 A. Pitt 40
5 R. Harms 39
6 G. Nanelli 30
7 B. Veneman 30
8 M. Roccoli 28
9 B. Parkes 27
10 D. Salom 27
14 S. Charpentier 23
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