WSBK – Sofuoglu 2007 Supersport World Champion! –

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Sofuoglu 2007 Supersport World Champion !

WSBK - Sofuoglu 2007 Supersport World Champion! -

Almost undisputed leader in his category, Kenan Sofuoglu grabbed the 2007 Mondial Supersport title yesterday. As for his "teammate" James Toseland, he is fast approaching a second Superbike title. Report and videos.

The July floods in England gave way to a heavy sun. In front of 126,000 spectators, the World Superbike riders are preparing to compete in the 10th round of the championship (read), all determined to go on vacation with the awareness of a job well done…

On Saturday, it was Troy Bayliss who set the best time in the Superpole in 1 ‘25.607, a time slightly lower than his pole last year (1’ 25.549 as a reminder). The heat is killing the tires, and the races are going to be difficult for Pirelli because on Sunday, the thermometer still rises by several degrees: 30 ° C in the air and 44 ° C on the track !

In the lead on the first day, native James Toseland finally finished 2nd, less than three hundredths behind the reigning world champion. Behind the two big names are two Japanese to watch closely: Noriyuki Haga and Yukio Kagayama.

In the second row, we find Troy Corser and Max Biaggi who are ahead of two Italians: the Ducatis of Ruben Xaus and Lorenzo Lanzi. Roberto Rolfo, Michel Fabrizio and Steve Martin follow in order: the Australian rider came to lend a hand to the Yamaha YZF team and his rider Nakatomi.

Regis Laconi and his Kawa climb to the last place of 3rd row: "I had some issues with the feeling after trying the new ZX-10R in Japan", will testify the French pilot.

In Supersport, all hopes are high since Sebastien Charpentier will start from pole position – his 21st! -, thanks to a time that the French signed on Friday: 1 ‘28.831. Our double world champion is followed by his teammate Kenan Sofuoglu, Katsuaki Fujiwara and Broc Parkes.

Robbin Harms takes the lead in second row, ahead of Tommy Hill – replacing Kevin Curtain -, Massimo Roccoli and Craig Jones. On the 3rd row follow Barry Veneman, Lorenzo Alfonsi, and the two Kawasaki of Pere Riba and Fabien Foret, the latter being the only rider able to prevent the coronation of Sofuoglu !

The other French people are not very far: Gregory Leblanc is in 14th place, Sebastien Gimbert in 18th, Lagrive 19th, Checa – colt of Christophe Guyot – 21st and Julien Enjolras 30th.

First Superbike race

At the start, Bayliss considers having let go of his clutch a little too early … He takes his lever again then immediately releases it and miraculously manages to keep his advantage by approaching the first turn. !

"I thought I stole the start and on each lap I expected to have to do a Stop-and-go so it bothered me a bit the first few laps ", will also explain Troy.

The Australian and his Ducati n ° 21 are followed by the Yamaha n ° 11 of Corser, the Honda n ° 52 of Toseland, the Yam n ° 41 of Haga, the Suzuki n ° 71 of Kagayama, the Honda n ° 44 of Rolfo and the Kawasaki n ° 55 of Laconi. Behind them, Xaus walks past Biaggi despite the kicks of his private Ducati !

From his first passage in the straight line – which is more like a break to the right … – Toseland seizes second place: the public roars louder than the CBR! In this 2nd lap, Xaus continues his ascent by getting rid of Laconi but it is Haga who stands out the most: he passes his teammate Corser and sets off in pursuit of Bayliss and Toseland…

Nitro Nori increases his pace in the 3rd lap and places himself in the wheel of "JiTi", himself housed under the pots of Bayliss! On the third pass, it’s the Ducati Xerox’s turn to fall victim to the power and traction of the Honda Ten Kate: Toseland takes the lead !

When gripping the brakes, Troy Bayliss regains the advantage but leaves a very small space between him and the vibrator … It does not take more to tempt James who wedges under the fairing of the Ducat and resumes the leader of the race out of the first corner !

In Surtees, it is Haga who takes advantage of a slight gap from Bayliss to bring himself to his height. Leaning lightly on the other side of the 999, the Japanese accelerated to Bayliss who was immediately overtaken by his compatriot Corser! In four corners, the Ducati n ° 21 has just lost three places: hard !

Taking advantage of this fight, Toseland widens a slight gap on his pursuers. The public cheers redouble: could James finally win on this circuit? ?

For his part, Troy Bayliss does not look very favorably on the rise of his two main rivals in the championship: Toseland and Haga. On the 5th lap, therefore, the double world champion went on the attack and passed Corser in the first corner..

Unfortunately, the kangaroo is stopped dead in its tracks: entering a little too hard in Druids, Bayliss brakes a little too hard and loses the front! Annoyed, the pilot got up without damage but his Ducati remained on the ground. New points fly for him, and with them no doubt, his world crown … "I didn’t hurt myself but with that, I must admit that the championship is over", declared Troy back in the pits.

The race is not over yet! Toseland is first but Haga is less than a second from English and Corser follows at 1.5 seconds. Kagayama and Xaus fight at 3.5 seconds, Biaggi and Rolfo at 4.5 seconds and Laconi and Lanzi at 5.5 seconds…

The fight between Yukio and Ruben is particularly beautiful, these two pilots possessing temperaments and fiery driving styles! Behind them, Biaggi gradually moves away from Rolfo in a much more fluid style: what if the Roman Emperor saved his tires to achieve a race end of which he has the secret? ?

On the 8th lap, Michel Fabrizio passed in front of Lanzi and placed himself behind Laconi then in 8th position. In front, Toseland takes his lead to more than a second and a half while Haga cannot completely shake off his teammate Corser…

Meanwhile, Yukio Kagayama attacks very hard: "abusing" his GSX-R 1000 when braking and accelerating, he multiplies his crossings and paradoxically, loses more time than he gains. So much so that in the 10th lap, after being overtaken by Xaus, his teammate Max Biaggi steals his 5th place. !

In the following loop, the driver of the Suz n ° 3 takes the Spaniard and his Ducati n ° 111 their 4th place: Max is four seconds from the podium! Lap after lap, the Italian nibbles ground on Corser who does not give up on Haga.

Put under pressure by his own teammate and unable to get back on Toseland, Haga fell on the 17th lap! His R1 fortunately unscathed, the Japanese joined the race in 10th position just ahead of Neukirchner…

Corser thus inherits 2nd place and Biaggi 3rd, but Kagayama has not said his last word! Yukio is unleashed and attempts several unsuccessful attacks on Max. The Suzuki’s pace is therefore slower, allowing Corser to keep his 2.5 seconds lead..

Leading since the 18 laps, James Toseland has meanwhile more than four and a half seconds ahead of Troy Corser and sees his first victory at Brands Hatch in the Superbike category. Noriyuki Haga runs at the same pace as the leading men but only appears in 9th place, behind Regis Laconi.

In the 22nd lap, Kagayama misses the call. Indeed, his Suzuki n ° 71 is in the gravel, badly banged up: in the bend commanding the "straight" line, the Japanese who knew "where and when"to pass Biaggi missed the braking of Clearways and cannot leave. Worse, both knees are sore, the second run will be hard…

Then the end of the race takes place relatively "quietly". On his last lap, still averaging over 150 km / h on a very demanding and impressive circuit, James Toseland waved to the crowd and crossed the finish line 1.5 seconds before Troy Corser and three seconds before Max Biaggi !

"It’s probably the hardest track I’ve ever been on", assures Biaggi, delighted to be on the podium from his first participation and who, with the abandonment of Bayliss and the error of Haga, achieves a good operation.

However, the happiest man is undoubtedly James Toseland: he takes his first victory at Brands Hatch and sees his championship lead increase by 9 points..

Regarding his 8th place, our favorite n ° 55 is pleasantly surprised. "I used a soft front tire and rinsed it off, couldn’t do better", explains Regis Laconi, who decided to put on a hard tire for the second round….

SBK Brands Hatch first round results:

Pilot Team Time Tours
1 Toseland J. Honda hannspree 36 ‘35.120 25
2 Corser T. Yamaha Motor Italia 36 ‘36.674 25
3 Biaggi M. Suzuki Alstare Corona 36 ‘38.037 25
4 Xaus R. Ducati Sterilgarda 36 ‘45.322 25
5 Fabrizio M. Honda DFX Corsica 36 ‘49.253 25
6 Rolfo R. Honda hannspree 36 ‘49.443 25
7 Haga N. Yamaha Motor Italia 36 ‘54.500 25
8 Laconi R. Kawasaki PSG-1 36 ‘57,796 25
9 Lanzi L. Ducati Xerox 36 ‘59.379 25
10 Neukirchner M. Suzuki Germany 36 ‘59.543 25
11 Martin S. Yamaha YZF 37 ‘08.485 25
12 Nieto F. Kawasaki PSG-1 Corsica 37 ‘08.493 25
13 Nakatomi S. Yamaha YZF 37 ‘08.668 25
14 Smrz J. Ducati SC Caracchi 37 ‘23.403 25
15 Nutt M. Yamaha Nuttravel.com 37 ‘39.775 25

Best round of the round: 1 ‘26.590 – Haga (3rd round)
Best lap in previous race: 1 ‘26.351 – Toseland (2006)

Supersport Race

Sebastien Charpentier’s joy did not last long … During his warm-up lap, the Frenchman noticed a clutch problem on his CBR600RR and had to start from the back of the grid on the handlebars of his mule !

So, Sofuoglu starts from the best place. As soon as the lights went out, the Turkish pilot leapt up and took command of the race. He is ahead of Craig Jones, Tommy Hill, Broc Parkes, Massimo Roccoli and Robbin Harms.

Supported by his public, Craig Jones is up to Kenan in the first straight but the Briton can not compete under braking. However, in Hawthorn the n ° 18 manages to make the interior in Sofuoglu and takes the lead of the race !

Foret, the only one who can worry Sofuoglu is in 13th position ahead of his teammate Riba, the "Franco-Spanish" David Checa and three French: Sebastien Gimbert, Matthieu Lagrive and Gregory Leblanc! Charpentier for his part is in 22nd position.

Behind Jones and Sofuoglu, the resistance was organized and stepped up to the plate. Parkes double Hill and Harms overtakes Roccoli. Then from the start of the straight line, Broc Parkes threatens Kenan: passed in front of the CBR in the "straight" line, the official R6 is passed again under braking !

A few turns later, Parkes tries again to overtake Sofuoglu and succeeds this time! The Australian becomes 2nd and immediately sets off to hunt for the British: Jones is almost a second ahead !

In the 4th lap, Robbin Harms overtook Tommy Hill but the driver who impresses the most is Craig Jones. In front of his own, the Honda rider leads the race and turns less than half a second from his qualifying time! In the next lap, however, it was Parkes who set the fastest time in the race..

But at the end of this lap, the English driver made a mistake in the same place as Kagayama in the 1st round of SBK … The crowd was disappointed but applauded all the same! Suddenly, it is another subject of Elizabeth II who leads the race: the Australian Broc Parkes on the handlebars of his Yam n ° 23.

In the 5th lap, the Italian Roccoli passed in front of Tommy Hill and put pressure on the shoulders of Robbin Harms, then 3rd, one second behind Parkes and three tenths behind Sofuoglu. A beautiful battle of several laps begins between Massimo and Robbin, and allows Hill and Fujiwara to quietly approach the podium.

As Harms continues to contain Roccoli’s assaults, it is the Italian who gets himself surprised by Hill! Now, the fight opposes these two men and Robbin Harms takes the opportunity to move away from them. Fujiwara, on the other hand, grabs the last few meters that still separated him from this group. !

Three seconds from the Japanese are Alfonsi, Veneman and Foret. The Honda, Suzuki and Kawasaki offer a superb show, like the following groups: the duo Riba / Lagrive located four seconds from Foret and the quartet Gimbert, Vizziello, Lascorz and Leblanc, which roll two seconds behind Lagrive !

Leading the way, Parkes takes his lead over the future world champion to more than two seconds. Fujiwara – 6th on the 16th lap – must retire due to engine failure: "I don’t know what the problem was but the bike just stopped", will regret" Kats ", who could claim the podium.

On the 18th lap, if the first two steps seem already assigned, the 3rd step remains within the reach of three men: Roccoli, Harms and Hill. But very quickly, the pace at the end of the race overcame the Briton who secured a good 5th place. The podium will be played in the last lap between Massimo and Robbin…

Approaching for the last time the delicate overhanging turn Paddock hill, Roccoli widens his trajectory a little bit and leaves Harms five lengths. The latter is so keen to erase his disappointment in the Czech Republic (read), that he bites at the exit of Sheene’s but manages to keep his 3rd place by keeping the gas open wide. !

The Australian will no longer make any mistakes but Roccoli, better inspired in the very last corner, manages to climb on the podium, thanks to a lead on the finish line of 23 thousandths! A handful of seconds before them passed Parkes and Sofuoglu. The first therefore won his first victory of his season – his second in a row on this track -, and the second conquered his first world title !

"I can’t explain my feelings", declared the Honda Ten Kate team rider, for which it is the 6th consecutive title: 2002 with Fabien Foret, 2003 with Chris Vermeulen, 2004 with Karl Muggeridge and 2005 and 2006 with Sebastien Charpentier.

"I’m almost losing my words", yet recognizes Ronald Ten Kate!"This is Kenan’s first coronation and I think many more will follow. He’s a very special kid", testifies the boss, who could raise his champion in SBK from next year to replace James Toseland ?

Among the French, the results are rather positive: Foret finished 6th despite a slippery motorcycle "much more than the others"and consolidates his 2nd place overall. Lagrive ranks in a nice 10th place and Gimbert finishes 13th, less than half a second from 11th place !

General Seb, on the other hand, multiplied his disappointments: 15th in the race after a courageous comeback, he was finally disqualified for not having left his motorcycle in the parc ferme. As for David Checa, he could not do better than 17th: "he had decided on a game of poker by completely modifying the settings of his motorcycle at the end of the warm-up: it did not work at all", notes his team GMT94.

In the championship, Sofuoglu becomes indestructible with 206 points against 126 for our Fabien Foret. Fujiwara’s counter stuck at 87 points as Harms, Parkes and Roccoli’s soar.

On the constructor side, Honda cedes a little of its lead to Yamaha: 226 points against 170. Kawasaki is 3rd with 137 points ahead of Suzuki (71) and Ducati (44).

SSP Brands Hatch Results:

Pilot Team Time Tours
1 Parkes B. Yamaha World SSP 34 ‘34.688 23
2 Sofuoglu K. Honda hannspree 34 ‘38.346 23
3 Roccoli M. Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni 34 ‘40.244 23
4 Harms R. Honda Stiggy Motorsport 34 ‘40.261 23
5 Hill T. Yamaha World SSP 34 ‘41.194 23
6 Drill F. Kawasaki Gil Motor Sport 34 ‘44.801 23
7 Alfonsi L. Honda althea 34 ‘45.102 23
8 Veneman B. Suzuki Pioneer Hoegee 34 ‘48.924 23
9 Riba P. Kawasaki Gil Motor Sport 34 ‘50.666 23
10 Lagrive M. Honda Intermoto Czech 34 ‘53.112 23
11 Vizziello G. Yamaha RG Team 34 ‘59.771 23
12 Lascorz J. Honda Glaner Motocard.com 34 ‘59.842 23
13 Gimbert S. Yamaha GMT 94 35 ‘00.130 23
14 Leblanc G. Honda Vazy Racing Team 35 ‘03.645 23
15 Sanchini M. Honda Intermoto Czech 35 ‘11.245 23
17 Checa D. Yamaha GMT 94 35 ‘13.384 23
D Carpenter S. Honda hannspree 35 ‘06.829 23

Best round of the round: 1 ‘29.021 – Parkes (4th round)
Best lap in previous race: 1 ‘29.074 – Curtain (2006)

Provisional SSP classification:

Pilot Team Points
1 Sofuoglu K. Honda hannspree 206
2 Drill F. Kawasaki Gil Motor Sport 126
3 Fujiwara K. Honda althea 87
4 Harms R. Honda Stiggy Motorsport 83
5 Parkes B. Yamaha World SSP 75
6 Roccoli M. Yamaha Italia 75
7 West A. Yamaha World SSP 66
8 Veneman B. Suzuki Pioneer Hoegee 64
9 Jones C. Honda Revè Ekerold 45
10 Alfonsi L. Honda althea 45
11 Nannelli G. Ducati SC Caracchi 44
12 Pitt A. Honda hannspree 40

13

 Carpenter S. Honda hannspree 37
14 Riba P. Kawasaki Gil Motor Sport 37
15 Salom D. Yamaha Spain 34
18 Checa D. Yamaha GMT 94 29

19

 Tiberio Y. Honda Stiggy Motorsport 29
22 Gimbert S. Yamaha GMT 94 25
25 Lagrive M. Honda Intermoto Czech 20
29 Leblanc G. Honda Vazy Racing Team 8
30 Enjolras J. Yamaha Tati Beaujolais 7

Second Superbike race

Bayliss takes the best start ahead of Haga, Toseland, Kagayama, Corser, Biaggi, Xaus, Laconi, Rolfo, Lanzi and Fabrizio. But from the 3rd corner, Haga took the lead. In the next turn, James easily gets rid of Troy Bayliss … then Noriyuki Haga! The Briton is again at the head of his event !

In three laps, the two leading men separated from their pursuers. Bayliss manages to outrun the peloton but the Toseland / Haga pair still rolls a tone above! Behind, Kagayama was overtaken by Corser and Laconi had to let a very fit Fabrizio pass.

In the 4th lap Biaggi passes in front of his teammate Kagayama. Then Haga decides to take command of the race, but the passage in front of the pits gives the advantage back to Toseland, who keeps the lead under braking !

Two passages later, when Biaggi took 4th place – he overtook Bayliss – the Roman Emperor is asked to make a Stop-and-go for early departure! Suzuki Alstare is definitely not varnished because in the previous lap, Kagayama lost three places !

Indeed, Yukio – left despite a damaged ligament in his right knee – is the victim of the beginnings of a highside and prefers to give up his hand: "I didn’t want to fall again so I drove carefully until the end", will tell the n ° 71, recent winner of the 8 hours of Suzuka.

Still on the 6th lap, Xaus passed in front of Bayliss and thus again became the leader of the Ducati! A few moments later, Michel Fabrizio also doubles Troy Bayliss: "our bike does not seem to like high temperatures, except in Misano where the grip is great", will analyze later the famous n ° 21.

Max Biaggi started his 8th lap in the pits and came out in 16th position 15 seconds behind Toseland and two seconds behind Steve Martin 15th. Like Bayliss, Biaggi sees the world crown slowly fading away…

Halfway through the race was then marked by a particularly intense fight between Toseland and Haga. And although they did not abuse overtaking, the two drivers lost a little time. This fight greatly appreciated by the public especially pleases Corser who momentarily manages to get back in the wheel of his teammate !

In the 14th lap, Haga took the lead of the race but Toseland again took advantage of the passage in front of the pits to recover his du. From then on, the Englishman increases his pace and sticks 3 tenths to his pursuers on the following three laps..

Corser "forfeited" in the 18th loop and Haga held up just two more laps, before falling behind the No. 52 Honda Ten Kate rider by more than a second and a half. Crowds are raving: Toseland could win first-ever SBK World double !

James is not the only one to whip: Fabrizio in 4th place is making a good effort but his three seconds behind Corser with 6 laps to go are insurmountable. Max Biaggi meanwhile makes his way through the peloton and is in 11th place.

Two laps from the end, Toseland is almost two seconds ahead of Haga: he heads for the double … and the title? James rolls up his last lap, as does Haga who almost gets caught by Corser !

"I was aware of Nori’s situation in the championship so I was happy to take 3rd place", will specify later the n ° 11 of the Yamaha Motor Italia team.

James Toseland thus signs his second victory of the day, his 4th this year in England and his 8th of the season! He is ahead of Haga, Corser and Fabrizio who improves his result by one place in the 1st round.

"It took me seven years but getting the double in Superbike at Brands Hatch was worth the wait", assures" JiTi ", which is only going on its 27 years!" The crowd was amazing and I can’t thank them enough for their support", he will testify after offering his gloves, his boots and even his leather to his supporters during his phenomenal lap of honor..

In the championship, James Toseland is now 66 points ahead of Noriyuki Haga. Max Biaggi is 3rd three points behind the Japanese, while Troy Bayliss is now almost 100 points behind the leader…

Troy Corser gets back on his compatriot, followed at a distance by Ruben Xaus, better placed than the 2nd official Ducati rider Lorenzo Lanzi. Similar observation at Suzuki where the young private Max Neukirchner is ahead of Yukio Kagayama. Regis Laconi, the French Ninja is in 12th position with 98 points.

Among manufacturers, Honda increases its lead over Yamaha by 10 points (369 points against 343). Ducati (325) is still 3rd ahead of Suzuki (305), Kawasaki (130) and MV Agusta (1).

Next meeting for the World Superbike: September 9 on the Lausitzring track in Germany. Stay connected !

SBK Brands Hatch second round results:

Pilot Team Time Tours
1 Toseland J. Honda hannspree 36 ‘34.177 25
2 Haga N. Yamaha Motor Italia 36 ‘35.863 25
3 Corser T. Yamaha Motor Italia 36 ‘35.937 25
4 Fabrizio M. Honda DFX Corsica 36 ‘42.633 25
5 Kagayama Y. Suzuki Alstare Corona 36 ‘43.165 25
6 Xaus R. Ducati Sterilgarda 36 ‘43.647 25
7 Bayliss T. Ducati Xerox 36 ‘52,490 25
8 Biaggi M. Suzuki Alstare Corona 36 ‘53.293 25
9 Laconi R. Kawasaki PSG-1 36 ‘54.678 25
10 Neukirchner M. Suzuki Germany 36 ‘54.763 25
11 Rolfo R. Honda hannspree 36 ‘55.985 25
12 Lanzi L. Ducati Xerox 36 ‘59.060 25
13 Nieto F. Kawasaki PSG-1 37 ‘06.165 25
14 Muggeridge K. Honda Alto Evolution 37 ‘07.430 25
15 Nakatomi S. Yamaha YZF 37 ‘11.045 25

Best round of the round: 1 ‘26.689 – Toseland (2nd round)
Best lap in previous race: 1 ‘26.351 – Toseland (2006)

Provisional SBK classification:

Pilot Team Points
1 Toseland J. Honda hannspree 355
2 Haga N. Yamaha Motor Italia 289
3 Biaggi M. Suzuki Alstare Corona 286
4 Bayliss T. Ducati Xerox 258
5 Corser T. Yamaha Motor Italia 227
6 Xaus R. Ducati Sterilgarda 163
7 Lanzi L. Ducati Xerox 161
8 Rolfo R. Honda hannspree 146
9 Neukirchner M. Suzuki Germany 123
10 Kagayama Y. Suzuki Alstare Corona 116
11 Fabrizio M. Honda DFX Corsica 109
12 Laconi R. Kawasaki PSG-1 98
13 Nieto F. Kawasaki PSG-1 65
14 Smrz J. Ducati SC Caracchi 58
15 Nakatomi S. Yamaha YZF 41

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