Date : 11/07/2010
Weather : Dry
Temperature : Air 30°, Track 50°
Humidity : 38%

Sofuoglu Overcomes Injury to Take Brno Win and the Series Lead

An outstanding race from Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) saw him re-take the championship lead after his main rival Eugene Laverty from the Parkalgar Honda team was forced to stop with a technical problem.

Sofuoglu was lucky to be racing at all, as he fell from his paddock scooter a few days ago and cut his left elbow very badly, threatening his overall fitness to race. He had no problems with his injury when it really mattered, and was the strongest rider after 18 gruelling laps of the 5.403km Czech circuit.

Laverty led for four laps until he slowed and then retired in the pits, leaving pole man Joan Lascorz (Kawasaki) to lead until Sofuoglu passed him, for a time. The pair fought for every advantage until the final few corners, then a solid pass by Sofuoglu gave him just enough advantage to hold on for his third win of the season, by 0.124 seconds.

In the championship fight, Sofuoglu has 183 points, Lascorz 168 and Laverty 161, with four rounds remaining. Laverty had been third on the grid at Brno, Sofuoglu fifth.

Rookie WSS rider Gino Rea, from the Intermoto Czech Honda team, was riding in front of his team’s home crowd at Brno and he was disappointed to finish fourth, despite this being his best ever result in this class. Starting from seventh place on the grid he was just behind the Triumph of Chaz Davies in the race, despite his machine suffering an electronics problem from the start. Gino made great use of track knowledge gathered in a two-day trackday test at Brno a few days ago.

A career best seventh for Laverty’s team-mate Miguel Praia came after a hot race for the Portuguese rider, fighting front end set-up issues in the chicanes but winning a four rider duel after 18-laps. He had been tenth on the grid.

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider Michele Pirro was taken to hospital with a broken nose and a fractured right scaphoid after a heavy crash on lap three, having qualified sixth on Saturday.

Massimo Roccoli (Intermoto Czech Honda) was desperately unlucky to be run off track while trying to avoid another rider, and finished 12th in the race after rejoining. He had qualified 14th.

In the Manufacturers’ Standings, Honda now leads Kawasaki by 52 points, with four rounds to go.

The tenth round takes place in the UK, at Silverstone, between July 30 and August 1.


WSS Rider Comments

Kenan Sofuoglu, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: 1st  - 1st overall. “We improved the bike a lot today because in the first two days we had some problems. This win was very important for me. I had a problem with a big injury in my left arm. Even on Friday I was unsure if I would be able to ride the bike or not and I asked the Clinica Mobile to help me. They fixed my injury well for the race and I want to dedicate my win to them and to my team boss Ronald Ten Kate.”

Eugene Laverty, Parkalgar Honda: DNF - 3rd overall.
“Things started well but it started to lose power going into turn one. I have finished every World Supersport race until now so I have been fortunate in some ways. I just have to win some more races now because Sofuoglu has got a bit of a gap on us. There are still four races and that is enough. I have had a bad run this year, Lascorz also, and Kenan may have one too.”

Gino Rea, Intermoto Czech Honda: 4th - 7th overall.
“This was my best finish in Supersport but really I am frustrated because my electronics were not working properly from the start and had to relearn how to ride the bike in some ways. I felt that I could have got by Chaz but he was very late on the brakes and hard to pass.”

Michele Pirro, Hannspree Ten Kate Honda: DNF - 9th overall.
Rider injured and in hospital, unable to comment.

Miguel Praia, Parkalgar Honda: 7th  - 12th overall.
“This is my best race finish in the Supersport World Championship so far. My start was good so I was quite comfortable in my first lap with the other riders. In the chicanes my front end was pumping, however, and I almost crashed three or four times and lost a bit to the group in front. I had to slow my pace a little but I stayed with the group and got to the front at the end of the race.”

Massimo Roccoli, Czech Intermoto Honda: 12th - 13th overall.
“We have had so much bad luck again, I do not know why. Two crashes in qualifying yesterday and so we tried another set-up. I did not have such a bad race pace, because it was possible stay with Salom and Lagrive. My start was OK, ninth into the first corner, but then Lundh arrived directly in front of my front tyre and I had to lift the bike, run off track and dropped to about 20th position. I pushed hard but did not have such a good feeling but I got back to 12th.”

Pole position : 2m02.800s (158,394Km/h) Cal Joan Lascorz, Kawasaki
Fastest lap : Lap 16 - 2m03.998s (156.864Km/h) Cal Joan Lascorz, Kawasaki
Circuit record lap : 2m02.708s (156.780Km/h) Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha, 2009
Circuit Best Lap : 2m02.060s (159.350Km/h) Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha, 2009