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Moto News Home » WSBK
Ten Kate looks to continue momentum Jul 30, 2008
The HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team arrives at Brands Hatch, Great Britain for round ten of the 2008 World Superbike championship, which takes place this weekend, 1-3 August. The 3.7km circuit in the south east of England has played host to some of the most memorable World Superbike events of recent years, with raceday crowds often exceeding 100,000. Honda CBR1000RR riders, Carlos Checa and Ryuichi Kiyonari, will be seeking to build on their victory in last weekend's prestigious Suzuki 8-hours race, which they won as a Ten Kate pairing in the Dream Honda team.
For Kiyonari, Brands Hatch's undulating curves will be familiar territory, which he visited many times during his reign as British Superbike champion. Checa, on the other hand, will be making his first visit to the historic circuit. Meanwhile, the team's third superbike rider, Kenan Sofuoglu, will fondly remember his visit to Brands Hatch in 2007, when he sealed the World Supersport title. The Turkish rider will also be hoping to build on his two top ten finishes last time out at Brno in the Czech Republic.
Carlos Checa It was a fantastic experience to win the Suzuka 8-hours race last weekend. For sure the race itself and the travelling has quite an impact on the body, and I can't wait to be on my own Fireblade again for this weekend. Brands Hatch is apparently a very special circuit with a great racing atmosphere, so I'm really look forward to making my first laps there.
Ryuichi Kiyonari I'm very happy with our win at Suzuka. This season I had to make many test sessions in Japan to set up the new Honda Fireblade for the 8-hours race, but now it has all paid off. Now I have to switch my mind to World Superbike. Brands Hatch is a track I already know from my British Superbike years, so I will push hard for a good result.
Kenan Sofuoglu The Brno race was by far my best race of the season. For the first time I felt in control of the machine and I really enjoyed that feeling. Brands Hatch is a track I like and, on top of that, I won my Supersport World title last year here, so it brings back some very good memories. Riding at Brands on a superbike will for sure be different to riding it on a supersport, but I'm positive for this weekend.
Ronald ten Kate - Team Manager Brands Hatch is always the highlight of the season for us because of the nice track and, also, the enthusiastic crowd. We have good memories from last year, when Kenan won the Supersport title and James Toseland did the double in front of his fanatic home crowd. All our riders like the track - with the exception of Carlos, who hasn't ridden here before. But I'm sure the novice will get enough tips from his team-mates, especially former British Superbike riders, Kiyonari and Rea! Hopefully, we can keep going strong in World Supersport, where the title race is sharpening up nicely. And in Superbike, I hope Kenan can use his Brno results to maintain his improvement and that Checa and Kiyonari can keep up the momentum from Suzuka.
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Brands Hatch Circuit
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