The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team enjoyed its first double podium finish in round 10 of the 2009 World Superbike championship at Brno today as Carlos Checa and Jonathan Rea finished race one in second and third positions respectively.
It was the first time since the Ten Kate squad began Superbike racing in 2004 that it has had two riders on the same podium. Rea and Checa finished in fourth and fifth places in race two as Max Biaggi and Ben Spies took today’s wins.
The opening 20-lapper around the 5.4km Brno circuit began in dramatic style as Italy’s Michel Fabrizio crashed into pole sitter Ben Spies taking both riders out of the race. The Hannspree Ten Kate duo profited from the collision, Checa climbing to the number two slot on the rostrum for the second time this season.
Rea, meanwhile, was able use his strong results to strengthen his grip on fourth place in the points table in his rookie World Superbike season.
Jonathan Rea Speaks… (3rd and 4th)
We managed to grind out a good result in Superpole yesterday and we did the same in race one today. The team dug really deep to put us back on the podium after a really slow start to the weekend. Of course, two riders crashing in front helped us get some good points but we were with the leading guys when it happened. All in all, it’s been a good couple of races for us so we head into the summer break going in the right direction and I’m looking forward to recharging the batteries before we come back fighting again at Nurburgring in September.
Carlos Checa Speaks… (2nd and 5th)
Race one was a good result from a job well done. I got a good start and had a good pace. I felt very comfortable throughout the race and knew from my boards that I had a gap back to Jonathan. We have more understanding of the bike now and we were able to improve it from yesterday. Unfortunately, I had some chatter return during race two, especially when releasing the brake, which was strange. But it was a positive weekend and we were able to run with the leading riders from the opening practice session on Friday.
Ronald ten Kate Speaks… (Team Manager)
We are quite pleased with these results and it was the first time in our Superbike racing history that we have seen two guys on a podium in a race. It was a very positive feeling. In race two we were marginally off the pace of the leading guys, so fourth and fifth were about the best results we could have expected. All in all, we are on an upward trend and hopefully we can keep this form after a couple of weeks off and return refreshed to Nurburgring.
2009 World Superbike championship, round ten – Brno, Czech republic (5.403km, 2 x 20 laps) results:
Race One
1 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia 40’18.306s
2 Carlos Checa (ESP) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +3.631s
3 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +9.948
4 Shane Byrne (GBR) Ducati +12.952
5 Troy Corser (AUS) BMW +14.599
6 Jakub Smrz (CZE) Ducati +19.359
13 Ryuichi Kiyonari (JPN) Ten Kate Honda Racing +40.061
Race Two
1 Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha 40’15.420s
2 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia +0.213s
3 Michel Fabrizio (ITA) Ducati +0.657
4 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +8.311
5 Carlos Checa (ESP) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +8.915
6 Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Ducati +21.175
13 Ryuichi Kiyonari (JPN) Ten Kate Honda Racing 26.246
Championship points after 10 of 14 rounds
Haga 326, Spies 319, Fabrizio 273, Rea 206, Biaggi 200, Leon Haslam (GBR) Honda 180, Tom Sykes (GBR) Yamaha 150, Checa 145, Byrne 134, Smrz 132, Kiyonari 119.
Next round: Nurburgring, Germany – 6 September