The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team has worked hard in this time and Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate has admitted that these next two rounds are crucial for
James Toseland and his Championship chase.
"We've had two less fortunate rounds, but we have used the time since Misano to test at Brno and Vallelunga,“ explained Ten Kate, “We've made some good improvements to the machines and the lap times secured on both these tests give us confidence that James can do very well. The next two rounds could be crucial for the championship so we will give it all we have got to provide a race winning machine for James."
Championship leader Toseland and his team-mate
Roberto Rolfo performed well at the Pirelli development test at Brno and the official FGSport test at Vallelunga. The team worked hard to develop new suspension parts and an improved traction control system on both machines. The riders are happy with the set-up and looking forward to putting the difficulties of the last two rounds behind them.
Toseland is feeling confident going into the ninth round as he said, "We've had two tests since Misano and both of them went really well. We tested the new PI electronics and we were one of the quickest in both tests. I just can't wait to get back to racing and start winning again. Brno is a circuit that both myself and Honda have done well at in the past so I'm pretty positive about this weekend."
He is aiming to further increase his lead as the Championship approaches the final push. His team-mate Rolfo is looking to maintain his recent good form at Brno.
"I really like Brno. I rode there in the 250 class and I always got a good result, although unfortunately I crashed on the last lap of what would have been my first race win there in 2002,” said Rolfo, “With Superbikes, the circuit feels very different. During the tests at Brno my lap time was good. I think the race conditions will be a lot hotter compared to the test conditions, but I don't mind this too much as I enjoy to race in hard conditions. I am looking forward to getting back to racing after the break.”
