World Supersport Championship
Round 9: Brno, Czech Republic
July 20, 2008
Honda domination: that’s the only way to describe the latest round of the World Supersport championships at the Brno, Czech Republic round. Honda CBR600RRs swept the podium, taking seven of the top-ten finishes on race day.
HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR rider Jonathan Rea narrowly passed—by only two hundredths of a second—his HANNspree Ten Kate Honda teammate, World Supersport Championship points leader Andrew Pitt, to score his first-ever World Supersport win.
Pitt now owns the new lap record at this repaved circuit, with a new best time of 2.04.062 coming into the 18th and very last lap, as he tried to overhaul Rea on the run to the finishing line.
The extreme competitiveness of this year’s Brno race was underlined by the fact that Pitt’s new lap record is over two seconds faster than the previous best, set last year by reigning World Supersport Champion and current HANNspree Ten Kate Honda World Superbike rider Kenan Sofuoglu.
The third place podium was won by Josh Brookes (HANNspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) who was a major contender in the leading group, beginning with his third-place slot on the grid. He was 1.4 seconds behind Rea and Pitt at the checkered flag.
Any one of five Honda riders could have won this spectator’s dream of a race. The lead group of ten riders contended for podium places before the pack began to separate eventually. Robbin Harms of HANNspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR, was another top contender until he was forced to discontinue racing due to technical problems on the penultimate lap, while he was running in third.
Craig Jones (Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR) led for eight laps before he was forced from the front, though he showed great mastery of the Brno circuit. He attempted to continue racing despite a late-race misfire, but was forced to pull into the pits.
Gianluca Nannelli and Russell Holland (both HANNspree Althea Honda CBR600RR riders) ran in the top group for a time but slipped back to finish sixth and seventh, respectively.
In the overall championship standings, Pitt is a clear leader with 133 points to Brookes’ 101 and Broc Parkes’ 100. Fabien Foret is in fourth place with 97 points, despite missing this race after cracking two vertebrae in a Friday qualifying crash (he escaped with no neurological damage despite his double fracture). In winning the weekend’s race, Rea now sits in fifth with 92 points.
Honda has a 52-point lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship as the series heads for the next round at Brands Hatch on August 3.
Winner Jonathan Rea:
"I am really happy to come to a new circuit, and to win is a really good result. I wasn’t expecting to win here and was putting all my expectations on Brands Hatch. We knew from yesterday morning’s free practice that we had the pace to run up front and fight for a win. I want to thank Andrew [Pitt]; we have worked hard together as a team to find a set of tires that worked for both of us over a race distance. While all the others were going out on a one-lap mission, Andrew and I put a race set-up together. I want to thank my crew who have done such a good job this weekend. The bikes were pretty good and we had a good set-up.”
Andrew Pitt:
“I am pretty happy with my results today. It’s good for the championship and a great result for the team. Another one-two for the Honda Ten Kate CBR600RRs, just like we managed before, in Assen. For most of the race I tried to stay out of trouble and save the tires to the end. I got caught out a little bit on the second to last lap but pushed back to third. I feel like I was able to get past Johnny [Jonathan Rea] somewhere but he put a pretty good last lap together. I’m happy enough finishing second. We tested a lot of long runs in the qualifying sessions and knew what tires to use. It’s a good result and congratulations to Johnny.”
Brookes said:
“I got a good start and took the lead for the first two laps, but the bike felt a bit heavy and difficult in the corners. I think the full tank just made the bike hard to handle and I couldn't keep up with the leaders. I dropped to seventh, but the pace wasn't so fast and that allowed me to take a few laps getting comfortable. The race became more competitive towards the end, but I felt good enough to start challenging the front-runners again. I pushed really hard in the final laps and was able to finish the race in third and take my fourth podium of the season.”
Harms said:
“This was one of my best races in a long time. The bike was working extremely well and, although I had problems with my rear tire sliding too much at the start of the race, it improved after a while. As the grip level increased, I could work my way up the field. Towards the end of the race I was having a big fight with the Honda Ten Kate boys and even took the lead for a while—and that was a lot of fun! I was in third, going into the last lap, and my plan was to overtake them both just before the hill but, before I could make my move, something went wrong with my bike.”
Jones said:
“I am gutted. I was enjoying the race and knew I had the pace to go for the win. I was focused on keeping my lead and building a gap when I came out of a corner and immediately felt a loss of power. I had to pull across or the riders behind me would have hit me, and then I tried to keep going but it got worse and I was forced to retire. I am also gutted for the whole Parkalgar Honda team, everyone worked real hard to get me to the front and the result does not do the team justice.”
Nannelli said:
“I’m pretty happy with my sixth position even though I'd have liked to have done better today. But when Aitchison crashed in front of me I lost the first group of riders. My race pace was very strong and I was having a good dice with Russell [Holland]. Unfortunately, I chose a soft rear tire and starting from the middle of the race wasn’t able to ride my bike as I would have liked, and I couldn’t really chase the riders in front of me.”
Holland said:
“My start was not so bad, and in the first laps my pace was fast and I was able to make two or three passes. I stayed behind Gianluca [Nannelli] for a few laps because I did not have enough confidence with my front tire to pass him and the other riders of our group. During the last laps, I pushed very hard trying to maintain my position.”
World Supersport Championship – Brno, Czech Republic
1. J. Rea (Honda)
2. A. Pitt (Honda)
3. J. Brookes (Honda)
4. B. Parkes (Yam)
5. B. Veneman (Suz)
6. G. Nannelli (Honda)
7. R. Holland (Honda)
8. M. Lagrive (Honda)
World Supersport Championship Standings – After 8 of 13 rounds
1. A. Pitt (Honda) 133
2. J. Brookes (Honda) 101
3. B. Parkes (Yam) 100
4. Foret (Yam) 97
5. J. Rea (Honda) 92
6. J. Lascorz (Honda) 81
7. C. Jones (Honda) 80
8. R. Harms (Honda) 50