Courtesy of Jeff Ware at Rapid Bikes.
Friday February 27 2009.
World Supersport Champion Andrew Pitt Fastest On Day One
Reigning World Supersport Champion Aussie Andrew Pitt has topped the timesheets on day one of qualifying for round one of the World Supersport Championship at Phillip Island today.
Pitt, who won the event in 2008, was feeling very relaxed and happy after the day’s sessions.
Andrew Pitt, “Today we concentrated on tyre choice, which is very limited. This morning I did 22-laps on the hard tyre and got some very useful data from that run. In this afternoon’s qualifying session I went out on the soft tyre and got a time early, then completed the session on the harder compound.
“Unfortunately the tyre did not last the distance and we are having some trouble with the compounds available not handling the heat here today, where the track temperature is over forty-degrees.”
Pitt was confident that the team will dial the problems out tomorrow.
“The bike is fantastic and I feel good. We just need to get that rear tyre lasting and tomorrow’s cooler forecast will help, along with some changes we have planned.
“I was only 3km/h under the fastest speed on the straight, and that was without a slipstream, so I am very happy with the performance of the engine today.”
QUALIFYING ONE, PHILLIP ISLAND WSS SAT 27.2.2009
1 1 Pitt A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1'34.833 #8232;
2 54 Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1'34.895 #8232;
3 99 Foret F. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'35.063 #8232;
4 24 McCoy G. (AUS) Triumph Daytona 675 1'35.431 #8232;
5 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R6 1'35.469 #8232;
6 8 Aitchison M. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1'35.589 #8232;
7 13 West A. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1'35.641 #8232;
8 69 Nannelli G. (ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 1'35.644 #8232;
9 127 Harms R. (DEN) Honda CBR600RR 1'35.778 #8232;
10 50 Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1'35.833 #8232;
11 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR600RR 1'35.885 #8232;
12 77 Veneman B. (NED) Suzuki GSX-R600 1'35.947 #8232;
13 26 Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'36.075 #8232;
14 117 Praia M. (POR) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.220 #8232;
15 51 Pirro M. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'36.234 #8232;
16 21 Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1'36.247 #8232;
17 55 Roccoli M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.286 #8232;
18 105 Vizziello G. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.493 #8232;
19 83 Holland R. (AUS) Honda CBR600RR 1'36.915 #8232;
20 5 Pradita T. (INA) Yamaha YZF R6 1'36.918 #8232;
21 19 Szkopek P. (POL) Triumph Daytona 675 1'36.972 #8232;
22 96 Smrz M. (CZE) Triumph Daytona 675 1'37.045 #8232;
23 30 Günther J. (GER) Honda CBR600RR 1'37.170 #8232;
24 9 Dell'Omo D. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'37.210 #8232;
25 32 Lai F. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1'37.719 #8232;
26 7 Vostárek P. (CZE) Honda CBR600RR 1'37.740 #8232;
27 28 Vos A. (NED) Honda CBR600RR 1'37.914 #8232;
28 78 Geronimi S. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R600 1'39.445 #8232;
29 88 Guerra Y. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 1'40.133 #8232;
30 71 Morillas J. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R6 1'40.523
Andrew Pitt
Team: Hannspree Ten Kate Honda.
Website: www.andrewpitt.com
Racing number: 1
Race machine: Honda CBR600RR.
Date of birth: February 19, 1976.
Birthplace: Kempsey NSW, Australia.
First race: 1994 Oran Park, NSR250 Formula 2
First win: 1994 Oran Park, NSR 250 Formula 2 (Won first ever race)
World Supersport debut: 2000, Australia, Phillip island
First World Supersport win: 2002 Australian, Phillip Island.
Total World Supersport wins: 7
Total World Supersport podiums: 21
World Superbike debut: 2005, Qatar, Losail
First World Superbike win: 2006, Misano
Total World Superbike wins: 1
Total World Superbike podium places: 6
.
World Championship Titles
World Supersport Champion 2001 - Kawasaki, 2008 - Honda.
.
Career Highlights
1996: 2nd Australian 250cc production Championship
1997: Victorian Supersport Champion
1998: 2nd Australian Supersport Championship
1999: Australian Supersport Champion, 2nd Superbike - Kawasaki
2000: 10th World Supersport Championship - Kawasaki
2001: World Supersport Champion - Kawasaki
2002: 5th World Supersport Championship
26th MotoGP World Championship - Kawasaki
2003: 26th MotoGP World Championship - Kawasaki
2004: 27th MotoGP World Championship - Moriwaki
12th World Supersport Championship - Yamaha
2005: 8th World Superbike Championship - Yamaha
2006: 5th World Superbike Championship - Yamaha
2007: 17th World Supersport Championship - Honda
2008: World Supersport Champion - Honda
PREVIOUSLY.........
Tuesday February 24 2009.
Motorcycle Champion Pitching In For Victorian Bushfire Victims
Two times World Supersport Champion Andrew Pitt is back on home turf preparing for this weekend’s WSBK event at Phillip Island, Victoria.
Although 33-year-old Pitt, who is a seasoned Superbike, MotoGP and Supersport World Championship contender, is out to defend his 2008 World Supersport Title in 2009, his hope for victory at Phillip Island is not just about another win to back up his stunning 2008 home victory.
Andrew Pitt, “As much as I want a third World Championship, I’m not looking that far ahead so early in the season. What is more important to me right now is winning races. That is what I love to do and that is what I want to do for not only my Australian fans, but also for my fellow countrymen who have been effected by the horrific bushfires in Victoria, and to the thousands of emergency services personnel who have stuck their necks out for all of us.”
In a showing of real Aussie sportsmanship, Pitt has pledged to donate his prize money from this Sunday’s race to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund.
Now a resident of the Isle Of Man and formerly of the Gold Coast, Queensland, Andrew grew up in the NSW bush and knows the devastation that bushfires can cause.
“I grew up in Kempsey, a rural area on the Far North Coast of NSW. The town is surrounded by bushland and I went through a few fires as a kid.”
Pitt (2001/2008 champion) and teammate Kenan Sofuoglu (2007) have just completed a two-day test at the Phillip Island circuit in preparation for the 2009 opener at the same circuit this weekend (27 February – 1 March).
Sofuoglu edged out his teammate by just one tenth of a second, indicating a thrilling and highly competitive season ahead for the Honda CBR600RR-mounted riders.
Andrew Pitt – best time 1’34.8s
“The times have been good. Kenan and I are only a tenth of a second apart and we are a fair way ahead of the Yamahas. We had some mechanical and electrical problems with the bike on Saturday but still managed a very positive hour in the morning. On Sunday we made some improvements to the bike and I did a full race simulation, which has given me a freshen-up after a five-week break since our last test and a good opportunity to get a feel for my favourite circuit after a long break from it.”
Pitt has been training hard over the break, with a particularly strong cycling regime helping him stay in top shape for 2009.
“I was a little sore after the test on Sunday thanks to a small get-off on old tyres but generally I really feel I’m fitter than I have ever been and I also feel like I’m riding at my peak.
I have a lot less to prove than some of the other guys. I’ve already won two World Championships so that is a lot of pressure off. Now I can focus more on winning races weekend-to-weekend. I’m really looking forward to racing with the new guys and it is going to be a great year.
I’m looking forward to the race this weekend, especially starting the season at home as World Champion.”
Andrew Pitt
Team: Hannspree Ten Kate Honda.
Website: www.andrewpitt.com
Racing number: 1
Race machine: Honda CBR600RR.
Date of birth: February 19, 1976.
Birthplace: Kempsey NSW, Australia.
First race: 1994 Oran Park, NSR250 Formula 2
First win: 1994 Oran Park, NSR 250 Formula 2 (Won first ever race)
World Supersport debut: 2000, Australia, Phillip island
First World Supersport win: 2002 Australian, Phillip Island.
Total World Supersport wins: 7
Total World Supersport podiums: 21
World Superbike debut: 2005, Qatar, Losail
First World Superbike win: 2006, Misano
Total World Superbike wins: 1
Total World Superbike podium places: 6
.
World Championship Titles
World Supersport Champion 2001 - Kawasaki, 2008 - Honda.
.
Career Highlights
1996: 2nd Australian 250cc production Championship
1997: Victorian Supersport Champion
1998: 2nd Australian Supersport Championship
1999: Australian Supersport Champion, 2nd Superbike - Kawasaki
2000: 10th World Supersport Championship - Kawasaki
2001: World Supersport Champion - Kawasaki
2002: 5th World Supersport Championship
26th MotoGP World Championship - Kawasaki
2003: 26th MotoGP World Championship - Kawasaki
2004: 27th MotoGP World Championship - Moriwaki
12th World Supersport Championship - Yamaha
2005: 8th World Superbike Championship - Yamaha
2006: 5th World Superbike Championship - Yamaha
2007: 17th World Supersport Championship - Honda
2008: World Supersport Champion - Honda
About Andrew Pitt – [www.andrewpitt.com]
Andrew Pitt joined another Ten Kate Honda legend Sebastien Charpentier in an exclusive club in 2008. Each rider has now won the World Supersport Championship twice since its promotion to full FIM status in 1999, and thus far the Australian and the Frenchman are the only riders to have managed this feat. Pitt, the Champion in 2001 with Kawasaki, secured the title for the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team last year, winning five races along the way. Pitt, 33, started racing at a relatively late stage compared to some but after finishing runner-up in the Australian 250cc production championship he moved up the classes and eventually secured an overall second ranking in the Australian Supersport championship in 1998. He went on to win the national Supersport Championship one year later, and earned second in the Superbike class. Australia was clearly getting too small for Pitt’s expanding talents and the rider from the Gold Coast accepted an offer to ride for the factory Kawasaki World Supersport team in 2000. He posted good results in some races but finishing tenth overall was not in his pre-season plan, and he put his hard-won track knowledge to the best possible use in 2001. Despite not quite winning an individual race in either of those first two WSS seasons, he took the championship itself in 2001, after a dramatic final day of action at Imola.
Finishing his 2002 WSS season fifth Pitt made the leap to MotoGP earlier than he thought, as a replacement for an injured Kawasaki rider in the last races of that same year.
In 2003 he was given a full MotoGP season but found the factory Kawasaki four-stroke unable to match his ultimate ambitions and the reality of the situation saw him finish 26th overall, scoring points in only three races.
Pitt’s hard-won MotoGP experience was transferred to the Moriwaki Honda team in testing and three races during the 2004 season, but the project was finally shelved. A few wild card rides for the official Yamaha World Supersport team in 2004 placed him overall 12th but his positive approach to the job was more than enough to earn him two seasons of full WSB competition for the lead Yamaha team.
Pitt grabbed his opportunity tightly and scored a final placing of 8th in WSB in 2005. His first race win in this class helped him to fifth in 2006, but once more fate had Pitt in his sights.
Unexpectedly let go at the end of the year, Pitt joined in the ill-fated Ilmor MotoGP project at the start of 2007, but the team were soon unable to continue and Pitt once more became unemployed.
He was still one of the most accurate and powerful guns for hire, however, and his two appearances as a replacement rider for the Hannspree Ten Kate WSS team in 2007 saw him score two second places.
When the Ten Kate team’s double world champion Sebastien Charpentier decided to retire, and 2007 champion Kenan Sofuoglu was drafted into the Superbike effort for 2008, Pitt was almost an automatic choice for the most dominant manufacturer and team in Supersport racing.
This choice was vindicated by his championship win, the seventh consecutive Riders’ title won by a Honda rider in the Ten Kate set-up. Back for more in 2009, Pitt’s hunger for another championship is unquestioned…
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