The Biker Place

The 2007 World Superbikes Championship ended well for Hannspree Ten Kate Honda with James Toseland clinching the riders championship ahead of Noriyuki Haga and Max Biaggi. Team-mate Roberto Rolfo finished 8th in the riders championship.

2008 will see a whole new rider lineup for the Hannspree team, who will have 3 riders this year. Toseland has left the team to move on to MotoGP and the Yamaha Tech 3 team and Rolfo has left for the Altea Honda team. In for the new season come former MotoGP rider Carlos Checa, current British Superbikes champion Ryuichi Kiyonari and current World Supersport champion Kenan Sofuoglu.

Checa, 34, is Toseland’s big-name replacement. The Spaniard leaves Moto GP, coming off the back of a disappointing season, after 13 years in the series and a career that has netted him two wins, although none since 1998. A lot of pressure will be on the Spaniard’s shoulders as Toseland’s replacement, and we wait with baited breath to see how he reacts.

Kiyonari, 25, arrives at the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team having just won the British Superbikes championship for the second successive year for the HM Plant Honda team. Kiyo, who had an ill-fated spell in MotoGP in 2003 as a replacement rider, has built a solid reputation in the British championship and will have high expectations for the coming season. As a favourite rider of mine i hope Kiyo is competitive in 2008 for the Hanspree team.

Kenan Sofuoglu, 23, arrives in World Superbikes having been dominant in the World Supersport Championship for the Hannspree Ten Kate team. I am personally looking forward to seeing how the Turkish rider adapts to the superbikes and think Sofuoglu will be an exciting addition to the championship.

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda have also officially announced their Supersport squad as they aim to win a sixth straight rider’s title, following the victory for Kenan Sofuoglu in 2007.

Twenty-year-old Ulsterman Jonny Rea, who was Kiyonari’s team-mate in British Superbikes this year, will be joined by Andrew Pitt, who raced in two events earlier this year after his Moto GP career was ended along with that of the Ilmor team.

It will be really interesting to see how Rea gets on next season, after an impressive season in British Superbikes. Rea will be hoping for a good season before stepping up to the World Superbikes championship in 2009.

Ultimately i think Ten Kate Honda have re-stocked well for the 2008 season, especially in picking up young and up-coming riders like Kiyonari, Sofuoglu and Rea. I’m not sure how well Carlos Checa will do for them next season, he seemed a little lackustre in MotoGP last year, and a lot of pressure will be on the Spaniard to replace James Toseland.

Want to discuss this article? Sign up for the new social network for bikers. Think MySpace or Facebook but for bikers only.