2011 WSS teams: Hannspree Ten Kate Honda
With their WSBK wing now running Castrol title sponsorship, the WSS squad will once more run Hannspree colours, as the Taiwanese consumer products manufacturer stays onboard with a team that has brought them much success. The family firm, with owner Gerrit Ten Kate and his nephew Ronald running a unique system which features staff which are almost exclusively from the same small Dutch town of Nieuwleusen, is incredibly tight-knit and supportive of each other. A band of brothers, you could say, who unlike most teams sleep in their trucks overnight during races weekends.
In terms of riders, last year's World Champion Kenan Sofuoglu has moved on, as has his riding partner Michele Pirro, but the exit of one proven world champion has brought about the return of another.
Fabien Foret won the 2002 WSS crown for Honda, Ten Kate and himself, and now he returns with his desire to win as sharp as ever. The 37-year-old rider's winning record puts him third on the list of all time victors, and he is easily the most successful rider to still be competing in this class.
The other 2011 rider may be the same nationality as Fabien - French - but 17-year-old Florian Marino is at the opposite end of the experience spectrum. A very talented rider who challenged for the championship in the Superstock 600 European Championship in 2010 (also on a Ten Kate Honda), Marino is almost a complete rookie in WSS. He did race one time already, for the Ten Kate Junior Team at Magny-Cours last year, when the 600 Superstock title had been decided.
The Ten Kate team is legend in this class of racing, nothing less. They have taken Foret, Chris Vermeulen, Karl Muggeridge, Sebastien Charpentier (twice), Andrew Pitt and Kenan Sofuoglu (twice) to the crown. Since 2007 that team has enjoyed Hannspree sponsorship, which continues for another year.
A series of winter tests is now being completed, including a two-day test at Phillip Island even before the official tests start, which shows that they are looking as well-prepared and serious as ever.
