Foret started the race from pole position but the French rider noticed a problem with his quick-shifter as he made his way to the stating grid. His crew tried unsuccessfully to fix the problem so Foret was forced to race without the device.
Foret went into an early lead but slotted back into second place behind Rea, where he stayed comfortably until two laps from the end when a red flag due to oil on the track brought an early end to the race.
The result moves the 2002 champion into joint second place in the series, alongside Broc Parkes and behind Chaz Davies, who finished third today.
Fabien Foret – 2ndFirst, I want to thank the team for all their work thi s weekend. We were unlucky with the quick-shifter and they tried to change it on the grid, but it was more a problem inside with the electronics, so it didn’t work. I was really worried how I would be able to race. I was losing a lot of time, especially going uphill and having to downshift manually the whole time. I didn’t resist when Gino went past but it looked like he was really on the limit. I was struggling a bit but stayed with him – it was easy in some corners and more difficult in others. I was planning to attack him in the last two laps but then the red flag came out. It was disappointing, of course, but I’m happy in one way because we’re second in the championship and it turned out to be not a bad weekend. The confidence is back, the team’s way of working is now really good after Aragon, and I’m looking forward to going to Silverstone to try again.
Florian Marino – 9thI didn’t have such a good start and I lost quite a lot of time in the first few laps with lots of passing going on. When I settled down I still had to try a few things because of all the time we lost in practice. There were still some areas where I think we could have improved the bike. My physical condition was good, though, and I was able to fight all the way through. Even when Ellison passed me and opened a small gap, I was able to stay with him. The feeling changed with the bike over the last three of four laps and the front nearly went a few times. I tried to pass Ellison again but ended up making a few mistakes. The positive thing is that I was only 16 seconds behind the first rider, which is my best this season. It could have been a lot worse with all the problems we had in practice and warm-up. The crew worked really hard so thanks for their belief in me. I’ve learned a lot here and I’m feeling positive, which is good for the next races.
Ronald ten Kate – team-managerThe broken quick-shifter was a big problem for Fabien. Although we replaced it, it was not a mechanical problem – maybe deeper in the electronics or in the wiring loom – and that was his biggest enemy. We’re sorry for that because we’re sure he had the speed in him to win today. The red flag didn’t help either because he was just lining up for a last lap attack. Anyway, it was another good podium result for Fabien and the bike has improved a lot. We’re looking forward to a two-day test at Assen next week where we’ll continue working on the direction we found here. Florian needs the two-day test as well, because we weren’t able to make a similar step with him as we did with Fabien this weekend.
2011 World Supersport championship, round seven – Brno, Czech Republic (5.403km) - 15 laps:1 Gino Rea (GBR) Honda 31m21.642s2 Fabi en Foret (FRA) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +0.448s3 Chaz Davies (GBR) Yamaha +0.8574 David Salom (ESP) Kawasaki +2.3755 Roberto Tamburini (ITA) Yamaha +5.5056 Sam Lowes (GBR) Honda +6.8909 Florian Marino (FRA) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda +16.665
Championship points after seven of 12 rounds:1 Davies 121, 2 Foret, Broc Parkes (AUS) Kawasaki 85, 4 Salom 84, 5 Luca Scassa (ITA) Yamaha 79, 9 Marino 44
Next round: Silverstone, UK – 29-31 July.
