Former AMA Pro Flat Track Rookie of the Year PJ Jacobsen to Head Up Honda's Efforts in 2016 World Supersport Championship

Jacobsen to spearhead Honda’s World Supersport assault in 2016 Patrick ‘PJ’ Jacobsen and the Honda World Supersport Team are ready to challenge for top honours in the upcoming 2016 FIM Supersport World Championship campaign. The 22-year-old from Montgomery, New York, will line up alongside compatriot and World Superbike rider Nicky Hayden in the Honda garage to ride a Honda CBR600RR prepared by Ten Kate Racing, with the goal to become the first American rider to clinch the ultimate prize in the series. Last year, Jacobsen joined the Honda family from the seventh World Supersport round onwards. Since then, he rose to the status of championship contender by winning two races and finishing on the podium five times out of six rounds. He eventually ended the season in runner-up spot, and also added two pole positions and two fastest laps to his impressive racing CV. The opening round of the World Supersport season will take place at Phillip Island on February 28th and it will be preceded by a two-day official test on the same track, scheduled for the Monday and Tuesday. PJ Jacobsen: “I feel really good going into the new season with Honda and I can’t wait to get started. It’s great to have the opportunity to race with Honda and Ten Kate. The goals for the season are high; I finished second in the championship last year, so the only thing left is to get the number one spot. It’s not going to be easy as there are a lot of competitive riders out there this year, but the key will be to be riding at the front, race in, race out. I intend to take every round as it comes though, starting at Phillip Island of course. I would like to thank Ten Kate and Honda for this opportunity; we’ll do our best to make our fans proud!” Ronald ten Kate: “We’re happy to confirm our World Supersport effort for 2016. PJ’s perseverance has been rewarded and I believe we have now have the team, the bike and the rider to do well this year. We already tested with PJ before Christmas and he knows the bike inside out, so hopefully we’ll be able to be competitive straight away. I’m really looking forward to the start of the season. I would also like to give a big thank you to all the sponsors who kept believing and supporting this project.” Marco Chini, Honda's WorldSBK Operations Manager: “We’re happy to have PJ under Honda’s wing for the 2016 season. Last year he showed everybody what he’s capable of and he surely deserved this new shot at the title. PJ’s talent, combined with Ten Kate’s vast experience in the series, make us very confident for the season ahead.” Copyright Free Images All information © Honda Racing 2016 For more copyright-free media please visit media.hondaproracing.com or email media@hondaproracing.com

Kyle Smith Announced as Team Pata Honda's World Supersport Pilot for 2015 Season

News    24.01.2015                 Kyle Smith to ride 2015 Pata Honda CBR600RR British rider Kyle Smith has been announced as the rider to take on Michael van der Mark’s title-winning Pata Honda CBR600RR in the 2015 World Supersport championship.   Smith, 23, was born near Huddersfield in the UK but moved to Spain with his family aged six. He lives in Calp, 120km south of Valencia, in the region where he began his racing career.   After some years and regional championships in junior motocross, Smith had his first road race in Majorca in 2004, but it wasn’t for another three years that he began to race consistently, ending up in Spain’s CEV 125GP series.   After forays in Formula Extreme and Moto2, he competed in three European Superstock 600 races on a Racedays Honda CBR600RR in 2013, taking victory at Jerez in Spain before stepping up to the Superstock 1000 series last season.   With two podiums from the eight races, Smith’s performance earned him eighth place overall and the attention of the Pata Honda World Supersport team management.   Smith’s first test will be with the Pata Honda team at Phillip Island in Australia, just ahead of this season’s first World Supersport championship round on 22 February, and the young Yorkshireman is relishing the challenge ahead.   Kyle Smith - profile   Date of birth                 16 September 1991 Height                           167cm Weight                          63kg Place of birth                Huddersfield, UK Home town                   Calp, Spain Race number                111 Race machine              Pata Honda CBR600RR First road race              Palma de Mallorca   Career Highlights   2001                Valencia State MX65 2002                Champion, Valencia State MX65 2003                Champion, Valencia State MX85                         Spanish national MX85 championship 2004                Spanish national MX85 championship                         First road race 2005                2nd, Spanish National MX85 championship 2006                Spanish national MX championship 2007                4th, Cuna de Campeones Bancaja championship 2008                30th, CEV 125GP championship 2009                14th, CEV 125GP championship 2010                7th, CEV Formula Extreme                         CEV Kawasaki Ninja Cup champion 2011                8th, CEV Formula Extreme 2012                2nd, CEV Formula Extreme 2013                19th, CEV Moto2 championship                         12th, Superstock 600 European championship (three races)                         Moto 2 World Championship 2014                8th, FIM Superstock 1000 Cup   Kyle Smith This is a fantastic opportunity for me – I’ve got the bike, I’ve got the team behind me, I’ve got support from Honda, so I think this is going to be a year for me to prove who I am. I like CBR machines and although there is a bunch of new tracks for me to learn this year, I’ve not had too many difficulties learning new circuits in the past. It starts at Phillip Island which everyone seems to like and I’ve watched loads of videos of races there, so I can’t wait. Set-up is the big thing, of course, but, with the experience of the Pata Honda team behind me, I couldn’t be in a better position. I always put pressure on myself and I always race to win. That’s what I aim to be doing this season. Ronald ten Kate  - team manager Supersport for us has always been like a breeding ground where we try to bring on young riders that we believe in. Kyle matches that requirement and he showed some quite exceptional performances on the Honda CBR in Superstock 1000 last year. He’s shown that he’s a proper racer and, on a proven bike in an experienced team, we really think he can do well. We’re hoping to get him at least on the podium, but I think sometimes he’ll be able to do even better than that. Carlo Fiorani  - racing operations manager, Honda Europe After taking the World Supersport title again last year with the Ten Kate-run Pata Honda team, we accomplished our target of bringing a young rider, Michael van der Mark, from Superstock to Superbike. This is always Honda’s ambition and now we have a new challenge with another young rider, Kyle Smith. He’s a great talent and we’ve been watching him in Superstock for the last couple of years where he has done a good job. Our focus is to grow him up with the team and to fight again for the World Supersport championship. From a technical point of view we have the same team, but they are always looking to continue the development of the Honda CBR600RR, which we expect to be highly competitive once more in the championship.   Copyright-free images for editorial use only © 2015 Pata Honda.

2014 World Supersport Champion Michael van der Mark Wins Season Finale Race for Team Pata Honda in Qatar

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Losail - Qatar    02.11.2014                 Van der Mark rounds off stunning season with dominant Qatar podium Pata Honda’s Michael van der Mark concluded his domination of the 2014 World Supersport championship with a classy and dominant win under the floodlights at Losail in Qatar this evening.   Starting from second place on the grid, the 2014 World Supersport champion shot into an early lead on the first of 15 laps at the 5.380km Losail International Circuit and was never headed, breaking the old 2009 lap record no fewer than three times.   His Pata Honda team-mate, Lorenzo Zanetti, finished in seventh place this evening. The 27-year-old Italian battled for a podium position in the opening laps but was unable to sustain his challenge after losing rear grip.   Zanetti finishes the season in fourth place overall in the championship points standings, but has the satisfaction of having taken a popular race victory at his home round of Imola in May.   Meanwhile, van der Mark’s emphatic victory this evening over Thailand’s Ratthapark Wilairot, on another Honda CBR600RR, and Jules Cluzel, who finished third, was his sixth of the season, to go with four second places – the lowest position in which the 22-year-old has finished all year.   The Dutch ace begins a new chapter in his career with the Pata Honda World Superbike team in 2015 and will test the team’s Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP for the first time in three weeks time at Jerez in Spain. Michael van der Mark  - 1st It’s been a really great season. At the beginning we all knew that it might be possible to fight for the championship and we achieved it in an incredible way. Six wins, four second places and only one zero in the first round is a good record to finish with. The team showed how good they are and how good the CBR is. And even myself, I think I showed I had everything to win the title. Up to this weekend I really wanted to win my last race in World Supersport and now I’m really looking forward to a new step and a new adventure next year. I have a lot of work to do and a lot to learn, but I think I’ve grown a lot this year and I can’t wait for next season. Lorenzo Zanetti  - 7th I had a good start to the race but after the first three or four laps I started to struggle with the rear tyre dropping. When this happens I start to push the front and I start to fight with the bike. We haven’t been able to find a solution to this all season and even though it’s possible to do a fast lap in qualifying, the race is often very different. It’s disappointing because I think I have had the potential all season to fight for the podium, but it has not always been possible. Pieter Breddels  - technical co-ordinator Michael just showed this evening the true class of a world champion. He took the lead from the start and kept it until the chequered flag. The champion has made a superb exit from World Supersport and showed once again that he has been the best rider on the best bike all season. It’s a very exciting prospect to see him riding the bigger CBR Fireblade soon. Lorenzo had a tough time and his result was a little disappointing. He was battling in the early stages but couldn’t keep it going, which is a shame for him and the team. Weather Night Race Air 25°C Track 28°C Humidity 50%   Race Results - Losail - 5.380km, 15 laps   1   Michael van der Mark 30m42.722s NED HONDA Pata Honda World Supersport Team 2   Ratthapark Wilairot +3.570s THA HONDA Core PTR Honda 3   Jules Cluzel +5.124s FRA MV MV Agusta RC 4   Lucas Mahias +5.476s FRA YAMAHA MG Competition 5   Kev Coghlan +5.578s GBR YAMAHA DMC Panavto-Yamaha 6   Roberto Rolfo +8.275s ITA KAWASAKI Team GO Eleven 7   Lorenzo Zanetti +8.965s ITA HONDA Pata Honda World Supersport Team 8   Kenan Sofuoglu +12.367s TUR KAWASAKI San Carlo Puccetti Racing 9   Roberto Tamburini +22.923s ITA KAWASAKI San Carlo Puccetti Racing 10   Massimo Roccoli +23.081s ITA MV MV Agusta Reparto Corse   Championship Standings   1   Michael van der Mark 230 pts NED HONDA Pata Honda World Supersport Team 2   Jules Cluzel 148 pts FRA MV MV Agusta RC 3   Florian Marino 125 pts FRA KAWASAKI Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres 4   Lorenzo Zanetti 112 pts ITA HONDA Pata Honda World Supersport Team 5   Kenan Sofuoglu 109 pts TUR KAWASAKI San Carlo Puccetti Racing 6   Patrick Jacobson 99 pts USA KAWASAKI Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres 7   Roberto Rolfo 97 pts ITA KAWASAKI Team GO Eleven 8   Kenan Sofuoglu 94 pts TUR KAWASAKI San Carlo Puccetti Racing 9   Ratthapark Wilairot 70 pts THA HONDA Core PTR Honda 10   Raffaele De Rosa 70 pts ITA HONDA Core PTR Honda   Copyright-free images © 2014 Pata Honda.

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