Sofuoglu on pace despite fall

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda's Kenan Sofuoglu was left to reflect on a topsy-turvy couple of days after recovering from a heavy fall to post competitive times at the FIM Supersport World Championship test in Valencia.

Sofuoglu suffered a high side on his Honda CBR600RR on his first lap on Wednesday, necessitating three stitches in the index finger of his left hand.

The 2007 champion returned to post 65 laps in the afternoon session, before hitting the track yesterday to test a host of new parts on the Honda machine.

Sofuoglu posted a best time of one minute 36.1 seconds, and despite the pain of his injury was largely upbeat.

"A difficult test because I only had one good hand and found it really difficult to use the clutch," he said. "I was feeling so confident before I went out [on Wednesday] morning, but maybe a little too confident.

"I touched the white line between turns four and five and had a very big crash. I slid for a long way and my leathers are pretty bad.

"But, although I have been really sore, I was able to do consistently fast laps, which was especially good after 20 laps on an old tyre.

"We were able to test some new parts as well and these improved the bike even more after our last test at Portimao.

"I'll get some rest now and get fit again for the next test back in Portugal at the end of next month."