Ten Kate make shock switch to Ohlins suspension

Following a test at Magny Cours on Tuesday, the Ten Kate Honda team of Jonathan Rea and Carlos Checa will use Ohlins Andreani suspension at Misano this weekend starting with the opening Free Practice at Misano today.

Their decision to switch from WP, who they have won seven WSS titles and two WSB crowns with has rocked the paddock as significant hardware changes mid season are virtually unheard of in modern racing.

The team plan to back to back the WP with the Ohlins today before confirming a direction for the weekend.

Speaking exclusively to MCN, Team boss Ronald Ten Kate said:

“We tested Kayaba suspension at the start of the year and we made a decision that we were going to do one other test with another manufacturer before the end of the season.

At Magny Cours we tested Ohlins and that gave us a lot of positives.

“I think that where we are in the championship right now it’s clear that winning races is not realistic. The plan for the test was to evaluate options for 2010 and build some experience.

“It was never in our plan to run the Ohlins this weekend, but there were enough positives in testing that we had to shift”

For full story on their decision to switch and the the teams results see MCN out Wednesday 24th June.