Race Team Ten Kate

This is the Ten Kate we all know and love . What you never see is en Kate has come a long way in the what happens on Monday Ten Kate’s success at the track is last decade. Ever since doing a mate a thanks to hard work in the shop T favour way back in 1993, tuning his race engine, it’s never looked back. With a history knee deep in dirt, this foray into short circuit racing propelled the Dutch family-run team towards its first world title. Bigwig Gerrit Ten Kate’s initial attempt at fettling a race motor saw his mate blitzing rivals on the straights. Business picked up fast and national titles fell his way as crucial race experience mounted. The new millennium saw the squad tentatively enter the hotly contested world yonks, but its bikes are not built by HRC. The supersport series full-time after a couple of fact that they like to go down their own route, season’s gentle practice. rather than the race-kit one, shows that not Pretty soon, its bikes were thumping the only do they think out of the box, but they ‘official’ backed Castrol squad, scoring don’t need direct support from HRC to win. a maiden title in 2002 through French It’s been well funded for a few years by mentalist . Only last year, when companies like Hannspree, which is partly Yamaha threw MotoGP electronics and Cal what leads to the ‘factory’ tag. But what it is, is Crutchlow at an attempt to wrest the series the most successful private Honda team in from Ten Kate, did the Dutch concede for the WSB history. And they also run a shop. first time in seven seasons. Ironically, it cost Situated next to a canal in its home town, Yamaha so much to do so, it’s since pulled out. Ten Kate’s headquarters stands proud first and Who’s laughing now? foremost as a motorcycle dealer. It’s a big And one thing that’s sure to drive anyone place, and as we were there to lavish Rootsy’s nuts, anyone who knows their racing, is when Fireblade with a bit of Ten Kate loving, it’d be Ten Kate is referred to as a ‘factory’ team. It’s daft to not give you lot the same guided tour received backing from Honda Europe for we were treated to... •

Ten Kate’s WSB Champion’shop

In a single decade Ten Kate has burgeoned into one of the best teams in WSB. It’s time to check out the Dutch master’s pad

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Ten Kate Timeline

Long-standing 1993motorcycle dealer, Gerrit Ten Kate, enters road-racing for the first time as a tuner Ten Kate don’t wait for HRC boxes to come through the post, they make it themselves Ten Kate enters 1994the Dutch supersport series

First full season in 1995Dutch supersport and European supersport

Enters 1996Thunderbikes running with Grand Prix, Iain MacPherson wins one race Pull for power. Ten Kate’s dyno room produces some pretty No, this is not Johnny Rea’s magical figures First foray into wardrobe, but Ten Kate’s 1997world supersport clothing showroom Dutch supersport 1998champions with • Walk through the front door, and the place for wins at world level, every Euro counts, no Team manager Ronald Ten Kate makes a To the left of Parts sits a little Torleif Hartleman resembles most other large dealerships – neat matter where it comes from. Hiding in the brief appearance, looking rather dapper, to say and tidy, with a hefty load of machines for rafters, we discover, is a large collection of a quick hello before running off to a meeting. memorabilia celebration – a bike Competes in world sale, smartly lined up in order of class. What trophies from its various victories. The place Our guide is TKR Products boss-man, Rutger 1999supersport (WSS) you can’t miss, however, is the homage to its exudes racing-sex; if you’re a Ten Kate fan, Belt, happily showing off the shop before from every championship victory and British supersport, with FB scribes race successes. Want a Ten Kate replica what comes next is quite likely to render you constant pestering persuades him into giving ” Rob Frost and Shakey Byrne Honda? This is where to find the real deal. completely blind. up the goods, and taking us behind the scenes. Move further in, and a large staircase obscures Back downstairs, and to the left of ‘parts’, The first room we see is a big store, Ten Kate finishes the parts department, where brightly lit metal sits a little memorabilia celebration; a bike carrying small parts along a sea of racks. Very 2000fifth in WSS, and glass cases are crammed with bike porn. from every championship victory with Fabien dull. But then we’re through and past one of with Karl ‘Muggas’ Muggeridge taking A quick hoof upstairs reveals a coffee shop Foret’s CBR600 taking pride of place. There’s the dyno-rooms in the building. Then there’s a its first win (no, not the normal Dutch sort) and clothing also the endurance racer that Steve Plater nice touch as we see a Honda ’crosser being section. A rather large, well-stocked clothing piloted, equally as sexy as anything on Ten Kate finishes section as it goes. There’s even a clearance display. The bike, that is, not Steve. Ten Kate’s heritage is 2001eighth and sixth in area to pick up a bargain. When you’re racing Sorry, Steve, and get well soon. everywhere, from men world supersport to machines First world 2002supersport title win with Fabien Foret

At the end of the day, Ten Kate sell . And lots of ‘em These aren’t race replicas, these are race realicas. Except for the team scooter

“Can you see that two headed dragon on the CBR600RR over there?” The boys sample some of the local produce wheeled in to a small work space for some on. It’s where they prepare customer bikes for attention. Ten Kate’s dirty past is long distant, race series all over the globe. And to the left of yet it’s nice to see nonetheless. that, is the engine building unit – the first Immediately to the right is the general place we’re denied entry to. Across the way is workshop, where servicing is being carried out a machine shop, with CNC machines and on both CBRs and Goldwings alike. Punters lathe’s up the ying-yang. All of the delicious can even watch from the sidelines, until the home-brewed TKR aftermarket parts are pull of the showroom and a hot cuppa brought to life right here. And scattered becomes too much to resist. So far, so normal around are race bikes, mostly old ones fare, but the next set of double doors leads to including the third JT machine we’ve seen so Nirvana. And rules. Rutger clearly defines the far. Atop the sides sit box after box of new limits of our invitation; what we can and can’t Hondas, and enough flight cases to touch, in essence. Fair enough, we’re now in accommodate even the most modest girl’s the inner sanctum and one of the first modules shoe collection. Staring back at those are a we visit is where Rootsy’s bike will be worked billion tyres, or what looks like, aside a huge • He’s no mug. Muggers scored Ten Kate’s first WSS win It’s one of those designer outlet in 2001 and went on to win the title for them in 2004 stores – but for blokes, not birds

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Ten Kate’s indoor trials section is popular at lunchtimes

James Toseland won Ten Kate’s first world superbike crown

Man and machine in perfect harmony – all made possible by a bike shop in Holland

Worls supersport 2003champions with Chris Vermeulen

WSS champions 2004with , enters WSB with • collection of parts, fairings and anything else World championship winning Vermeulen, finishes fourth overall. deemed fit to dwell there. Drinking in the machines litter Ten Kate’s HQ. Winston Tobacco sponsors Ten Kate So do grinning idiots sheer glut of awesomeness on display, Rutger shows us the newest part of the building, World supersport where the race team is housed. 2005champions with The space is vast, really vast. To the right is Sebastien Charpentier the first of the four huge race trucks that service the team. Even with all four WSS champions behemoths in residence, there’s still enough 2006with Charpentier, space to fit a couple more, if they ever felt the first man to retain the WSS title need. The trucks are in the process of being restocked for the next long drive; spare Double world engines lined up in the side-compartments, 2007champions; and pasta pots topped up in the galley. And back, and considering its previous form, being wins WSB and Kenan again, more retired race bikes line up in view, the underdog for a change sits well on their Sofuoglu takes the WSS title, for new a pair of JT’s ’Blades in the collection this time. shoulders. Above the workshops is another sponsors Hannspree On the left sits another dyno-room, then the stupidly vast storage space with, you got it, yet suspension shop and set-up area. another JT machine standing guard. And WSS champions Understandably, we’re allowed nowhere sorry, lads, we only saw the ‘Do Not Sit’ 2008with Andrew sensitive. As if to emphasise the point, getting stickers after that fact, ahem. Pitt, Johnny Rea makes it a Ten Kate too close to the team office windows while a Further offices sit at the rear of the one-two post-Assen debrief takes place, is quickly building, compounding the impression of how ended by a finger wagged in our direction. No large an operation Ten Kate has grown into, Ten Kate loses problemo, we’re just happy to be here. Past the and just how many souls are involved. There’s 2009the WSS title to office are the race bike workshops and within, a constant stream of shop employees, Yamaha, Johnny Rea takes his first Johnny Rea’s race winning bikes are under mechanics and race team members flitting wins in WSB autopsy, being prepared for Monza. Directly here and there, attending to their own small opposite sit Sofuoglu and Pirro’s Hannspree part of Ten Kate’s ongoing success. It’s almost Johnny Rea and CBR600s, also being dissected to doubtless overwhelming, and certainly impressive. 2010Max Neukirchner figure out an edge that can be gained on These guys are the reason HRC don’t need tackle WSB with Sofuoglu and Michel Eugene Laverty’s currently dominant their own team in WSB, and it all stems from Pirro in WSS Parkalgar Honda. Ten Kate want that title right here. Long may that continue. •

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