Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

The heat is on in Supersport

Fabien Foret refused to wilt in the intense heat at Misano, running just fast enough to grab pole position again. Temperatures soared up to 37
degrees C (99 degrees F) with 50% humidity for the session, which was held mid-afternoon. Several riders suffered from the heat, either personally or mechanically.

Katsuaki Fujiwara was second fastest, but Foret claimed there was no pressure on him to ride faster. “I could have gone faster still, but no one was putting any pressure on me, so I didn¹t bother to push any harder in the heat.”

Stephane Chambon finished with third on the grid for Sunday’s race, despite suffering from bike problems which saw him pull off the track in the middle of a lap. Andrew Pitt made fourth fastest, after crashing out earlier in the session. His teammate James Ellison also crashed. Robert Ulm, riding for Van Zon Honda TKR in place of the injured Werner Daemon, is first man on the
second row. Ulm lines up on the second row in front of Cogan Kellner and Casoli.

The Belgarda Yamahas struggled with carburation in the heat, while the teams running CBR Hondas claimed the fuel injection was coping with the
conditions without problem.

Iain MacPherson dropped down to ninth after hitting his knee so hard on the curb while running a fast lap late in the session that he found he couldn’t shift gear. “I ran off the track and then just sat on my bike trying to let
the pain pass,” explained MacPherson. Doctors trackside thought he was suffering from heat exhaustion and hussled him onto a stretcher. MacPherson, who is from Scotland, couldn’t make his real predicament understood until he
arrived back at the medical center.

Final World Supersport qualifying times:
1. Fabien Foret, Honda, 1:37.669
2. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki, 1:37.864
3. Stéphane Chambon, Suzuki, 1:38.021
4. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, 1:38.129
5. Robert Ulm, Honda, 1:38.201
6. Christophe Cogan, Honda, 1:38.304
7. Christian Kellner, Yamaha, 1:38.315
8. Paolo Casoli, Yamaha, 1:38.324
9. Iain MacPherson, Honda, 1:38.396
10. Jörg Teuchert, Yamaha, 1:38.499
11. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha, 1:38.522
12. James Whitham, Yamaha, 1:38.586
13. Stefano Cruciani, Yamaha, 1:38.590
14. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Ducati, 1:38.590
15. Chris Vermeulen, Honda, 1:38.594
16. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha, 1:38.810
17. Karl Muggeridge, Honda, 1:38.990
18. Christian Zaiser, Yamaha, 1:39.191
19. Antonio Carlacci, Yamaha, 1:39.210
20. James Ellison, Kawasaki, 1:39.308
21. Camillo Mariottini, Yamaha, 1:39.516
22. Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati, 1:39.728
23. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha, 1:40.183
24. Nigel Arnold, Honda, 1:40.217
25. Sebastien Charpentier, Honda, 1:40.439
26. Diego Giugovaz, Yamaha, 1:40.536
27. John McGuinness, Honda, 1:40.565
28. Cristian Magnani, Yamaha, 1:40.643
29. Claudio Cipriani, Yamaha, 1:40.673
30. Robert Frost, Yamaha, 1:40.936
31. Norino Brignola, Suzuki, 1:41.321