From a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:

Yamaha Italia World Supersport Team Newsletter
Date: Friday, 11st June 2004
Circuit: Silverstone m. 5.036
Friday Qualifying
Weather: dry, sunny/cloudy Temperature: air 18° C track 32° C
Crowd: 10.000

FORET READY TO POUNCE
Team Yamaha Racing Italia rider Fabien Foret posted the second quickest time of the day and ended just a whisker behind Australian Karl Muggeridge. Just over a tenth of a second separates the duo, Fabien is determined attack Muggeridge and go for pole position in tomorrow’s final qualifying.

MAIO MEREGALLI (TEAM CO-ORDINATOR)
“Fabien was very fast today. Jurgen spent the day searching for a front tyre, but I am confident that he will improve a lot tomorrow. The fight with Honda will be very close and spectacular, but I think we can get some very good results on Sunday.”

FABIEN FORET – 2nd, 1:56.846
“I did my fastest lap today by doing very fast in the first two sectors. I am not so fast in the final (more twisty) sector, I will try and limit the damage there in the race. I am confident of improving tomorrow and being able to challenge Muggeridge for pole and podium. I tried a few starts today because they caused me problems in the last few rounds.”
_
JURGEN VAN DEN GOORBERGH – 9th, 1:58.289
“The bike is OK, but I must find a front tyre that I like before I can ride the way I want to. Last year Pirelli had a front tyre I really liked, but it’s not in their line-up this year, so I will have to do my best with the tyres I have.”

Results
1 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1:56.715, 2 FORET (F-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA)
1:56.846, 3 Parkes (Aus-Honda) 1:57.033, 4 Charpentier (F-Honda)
1:57.339, 5 Corradi (I-Honda) 1:58.076, 6 Curtain (Aus-Yamaha) 1:58.082,
7 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1:58.181, 8 Riba (E-Kawasaki) 1:58.242, 9 VD
GOORBERGH (NL-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA) 1:58.289, 10 Chambon (F-Suzuki)
1:48.313


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

LACONI THIRD AND TOSELAND SEVENTH FOR DUCATI FILA IN SILVERSTONE OPENING QUALIFIER

Silverstone (Britain), Friday 11 June 2004: Ducati Fila’s Anglo-French pairing of Regis Laconi and James Toseland had a satisfactory opening qualifying session ahead of Sunday’s Round 6 of the World Superbike Championship, setting third and seventh quickest times respectively.

Laconi was just three-tenths of a second off the pace of provisional poleman Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati) but was convinced there was more to come tomorrow.

“I’m not very happy about the front feeling for the first time this year but it’s nothing to worry about because we have some different settings to test for tomorrow” declared Laconi. “We didn’t test a qualifier either, we just gathered the most information possible for tomorrow when I’m sure we ‘ll find something good. The front end is not so good all the way round the circuit and is not turning in to the corners but we’re working on that to make it better tomorrow.”

Championship leader Toseland was not too worried about his provisional seventh place slot as he concentrated on obtaining the best possible set-up for Sunday’s race.

“I’m in seventh place but you can ignore the position to be honest” commented James. “We’re consistently good on race tyres, and there is plenty more left to come. We just need to tweak a few things and then we’ll be up at the front. I’m feeling quite relaxed because my lap times are good and consistent. We didn’t use a qualifier in that session and I stayed out there just to get a feel for everything and see how the tyres would work over the distance. The bike feels good in the quick part of the circuit, but I need to improve in the slow bit, where I have to learn how to get round it better.”

TIMES: 1. Chili (PSG-1 Ducati) 1’55.043; 2. Vermeulen (Honda) 1′ 55.408; 3. Laconi (Ducati Fila) 1’55.415; 4. Haga (Renegade Ducati) 1′ 55.522; 5. Nannelli (Ducati) 1’55.932; 6. Borciani (DFX Ducati) 1’55.977; 7. Toseland (Ducati Fila) 1’55.984; 8. McCoy (Xerox Ducati) 1’55.987; etc.


More, from a press release issued by MSS Discovery Kawasaki:

World Supersport Championship ­ Round six – Silverstone, June 11-13 2004

Friday June 11 2004

MSS DISCOVERY TEAM TAKE ON WORLD WITH RIBA AT SILVERSTONE

MSS Discovery’s Pere Riba is looking for success in Sunday’s sixth round of the World Supersport Championship as the Spaniard enjoys a wild card ride in the British round at Silverstone.

Riba fires the MSS Discovery ZX-6RR into battle against the world¹s best Supersport stars at the 3.13-mile Northamptonshire circuit.

“It will be an exciting weekend for us,” says Riba. “We’re going to Silverstone with the normal British Supersport Championship pressure removed. I’m more than confident with the speed and capability of the ZX-6RR so it’s down to me to qualify well and mix it with the regulars on Sunday.”

Riba, eighth fastest in Friday¹s opening qualifying, adds: “The competition is tough, probably as tough as it gets in any class of motorcycle racing. I know most of the riders and I’ve been looking forward to racing against them again for some time ­ especially with this new, improved ZX-6RR.”

MSS Discovery team owners Stuart Simmonds and Nick Morgan are looking to the World Supersport Championship outing to gauge the team’s progress and that of the Kawasaki middleweight sports machine.

Simmonds says: “Racing at this Silverstone World Supersport round was a natural move for us, especially as we run very similar tyres to the Pirellis used under the World Championship regulations.

“It’s also a good opportunity for us to compare ourselves to the world teams, just the sort of benchmark we need at this stage in the development of our young team. And we know Pere is experienced enough to be able to challenge for a top 10 finish in Sunday¹s race.”

World Supersport Championship points after five of 10 rounds: 1 Karl Muggeridge, Australia (Honda) 87, 2 Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Holland (Yamaha) 82, 3 Broc Parkes, Australia (Honda) 53, 4 Kevin Curtain, Australia (Yamaha) 47, 5 Katsuaki Fujiwara, Japan (Suzuki) 44, 6 Sebastien Charpentier, France (Honda) 40, 7 Stephane Chambon, France (Suzuki) 39, 8 Lorenzo Lanzi, Italy (Ducati) 37, 9 Max Neukirchner, Germany (Honda) 31, 10 Fabien Foret, France (Yamaha) 30.

Silverstone television coverage: World Supersport Championship race, live on Eurosport News, programme starts at 12.00noon.


More, from a press release issued by FGSport:

FRIDAY QUALIFYING

CHILI FASTEST OF THE SILVERSTONE BLOCKS

Chili Early Champ: Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati 998) yet again proved his speed in an early SBK session, running his big V-twin to the best time of day one, 1:55.043 – all despite the high winds which hustled over the flat midland’s countryside. The 23-time SBK race winner, currently third in the championship hunt, is looking to make up the 40+ points differential to the leading Fila Ducati riders, who experienced some difficult moments in the first day of qualifying.

Vermeulen Velocity: The Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR of Chris Vermeulen has made quite an impression in the championship since its inclusion this year, especially in the capable hands of 21-year-old SBK class rookie Chris Vermeulen. Silverstone is a track Vermeulen knows well, but this is his first visit on a Superbike during the first year of the development of the all-new Honda Fireblade.

Ducati Files: Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila 999F04) is one of only two riders in possession of a full works Ducati 999 this season and on his first visit to Silverstone since his promotion to the factory team he had to give best to two other riders on day one. His team-mate James Toseland (Ducati Fila 999F04) was only seventh, continuing what is a sometimes-difficult relationship with his factory machine this season.

Haga and his Homies: Winner of two races so far Noriyuki Haga (Renegade Ducati 999RS) was once more impressively quick in the 22-rider field. Fourth fastest, enough to claim a space on the provisional second row (before the final qualifying competition of Superpole at least) Haga is another potential winner to add into the mix this weekend.

Privato: The impressive bulk of SBK privateers squabbled in tense fashion in the first timed qualifying session, the best behind Chili and Haga proving to be Italian Gianluca Nannelli (Pedercini Ducati 998RS), in a fulsome fifth place. His fellow Italian privateer Marco Borciani (DFX Ducati 999RS) was sixth, in what was another unpredictable and pleasingly diverse series of top qualifying times.

McCoy Row Two: Last man on the second row proved to be Garry McCoy (Xerox Ducati 999RS) on his first run around Silverstone. He was also the last rider inside one second of Chili’s pole time. If Chili’s excellent lap is discounted, McCoy made it seven riders within 0.6 seconds, proving once more that fast circuits like Silverstone lead to generally close racing.

Petronas Progress: With Chris Walker’s Foggy Petronas FP-1 bursting into flames during the morning session, and Troy Corser still recovering from his crash at Oschersleben, it was a busy and often fruitless first day on British soil for the Foggy Petronas Team. Top qualifier at this fast circuit was Troy Corser, 10th overall, but Chris Walker was only 14th, one place ahead of another top British rider, Leon Haslam (Renegade Ducati).

Supersport: A familiar looking quartet of riders filled the first four places on the Supersport qualifying order, with Karl Muggeridge heading up the timesheets yet again on his Ten Kate Honda. In second place 2002 World Champion Fabien Foret ripped to second, 0.131 seconds slower than Muggeridge, but faster by 0.2 seconds than Broc Parkes, the second Ten Kate Honda rider. In fourth place Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) edged out another Honda rider, Alessio Corradi, a big fan of Silverstone’s fast layout.

Final qualifying for each class takes place on Saturday 12 June, with Superpole the final arbiter of starting positions for the top 16 SBK qualifiers.


More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda:

WSBK Silverstone; Vermeulen second in first Qualifying

The first year of full SBK competition for the combination of Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) and his 1000cc Fireblade has already delivered some notable highpoints, and the first day at Silverstone proved to be no different.

Around the tough Silverstone full circuit the Honda lapped second fastest overall, with only the hybrid Ducati of Pierfrancesco Chili ahead. Vermeulen is 0.4 seconds down on Chili at present, with more to come from both rider and team.

Vermeulen stated, “Second place on day one is not bad, first time here on the big bike. We’re not going that much faster than we did on my 600 last year. It feels quite comfortable to ride so far and we’ve made some changes since Oschersleben, to the front forks and rear shock. We just have to get those four tenths off Chili. We’re going OK. There are some sidewinds and in my opinion it’s harder to ride the big bike in high winds – because the front wheel is usually light and then you cannot turn. We did a test at Assen and that certainly bore that opinion out. It wasn’t so bad today, not like Phillip Island was. We’re still hoping that the wind dies down and the heat comes up for tomorrow.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate was pleased at such early pace from his Superbike charges, both human and metallic. “It’s going quite well, from the very start we have been up front. Most of the time we have to come from back a bit in the first sessions. We didn’t make full use of the qualifying tyre but tomorrow we want to go faster still and there is room for improvement. We are very happy to be up there already.”

World Superbike Championship
Round Six- Silverstone, Great Britain
11 – 13 June 2004
First Qualifying Session

1. P. Chili, ITA, Ducati 999 RS, 1’55.043

2. C. Vermeulen, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR, 1’55.408

3. R. Laconi, FRA, Ducati 999 F04, 1’55.415

4. N. Haga, JPN, Ducati 999 RS, 1’55.522

5. G. Nannelli, ITA,Ducati 998 Rs, 1’55.932

6. M. Borciani, ITA, Ducati 999 RS, 1’55.977

7. J. Toseland, GBR, Ducati 999 F04,1’55.984

8. G. Mccoy, AUS, Ducati 999 RS, 1’55.987

9. L. Pedercini, ITA, Ducati 998 RS, 1’56.169

10. T. Corser, AUS, Petronas FP1, 1’56.279

WSS Silverstone; Muggeridge and Parkes up front in stiff breeze

The ever-impressive Ten Kate Supersport duo of Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) and his team-mate Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Honda) once more propelled themselves to the top positions in the first qualifying session, setting the quickest and third fastest times of the session respectively.

The session was not without a dose of drama for Muggeridge as a loose fuel line towards the end of the session almost stopped him from setting his fastest time of 1:56.715, His bike was returned to the pits and repaired in time to top the qualifying table thus far.

For Parkes, the late charge of Muggeridge and French rider Fabien Foret (Yamaha) restricted his progress to third on day one, setting a best time of 1:57.033. With one more 45-minute official qualifying session to go the existing qualifying record of 1:56.096, could well be under threat, especially if the stiff winds of day one abate somewhat.

Said Muggeridge of Silverstone day one; “When the fuel line popped off the sudden deceleration nearly put me through the windshield! I was on the throttle on the exit of Stowe and it suddenly just stopped. I thought it may have been the engine cut-out switch operating at the wrong time so I reset it and nothing happened. The other bike was OK but I still set my fastest time on my number one bike. We need to just make laps come a bit more comfortably.”

Parkes knows that there is still room for improvement in his race package. “I’m definitely up there with the top guys. Karl and Fabien picked me off towards the end but it’s pretty good to be up there. Tomorrow we need a bit more time to pick a race tyre because one is pretty hard and the other pretty soft. The sidewinds were strong all along the back straight, blowing us all over the place.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate explained that the session was not without some significant happenings. “It was quite a hectic session though, as Muggeridge’s bike had a fuel line come loose, so we had to pick up the bike from the far end of the track. We got it back in time, after he had done some laps on his number two bike. It was good to see that he kept calm and set his fastest lap at the end. Both riders expect to shave off more time tomorrow, even though the top two riders are already into the 1:56s. The wind and cool track does not help the tyres but it does help the engine power. It’s like Assen, sometimes you think, ‘it’s too cool to set a good lap time’ then the boys go out and put in really quick times.”

World Supersport Championship
Round Six – Silverstone, Great Britain
11 – 13 June 2004
First Qualifying

1. K. Muggeridge, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, 1’56.715

2. F. Foret, FRA, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’56.846

3. B. Parkes, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, 1’57.033

4. S. Charpentier, FRA, Honda CBR600RR, 1’57.339

5. A. Corradi, ITA, Honda CBR600RR, 1’58.076

6. K. Curtain, AUS, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’58.082

7. L. Lanzi, ITA, Ducati 749 R, 1’58.181

8. P. Riba, ESP, Kawasaki ZX6 RR, 1’58.242

9. J. vd Goorbergh, NED, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’58.289

10. S. Chambon, FRA, Suzuki GSX 600R, 1’58.313


More, from a press release issued by Troy Corser’s publicist:

2004 World Superbike Championship
Round 6, Silverstone (Uk), Friday 11st June 2004, Friday Qualifying
Circuit: 5.036 km., Weather: dry, sunny/cloudy 18c

TROY TENTH DESPITE DIFFICULTY
Troy finished the first day of qualifying with tenth quickest time despite suffering from the injury he sustained when he fell in the last round at Oschersleben. Troy hurt his back in that crash and has been having treatment to improve his chances of fitness before Sunday’s pair of 20-lappers. Italian Frankie Chili (Ducati) is on provisional pole today, ahead of Chris Vermeulen (Honda), Regis Laconi (Ducati) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati). Troy’s team mate Chris Walker suffered a miraculous escape today when his Petronas FP1 bike caught fire whilst he was still onboard! Walker just managed to pull the bike off the track and park it before the marshals rushed over and used three fire extinguishers to put out the blaze!

TROY – 10th, 1:56.279
My main problem today is the stiffness I am feeling in my mid and lower back. I was very sore after the Oschersleben crash and I found it quite hard riding the bike well today. It was difficult to get relaxed on the bike and even sitting on it was a bit uncomfortable. But I did manage to put in some laps and so I’m pretty happy with the times really. We changed the gearbox internals and externals this afternoon, because it’s vital to get a good gearbox set-up here. I did a good time on race rubber and went a bit quicker on a qualifying tyre, so that’s pretty good also. At the moment we are suffering from a lack of top speed and good acceleration compared to our rivals. At any circuit that hurts, but because Silverstone is a fast track, this makes our life that bit more difficult. I knew this would be a tough one for us and so far it is.

Friday qualifying
1 Chili (I-Ducati) 1:55.043, 2 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda) 1:55.408, 3 Laconi (I-Ducati) 1:55.415, 4 Haga (J-Ducati) 1:55.522, 5 Nannelli (I-Ducati) 1:55.932, 6 Borciani (I-Ducati) 1:55.977, 10 TROY CORSER (AUS-PETRONAS FP1) 1:56.279


More, from sidecar race organizers:

Eastern Airways Sidecar Championship – round three – Silverstone

Final qualifying:

1 Steve Webster Suzuki 1m 57.846s

2 Jorg Steinhausen Suzuki 2m 00.289s

3 Tim Reeves Suzuki 2m 00.726s

4 Derek Brindley Suzuki 2m 02.157s

5 Richard Gatt Suzuki 2m 02.642s

6 Greg Lambert Suzuki 2m 03.417s

7 Bryan Pedder Suzuki 2m 04.147s

8 Stuart Muldoon Suzuki 2m 04.214s

9 Bill Philp Yamaha 2m 04.722s

10 Chris Founds Yamaha 2m 05.950s

** Steve Webster/Paul Woodhead win “NEXA Autocolour Pole Position” award, two limited edition Pulsar watches.

First race: Saturday, 17.30hrs – 12 laps
Second race: Sunday, 16.4ohrs – 12 laps