Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

World Supersport
Valencia, Spain
Race Results:

1. Jurgen Vd Goorbergh, Yamaha YZF-R6, 23 laps
2. Fabien Foret, Yamaha YZF-R6, -4.898 seconds
3. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki GSX-R600, -16.104 seconds
4. Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati 749R, -17.964 seconds
5. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki GSX-R600, -20.404 seconds
6. Vittorio Iannuzzo, Suzuki GSX-R600, -21.935 seconds
7. Werner Daemen, Honda CBR600RR, -24.972 seconds
8. Karl Muggeridge, Honda CBR600RR, -25.232 seconds
9. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha YZF-R6, -44.486 seconds
10. Stefano Cruciani, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, -53.354 seconds
11. Matthieu Lagrive, Suzuki GSX-R600, -53.725 seconds
12. Arne Tode, Yamaha YZF-R6, -55.413 seconds
13. Matteo Baiocco, Yamaha YZF-R6, -60.023 seconds
14. Max Neukirchner, Honda CBR600RR, -73.366 seconds
15. Kai Borre Andersen, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, -74.907 seconds
16. Sebastien Le Grelle, Honda CBR600RR, -78.761 seconds
17. Javier Fores, Suzuki GSX-R600, -2 laps, mechanical
18. Victor Carrasco, Honda CBR600RR, -2 laps, mechanical
19. Christian Kellner, Yamaha YZF-R6, -10 laps, mechanical
20. Walter Tortoroglio, Suzuki GSX-R600, -11 laps, mechanical
21. Alessio Corradi, Honda CBR600RR, -13 laps, mechanical
22. Tobias Kirmeier, Honda CBR600RR, -19 laps, mechanical
23. Denis Sacchetti, Honda CBR600RR, -19 laps, mechanical
24. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati 749R, -20 laps, mechanical
25. Broc Parkes, Honda CBR600RR, -21 laps, crash
26. Craig Jones, Triumph Daytona 600, -23 laps, mechanical
27. Sebastien Charpentier, Honda CBR600RR, excluded


More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:

Yamaha Motor Italia team-mates Jurgen van den Goorbergh and Fabien Foret got their season off to the perfect start after finishing first and second in round one of the Supersport World Championship at Valencia today. The duo fought through the tense and hotly contested opening laps to pull away from the opposition and win by over 16 seconds at the end of the 23-lap race.



Starting in overcast and slightly damp conditions, both riders were involved in an eight-way battle for the lead in the opening laps. After starting on the front row of the graid, Foret was first to make his way to the front – the Frenchman taking the lead from Karl Muggeridge on lap six. Behind him, Dutchman Van den Goorbergh was working his way through the pack. Closing up on his French team-mate, Jurgen took a lead he would never lose as they headed down the straight for the 19th time. Katsuaki Fujiwara (Suzuki) finished a distant third to complete the podium.

The victory is the 34-year-old’s first world championship race win and takes both him and Yamaha to the head of the rider and manufacturer’s points standings respectively.

Yamaha Motor Germany team-mates Kevin Curtain and Christian Kellner both showed their speed in Valencia, but left Spain with little reward for their efforts. Both men qualified alongside Van den Goorbergh on the front row of the grid and a good start saw the Curtain mixing it with the leading pack in the opening stages. However, a wrong tyre choice saw the Australian slip backwards to ninth at the flag. Kellner meanwhile retired from a points scoring position on lap 13.


Jurgen leads Fabien

Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Motor Italia) – first
“I’ve missed a lot of testing and hadn’t even been on a bike for three-and-a-half weeks after hurting my wrist pre-season – so this result is a real bonus for me. When I came here my goal was to finish on the podium – and I thought that was something of a high goal to set. We chose a good set-up and the correct tyre compound today. When I got into second I always felt that I could pass Fabien. He made a slight mistake coming out of the final corner and that let me make a clean pass as we went onto the straight.”

Fabien Foret (Yamaha Motor Italian) – second
“Second on my Yamaha debut is a brilliant result. I am still getting used to the R6 so my priority when I came here was to finish and get as good a result as possible. I did struggle a little bit as the race went on, but the good thing is that I know I will get faster as the season goes on and I get to know my bike better.”

Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) – ninth
“I said before the race that tyre selection could have a big say in the result and ultimately that’s how it was. We had the choice of three different rears and as the tyre I chose just didn’t work as well as the ones used by Jurgen and Fabien, which was basically the standard road bike coumpound. It’s a shame as we had worked so hard and had a perfect set-up. The race was certainly eventful. We had some rain on one side of the circuit and that caused Broc Parkes to crash in front of me and I just missed him. Later in the race someone’s engine blew up and got oil all over my visor, but I was just doing all I could to get to the finish with some points.”

Christian Kellner (Yamaha Motor Germany) – DNF
“Qualifying had gone well but I made a bad start and, like Kevin, I chose the wrong tyre. As the race went on the bike started losing power and I felt it was safer to pull in than go round slowly.”



More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

World Supersport Championship 2004 – Round 1

Valencia Race Result
27 – 29 FEBRUARY 2004
Attendance 28,000 weekend

HARD FIRST RACE FOR TOP HONDA RIDERS

After a dramatic and sometimes contentious 23-lap World Supersport race at Valencia, the top Honda riders, who had virtually dominated qualifying, found a change in fortune. The race was conducted in dry track conditions, despite the cold and wind, plus the added complication of an impromptu wet warm up session when unexpected rains appeared and soaked the circuit in the morning.

Having made excellent starts, the pairing of Broc Parkes and Karl Muggeridge (both Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) were the first to suffer at the hands of fate.

Parkes, the early and convincing leader, fell on lap three and could not restart, ending his day in an unexpected and unwelcome fashion after his second place qualification.

Pole man Muggeridge, engaged in a fight for the lead with Klaffi Honda CBR600RR rider Sebastien Charpentier, gradually slipped back through the field as his rear tyre lost traction. Another rider hit him in the closing stages and finished eighth overall.

The top finishing Honda rider, and thus the top rider in the current championship standings, was WSS part-timer Werner Daemen (van Zon Honda CBR600RR) in seventh.

For Charpentier, a front row starter, a jump-start penalty was to be his undoing, after he missed the flags for him to return to the pits and take his penalty. He was eventually excluded from the results and what was an almost certain podium finish.

His teammate, Max Neukirchner (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) also fell in the race but restarted to finish 14th, scoring two points on his World Supersport debut.

The Team Italia Megabike Honda squad, featuring riders Alessio Corradi and Denis Sacchetti, both retired with technical problems on their CBR600RR machines.

The race itself was won by former MotoGP rider Jurgen van Den Goorbergh (Yamaha) from his teammate Fabien Foret and Suzuki pilot Katsuaki Fujiwara.

Muggeridge, the King of both preseason and race qualifying was mystified as to why his tyre did not work the way he and the team intended. “We chose a medium rear tyre and it turned out to be the wrong choice,” said a rueful Muggeridge. “From the fourth lap the bike started sliding and I went backwards – just as other people went forwards. It was really frustrating and then I got hit on the last lap and almost crashed. It’s not all over yet, and it’s a long season with a lot of points up for grabs.”

For Parkes, the first day of the season was one to forget. “I got a really good start,” said Parkes, “maybe my start was too good. I felt that I entered the corner the same as ever and opened the throttle just the same – but the back came round and I highsided.”

Charpentier, stuck in the slipstream of a bunch of warring riders, missed the notification of his jump-start. “I really didn’t think I had done anything wrong,” he said. “I was so intent on the race that I missed the jump start flag and then it was all over. I am really disappointed because I think we could have had a great result.”

German rookie Neukirchner, in his first World Championship Supersport race, fought hard for his 14th place. “I had a front end slide and fell off,” he stated. “I jumped up and restarted and managed to get to the end of the race. I scored some points which is something positive that came from today.”

Corradi was moving through the top places at a rapid pace, and made his way to fifth place before he was forced to retire. “The oil cooler bolt broke I think, and that was the cause of the smoke from the bike,” said the Italian. “I had a good choice of tyre, almost perfect, a good rhythm for the race and it was possible to have finished in third place.”

18-year-old Sacchetti explained his afternoon’s work. “I had a jump start and after I came in the engine stopped. I don’t know why and the team must investigate further.”

In the first round of the World Superbike Championship, a dramatic and wet-weather affected race one gave James Toseland (Ducati) the win after early leader and pole man Regis Laconi (Ducati) fell on lap one. Pierfrancesco Chili (Ducati) secured second place on his 2002-spec machine after a ride from a poor grid position. The Petronas scored its first podium position thanks to a smooth wet and dry ride by Chris Walker on the three- cylinder machine.

Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) scored a clear win in race two, from Toseland, and a first time podium rider, Steve Martin (Ducati). While reigning World Supersport Champion Chris Vermeulen raced the Ten Kate Honda to 12th in race one and fifth in race two. A good result for the virtually standard CBR1000RR fielded as a private entry by Gerrit Ten Kate

In the World Championship itself, Toseland leads all his peers with 45 points, to Pierfrancesco Chili’s 33 and Haga’s 25.

Next race for both Superbike and Supersport classes takes place at Phillip Island in Australia, on March 28.

Results
SUPERSPORT:
RACE : (Laps 23 = 92,115 Km)
Pos /Rider /Nat. /Team / Time /Gap
1/J. VD GOORBERGH/NED/Yamaha Italia/38:27.439

2/F. FORET/FRA/Yamaha Italia/38:32.337 /4.898

3/K. FUJIWARA/JPN/Suzuki Alstare Corona Extra/38:43.543 /16.104

4/L. LANZI/ITA/Ducati Breil/38:45.403 /17.964

5/S. CHAMBON/FRA/Suzuki Alstare Corona Extra/38:47.843 /20.404

6/V. IANNUZZO/ITA/Suzuki Alstare Corona Extra/38:49.374 /21.935

7/W.DAEMEN/BEL/Alpha Technik – Van Zon/38:52.411 /24.972

8/K. MUGGERIDGE/AUS/Ten Kate Honda/38:52.671 /25.232

9/K. CURTAIN/AUS/Yamaha Motor Deutschland/39:11.925 /44.486

10/S. CRUCIANI/ITA/Kawasaki Bertocchi/39:20.793 /53.354

11/M.LAGRIVE/FRA/Moto 1/39:21.164 /53.725

12/A. TODE/GER/Ecko Racing Team/39:22.852 /55.413

13/M.BAIOCCO/ITA/Lorenzini by Leoni/39:27.462 /1’00.023

14/M.NEUKIRCHNER/GER/Klaffi Honda/39:40.805 /1’13.366

15/K. ANDERSEN/NOR/Kawasaki Docshop Racing/39:42.346 /1’14.907
Fastest Lap 2° Broc Parkes 1:39.065 145,541 Km/h

Riders Championship Standings:
1 VD GOORBERGH 25, 2 FORET 20, 3 FUJIWARA 16, 4 LANZI 13, 5 CHAMBON 11 6 IANNUZZO 10, 7 DAEMEN 9, 8 MUGGERIDGE 8, 9 CURTAIN 7, 10 CRUCIANI 6 11 LAGRIVE 5, 12 TODE 4, 13 BAIOCCO 3, 14 NEUKIRCHNER 2, 15 ANDERSEN 1

Manufacturers Standings:
1 YAMAHA 25, 2 SUZUKI 16, 3 DUCATI 13, 4 HONDA 9, 5 KAWASAKI 6.


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

Muggeridge Eighth As Parkes Falls

After going 1-2 in qualifying the Ten Kate Honda pairing of Karl Muggeridge and Broc Parkes made excellent starts from their front row positions, but each was to experience misfortune of a different kind, on their way to an eighth place finish and a crash respectively.

The rains which blighted the track after the morning warm-up meant that all teams were offered a 15-minute practice session to test wet tyres, but the race itself was held in dry conditions.

Broc Parkes, the early leader, had the heartbreak of a crash on lap three, ending his interest in the race early in the day. The young Aussie rider, who qualified in second place was disappointed with his showing on the team’s most favoured test track, but has already shown is abundant talent and the speed of the Ten Kate Honda.

Muggeridge, who was to tangle with another rider and drop from seventh to eighth place in the reckoning, was also a race leader but dropped back as the race wore on to its 23 lap conclusion. He said, “We chose a medium rear tyre and it turned out to be the wrong choice. From the fourth lap the bike started sliding and I went backwards as other people went forwards. It was really frustrating and then I got hit on the last lap and almost crashed. It’s not all over yet, and it’s a long season with a lot of points up for grabs.”

“I got a really good start,” said Parkes, who looks to the next race on home tarmac to rebuild his year. “Maybe my start was too good. I felt that I entered the corner the same as ever and opened the throttle just the same but the back came round and I highsided.”

“Karl’s rear tyre was really worn,” said Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate, “and we are surprised that other people could go past Karl, some on even softer tyre choices. It’s disappointing for Broc and us all that he crashed but that is racing sometimes. We have shown how fast we can go, so we will be looking to the next round.”

The race was won by the Yamaha of Jurgen van den Goorbergh, with his team-mate Fabien Foret second and the Suzuki of Katsuaki Fujiwara third. The next round of the championship takes place at Phillip Island, Australia, on 28th March.

World Supersport Championship
Round One – Valencia
27 – 29 February
1. J.vd Goorbergh NED, Yamaha YZF R6
2. F. Foret FRA, Yamaha YZF R6 4.898
3. K. Fujiwara JPN, Suzuki GSX 600R 16.104
4. L. Lanzi ITA, Ducati 749 R 17.964
5. S. Chambon FRA, Suzuki GSX 600R 20.404
6. V. Ianuzzo ITA, Suzuki GSX 600R 21.935
7. W. Daemen BEL, Honda CBR600RR 24.972
8. K. Muggeridge AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR 25.232
9. K. Curtain AUS, Yamaha YZF R6 44.486
10. S. Cruciani ITA, Kawasaki ZX6 RR 53.354


Broc Parkes Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR crashed after 2 laps


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

SUZUKI ON THE ROSTRUM IN VALENCIA!

World Supersport. Round 1, Valencia, Spain, Sunday 29th February. Circuit Ricardo Tormo 4.005 kms. Crowd: 28,000 (3-days). Weather: Cold, damp at first, dry later.
Katsuaki Fujiwara raced the new Suzuki GSX-R600 to its first podium position of the season in today’s opening round of the World Supersport Championship in Valencia, Spain, as all three Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders filled top six positions.

Fujiwara, who came off his sick bed this morning after spending time on an intravenous drip after waking up with a temperature of 38.5C, took third place in an exciting race, with team mates Stephane Chambon fifth and Vittorio Iannuzzo sixth.

In the Superstock class, Ricardo Chiarello also took a rostrum position with third place to seal the Alstare team’s 101 podium position in 20 years of competition.

KATSUAKI FUJIWARA – 3rd: “I think a podium is a great way to start 2004! I’m very happy to be on the podium because of many reasons. Our bike is new, this is our first race on Pirelli tyres and also because this morning I had a high fever. If it had not have been for some medicine and then the drip, I would’ve struggled to make the start! As it was, in the early stages of the race, I found it a little hard to concentrate. But after a while, I just got down to riding hard. My Alstare Suzuki GSX 600R worked well, but the tyres started sliding after about ten laps, but I think maybe everybody had the same problem.”

STEPHANE CHAMBON – 5th: “I am a little happy because fifth is quite a good result considering the problems I had in practice. Fifth is what I had hoped for before the race, but, because of the tricky conditions, it could’ve so easily been eight, ninth or tenth! I had a small problem with the rear spring in the race and the tyre started to go off after eight or nine laps – but that could’ve also been because of the rear spring problem. Up to now, I haven’t done a complete race distance before this weekend, so now we have a good result and a lot more information with which to work.”

VITTORIO IANNUZZO – 6th: “I am very happy, especially as I started the race from the fifth row. I made quite a good start and picked up place after place. Today I had a much better feeling with the bike and that meant I was more comfortable about pushing a bit harder. The tyres were a bit of a problem after about fifteen laps and then it was difficult to open the gas hard. Towards the end of the race I had a good fight with Chambon. I might have fought harder if we were chasing a podium, but I didn’t want to cause any dramas over fifth or sixth. It’s a great start for me and the whole team.”

Results: 1 VD Goorbergh (NL-Yamaha), 2 Fabien Foret (F-Yamaha ), 3 KATSUAKI FUJIWARA (J-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 4 Lorenzo Lanzi (I Ducati), 5 STEPHANE CHAMBON (F-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra), 6 VITTORIO IANNUZZO (I-Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra),

Points: 1 VD Goorbergh 25, 2 Foret 20, 3 FUJIWARA (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra)16, 4 Lanzi 13, 5 CHAMBON (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 11, 6 IANNUZZO (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 10.