Updated Post: Vermeulen Disqualified From World Superbike Race Two For Technical Violation

Updated Post: Vermeulen Disqualified From World Superbike Race Two For Technical Violation

© 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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From a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

Vermeulen disqualified from second Monza race

Chris Vermeulen’s disqualification from the second race at Monza left Foggy PETRONAS Racing riders Troy Corser in fifth place and Chris Walker seventh.

The Ten Kate Honda rider was stripped of his second place when a random post-race FIM inspection of tilt-switches, a safety measure designed to cut the engine when the bike is on its side, found that Vermeulen’s switch was not working.

And that provided an added bonus for PETRONAS, who retained their second position in the manufacturer’s standings as a result.

Revised race two results, Superbike World Championship round 4, Monza, Italy: 1 Laconi (Ducati Fila); 2 Toseland (Ducati Fila) +18.281; 3 McCoy (Xerox Ducati) +19.403; 4 Haslam (Renegade Ducati) +34.611; 5 Corser (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) +40.665; 6 Borciani (DFX) +41.256; 7 Walker (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) +42.485; 8 Martin (DFX) +48.936; 9 Sanchini (Kawasaki Bertocchi) +49.012); 10 Clementi (Kawasaki Bertocchi) +51.042; 11 Bontempi (Zongshen) +1:02.321; 12 Pedercini (Team Pedercini) +1:09.516; 13 Velini (UnionBike) +1:09.573; 14 Saiger (Life Haus) +1:20.873

Manufacturer standings (after 4 of 11 rounds): 1 Ducati 200; 2 PETRONAS 90; 3 Honda 83; 4 Kawasaki 48; 5 Suzuki 47; 6 Yamaha 22

Rider standings: 1 Laconi 120; 2 Toseland 113; 3 Chili 97; 4 McCoy 87; 5 Vermeulen 83; 6 Haga 69; 7 Walker 69; 8 Borciani 68; 9 Corser 66; 10 Haslam 64



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

Muggeridge and Parkes Go First and Second

Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate HondaCBR600RR) overcame a poor start to blast his way to the race win at Monza, his second successive victory in the Supersport category. His team-mate Broc Parkes (Ten Kate HondaCBR600RR) rode strongly from his second row start to take third place, during an incident packed 16-lap Supersport race which featured revised results. Second place originally went to Yamaha rider Fabien Foret, with championship leader Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha) fourth. After Foret and Suzuki rider Vittorio Iannuzzo were disqualified, Parkes was promoted to second.

Muggeridge, aware of having clutch glitches in previous starts at Monza, had a poor launch off the line and had to fight his way through from11th on lap one, hitting the front on lap four; Parkes was seventh after the first circuit, but equipped with their rapid Ten Kate tuned Honda 600s, each rider was able to pull through the pack.

For Muggeridge the win was hard taken, even if his margin of victory of 5.760 seconds was an impressive gap over his pursuers. It now leaves him second in the championship. “I’m happy with that. I had the worst start in motorcycle history. I lust flaked it off the line. The last couple of times I had clutch problems so this time I wasn’t going there at all. I wasn’t too concerned as long as I could get through the first chicane cleanly. We had a pretty good pace and that would help me work my way through. It was an excellent result for our championship.”

Parkes, who jumped to fifth in the championship thanks to his latest race result, stated, “It was awesome to get on the podium. After the disappointment of Misano I trained a lot to make sure I could run with all the boys. My bike was pretty fast and that helped. Now we go to Oschersleben, which is one of my favorite circuits.”

For Team Boss Gerrit Ten Kate the result was almost perfect. “I am very happy with this result, getting both riders on the podium. The times were a bit slower than last year but that may be due to the temperature on the track. I think Broc just wanted to finish the race at the end and not try any crazy things. For Karl it was even better because he is only eight points behind in the championship now.”

World Supersport Championship
Round Four – Monza, Italy
14 – 16 May 2004
1. K. Muggeridge, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR
2. B. Parkes, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, 8.354
3. J. Vd Gorbergh, NED, Yamaha YZF R6, 13.223
4. S. Charpentier, FRA, CBR600RR, 22.382
5. C. Kellner, GER, Yamaha YZF R6, 35.638
6. M. Neukirchner, GER, Honda CBR600RR, 35.686
7. G. Bussei, ITA, Ducati 749 R, 36.195
8. V. Guareschi, ITA, Ducati 749 R, 36.444
9. M. Lagrive, FRA, Suzuki GSXR 600R, 37.082
10. J. Hanson, SWE, Kobutex Honda CBR600RR, 43.110


Vermeulen Second Then Excluded at Monza

Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) was originally credited with fourth and second place finishes in each of the 18-lap Monza Superbike races, held at the classic and high-speed circuit of Monza in Northern Italy. With the air temperatures approaching 30°C, and track temperatures nearly 50°C Vermeulen changed his tyre options for race two and thought he had secured his third podium of what is his and the CBR’s rookie SBK season. He was later excluded from the second race when his machine was found to have a non-functioning automatic cut-out switch, designed to stop the engine in the event of a crash.

In race one Vermeulen rode hard from the start, having duel with eventual race winner Regis Laconi (Ducati), retiree Noriyuki Haga (Ducati), then second place man James Toseland (Ducati) and ultimately third placed Garry McCoy. Vermeulen was to finish fourth, experiencing some clutch slip problems to add to his tyre choice concerns.

In race two a harder compound tyre helped Vermeulen to flee the chasing pack and take a well-earned second place, with only the factory Ducati of Laconi ahead. He was disappointed to be excluded but was philosophical. “I’m happy with changes we made between the races, going for the harder tyre choices and it’s weird that we have been excluded for something that we would be happiest of all to see working, because we can restart a fallen bike with the starter button. I’m looking forward now anyway, not back.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate, described a hot afternoon’s work. “I respect the rule and the team respects the rule, and right now we do not know why the cut-out didn’t work. The ironic thing is that we are the only people with a starter motor still on the bike – so there is no need for us to sabotage the cut-out! We can pick up the bike and restart it on the button. The switch on the second bike is functioning well so we will find out back at the workshops what happened with the race bike.”

World Superbike Championship
Round Four – Monza, Italy
14 – 16 May 2004

Race Results 1
1. R. Laconi, FRA, Ducati 999 F04
2. J. Toseland, GBR, Ducati 999 Fo4, 9.800
3. G. Mccoy, AUS, Ducati 999 RS, 11.891
4. C. Vermeulen, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR, 34.055
5. L. Haslam, GBR, Ducati 999 RS, 38.021

Race Results 2
1. R. Laconi, FRA, Ducati 999 F04
2. J. Toseland, GBR, Ducati 999 Fo4, 18.281
3. G. Mccoy, AUS, Ducati 999 RS, 19.403
4. L. Haslam, GBR, Ducati 999 RS, 34.611
5. T. Corser, AUS, Petronas FP1 40.665



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