Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn Le Santo

Chris Vermeulen took provisional World Supersport pole in Friday’s timed qualifying at Phillip Island.

With light rain falling intermittently at various parts of the circuit it was a difficult qualifying session for all the riders. Ten Kate Honda’s Karl Muggeridge was one of the victims of the conditions when he highsided at MG after a brief shower had left the track greasy in the last few turns.

But while Muggeridge was being checked over and declared fit at the Medical Centre, his teammate – and fellow Australian – Chris Vermeulen waited until the last five minutes before lapping at 1:36.161 to knock his championship rival Katsuaki Fujiwara off the provisional pole.

“It was raining in the session and the track was greasy in a few turns,” explained Vermeulen I didn’t want to do what Karl did so I held back hoping that it would get better late in the session – I would have been in trouble if it hadn’t!”

His plan worked perfectly, Chris got in a fast lap and grabbed pole right at the end. If it rains on Saturday, Chris has an obvious advantage.

Behind Fujiwara in second spot was Dutchman and ex-GP racer Jurgen Van Der Goorbergh. A surprise fourth on the grid went to reigning Champion Fabien Foret, despite an obvious lack of top end on the new ZX-6RR. Foret clocked up 254.4 kph (158.1 mph), way below the 275.8 kph (171.4 mph)reached by Iain MacPherson on his Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR.

World Supersport Championship
Round 2, Phillip Island 28-29-30 March 2003.

Fastest lap times:

1. Chris Vermeulen, AUS, Honda, 1:36.161
2. Katsuaki Fujiwara, JPN, Suzuki, 1:36.531
3. Jurgen Van Den Goorbergh, NED, Yamaha, 1:36.843
4. Fabien Foret, FRA, Kawasaki, 1:36.859
5. Christian Kellner, GER, Yamaha, 1:36.971
6. Pere Riba, ESP, Kawasaki, 1:37.022
7. Iain MacPherson, GBR, Honda, 1:37.147
8. Stephane Chambon, FRA, Suzuki, 1:37.185
9. Broc Parkes, AUS, Honda, 1:37.238
10. Kevin Curtain, AUS, Yamaha, 1:37.252
11. Jorg Teuchert Jörg, Yamaha, 1:37.388
12. Robert Ulm, Honda, 1:37.728
13. Simone Sanna, Yamaha, 1:37.777
14. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha, 1:37.779
15. Gianluca Nannelli, Yamaha, 1:37.937
16. Thierry Vd Bosch, Yamaha, 1:38.038
17. Werner Daemen, Honda, 1:38.049
18. Shannon Johnson, Honda, 1:38.153
19. Gianluigi Scalvini, Honda, 1:38.349
20. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha, 1:38.952
21. Karl Muggeridge, Honda, 1:39.275
22. Kai Borre Andersen, Kawasaki, 1:40.347
23. Stefano Cruciani, Kawasaki, 1:40.686
24. Didier Vankeymeulen, Kawasaki, 1:40.726
25. Christophe Cogan, Honda, 1:43.218


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

VERMEULEN PUTS NEW CBR600RR ON TOP IN AUSTRALIA

Chris Vermeulen blasted to provisional pole position aboard his CBR600RR Honda during Friday’s opening qualifying session for round two of the World Supersport championship at Phillip Island, Australia.

The 20-year-old, looking for victory in his home race on Sunday, was one second inside the lap record as he took his Ten Kate team machine to the top of the leaderboard.

Vermeulen said: “It was a session which needed a little bit of thought. I was hoping it would dry out towards the end and it did but there were a few spots of rain early in the session and I’d seen Karl (Muggeridge) crash so I didn’t want to take any risks.”

Championship leader Katsuaki Fujiwara ended the day second fastest with Dutchman Jurgen van den Goorbergh third and defending world champion Fabien Foret fourth.

Behind fifth-placed Christian Kellner and Pere Riba in sixth came the Van Zon Honda of Iain MacPherson, the British rider having no complaints as he took a provisional second row start.

MacPherson commented: “We got over one or two niggling little problems from this morning and the bike felt great. After I’d set my fastest lap I then got held up by another rider on the next lap and then managed to miss a gear and run off the track at Lukey Heights when I could’ve improved my time.”

Stephane Chambon ­ an injured absentee from the first round ­ completes the provisional second row in eighth with Broc Parkes ninth on his BKM Honda.

Parkes said: “The machine feels good but I managed to burn out the rear tyre when I was halfway through my best lap. But everything feels OK and I’m ready to try and move up the grid a bit tomorrow.”

Wild card rider Kevin Curtain completes the top 10 while Austrian Robert Ulm was 12th quickest on his Klaffi team Honda, Ulm said: “I made a couple of mistakes on my best lap and I could have done with a slipstream from someone that’s so important here.”

Werner Daemen ended the opening day¹s action in 17th on the Van Zon Honda, he said: “I’ve found a really good race tyre so we¹ve achieved something today but I got held up on my fast lap so I’m hopeful of being a lot faster tomorrow.”

Klaffi Honda’s Gianluigi Scalvini is still coming to terms with the Supersport machine after a successful 125cc career, ending Friday in 19th place, the Italian admitted: “I’m finding it very difficult and lacking the confidence to the point where I¹m only riding at 70%. The machine is fine and I can see exactly what I’m doing wrong, hopefully I can work it out overnight.”

Karl Muggeridge crashed early in the Friday afternoon qualifying session and was listed as 21st fastest. Muggeridge suffered minor ankle ligament damage and expects to be OK for tomorrow¹s action, he explained: “There was a few drops of rain around and I think it caught me out, highsiding as I exited MG.”

BKM Honda’s Christophe Cogan ­ fourth in the championship ­ crashed twice in the 45-minute qualifying session, escaping injury on both occasions but the Frenchman failed to record a time and was listed as a non-qualifier. Cogan said: “The first crash put us under pressure and from that moment onwards I didn’t settle down and it all ended with the second crash.”


More, from a press release issued by Chris Vermeulen’s publicist:

PROVISIONAL POLE AT THE ISLAND
The stocks of Australian Chris Vermeulen hit new heights at Phillip Island today with the twenty year old snatching provisional pole position in the dying stages of the opening qualifying session for the 2nd round of the World Supersport Championship.

The young Aussie waiting until his final lap of the session to go to number 1.

“We struggled for rear grip during the session but the WP Suspension guys worked on it and did a great job to get me going. We were just in time,” Vermeulen said.

He added, “I used two qualifying tyres, the first one took me to second, the last one put me in front of Fujiwara, but I was actually a bit slower through Lukey Heights after I made a mistake so I think I can get into to the 1:35’s tomorrow.”

The Queenslander posted a 1:36.16 to be 0.4 ahead of world championship series leader Katsuaki Fujiwara.

“Conditions are not very good today, it’s windy, but the bike is getting better and better and we’re going to do some work on the rear shock for tomorrow.

“I’ve got pole, now I just have to hang on to it. The support I am getting down here is just great. Things are going well but Sunday’s the only day that counts,” Vermeulen commented.

Vermeulen is currently 2nd in the race for the world championship and will continue his bid to be the youngest ever world champion in final qualifying tomorrow.


More, from a press release issued by Alstare Corona Suzuki:

Team Alstare Suzuki rider Katsuaki Fujiwara posted a lap of 1:36.531, to end up second quickest at Phillip Island at the end of the first day of qualifying.
The Japanese rider was content to sit just behind local hero Vermeulen (Honda) and is ready to attack pole position tomorrow. His team Stephane Chambon battled through the pain barrier and finished a superb eight quickest on a day that was beset by strong winds. Chambon’s ribs are still sore from the crash he had in the week before the opening round at Valencia, but the gritty Frenchman defied the pain today and is looking forward to improving his grid position tomorrow.
KATSUAKI FUJIWARA ­ 2nd, 1:36.531
I am pretty happy with second position at the end of today. The Suzuki is working very well and we are only making small adjustments for tomorrow, so I think everything is going well. The only real problem I had today was the strong wind. It can be a big problem here because we are so close to the ocean, so I took it a bit steady today. If the wind dies down tomorrow, I know I can go much quicker. Of course, I want pole position, but as long as I am on the front row of the grid, I’ll be happy.

STEPHANE CHAMBON ­ 8th, 1:37.185
Considering my ribs, I am quite happy with today. Second row of the grid is not so bad and I know there is more to come. Today, I had a lot of problems with the wind out there and because I am quite small, it was difficult for me to steer the bike as I wanted to. If the wind is less tomorrow, I can go much quicker. As for the race itself, it’s hard to know how long I can ride very hard. Hopefully, I’ll have a good idea tomorrow and be OK for Sunday. Friday qualifying


More, from a press release issued by Belgarda Yamaha:

Provisional front row for Jurgen

Team Yamaha Belgarda rider Jurgen van den Goorbergh set the third quickest time on the first day of qualifying at Phillip Island today despite suffering from the effcts of ‘flu. Last week, Jurgen had been stricken with high fevers and was forced to take antibiotics and although he is not up to full strength, he still managed to stay in touch with Chris Vermeulen (Honda) and Katsuaki Fujiwara (Suzuki). Jurgen’s team mate Simone Sanna, suffered a small crash at Siberia corner in the afternoon session and was forced to use his number two bike for the rest of the qualifying session. He ended the day thirteenth quickest overall, but will be back on his favourite number one bike for tomorrow’s final qualifying. Strong winds hampered quick times in the morning session, but in the afternoon Vermeulen posted a lap of 1:36.161 ­ a second quicker then the official lap record. Jurgen is well inside that record and Sanna is only half a second or so behind, so the prospects are good for tomorrow.

JURGEN VAN DEN GOORBERGH ­ 3rd, 1:36.843

Considering I’m only about 70%, I’m very happy with my times today. At the moment, my head feels a bit blocked and it’s difficult to concentrate, so to do these times today is very satisfying. I know this circuit and like it a lot, so I’m sort of doing good times automatically. I am definitely not riding freely at the moment, so I know I can go much faster. If my head clears a bit more and I feel a bit better, I can improve my times a lot.

SIMONE SANNA ­ 13th, 1:37.777

Unfortunately I had a small crash in the timed qualifying today and I had to use my number tow bike for the rest of the session. I am not so happy with it and so I couldn’t really push it hard and go for a quick time. I’m a bit disappointed about this, because I know I can do much better. I fell when I lost the front end ­ maybe on a little bump -at Siberia Corner, but luckily I wasn’t injured in the crash. The team have repaired the bike and tomorrow I’ll be able to chase a quick time for sure.