Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Vermeulen extends championship lead

Chris Vermeulen took his Ten Kate Honda to another start-to-finish win at the technical Oschersleben circuit for round five of the World Supersport championship, despite still suffering from a badly injured right thumb.

Vermeulen got the jump from Stephane Chambon and Broc Parkes, while reigning Supersport Champion, Fabien Foret ran off the track on lap one. Parkes was riding aggressively from the start, passing Chambon into the Shell Esses and then taking off after fellow countryman, Vermeulen.

Pole sitter Muggeridge was making up for a poor start, he was so determined not to fry his clutch again, as at Monza, that he started way too softly. Then, after fighting his way back up in third place, he made a mistake and crashed his Ten Kate Honda. He remounted to battle through for 15th and a single point.

Parkes fought to stay with Vermeulen, but ran wide into the ‘Triple,’ the three-way left-hander, on lap 14 and lost touch with the lead pack. The Alstare Suzuki pairing took advantage, catching and passing Parkes to claim the remaining podium places.

Jurgen van den Goorbergh worked hard to recover from a poor start, and moved through late in the race to pass the fading Parkes to grab fourth.

Vermeulen’s third win from just five races moves him to an incredible, in Supersport racing, 38 points clear from Fujiwara.


World Supersport Race Results:

1. Chris Vermeulen, Honda, 28 laps, 42:51.384
2. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki, -1.775 seconds
3. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki, -2.085 seconds
4. Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Yamaha, -3.936 seconds
5. Broc Parkes, Honda, -8.438 seconds
6. Pere Riba, Kawasaki, -8.989 seconds
7. Jorg Teuchert, Yamaha, -14.973 seconds
8. Chris Kellner, GER, Yamaha, -20.274 seconds
9. Sebastian Charpentier, Honda, -24.001 seconds
10. Gianluca Nannelli, Yamaha, -29.143 seconds
11. Robert Ulm, Honda, -29.374 seconds
12. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha, -29.474 seconds
13. Dean Thomas, Honda, -36.099 seconds
14. Barry Veneman, Honda, -41.521 seconds
15. Karl Muggeridge, Honda, -47.448 seconds, crash
16. Stefano Cruciani, Kawasaki, -47.955 seconds
17. Michael Laverty, Honda, -51.360 seconds
18. Herbert Kaufmann, Suzuki, -52.111 seconds
19. Tobias Kirmeier, Honda, -79.208 seconds
20. Arno Visscher, Kawasaki, -1 lap
21. Iain MacPherson, Honda, -8 laps, DNF
22. Didier Vankeymeulen, Kawasaki, -15 laps, DNF
23. Thierry vd Bosch, Yamaha, -17 laps, DNF
24. Christophe Cogan, Honda, -18 laps, DNF
25. Kenan Sofuoglu, Yamaha, -21 laps, DNF
26. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha, -24 laps, DNF
27. Werner Daemen, Honda, -25 laps, DNF
28. Fabien Foret, Kawasaki, -25 laps, DNF
29. Simone Sanna, Yamaha, -27 laps, DNF


More, from a press release issued by Van Zon Honda TKR:

Dreadful luck ruins weekend for Team Van Zon Honda TKR

A promising start to the World Supersport championship turned bad for both Team Van Zon Honda TKR riders.

Werner Daemen crashed out of the race after making contact with Christian Kellner while a freak technical problem ended MacPherson’s race early.

“We’ve suffered from bad luck again,” admitted Daemen. “Kellner hit me twice and has left a big tyre mark my leathers! When he hit my rear tyre I couldn’t keep the bike up and went into the gravel. It’s a shame because my start was good and I was making progress in the field, the Pirelli tyres were great and the Honda CBR600RR was performing faultlessly. I can only hope our luck returns for Silverstone.

Iain MacPherson also suffered from appalling luck. He was fighting at the front of the pack early in the race but then hit problems.

“I thought my bike was losing power because I was having trouble getting on full throttle,” said the fiery Scot. “But then I realised that the throttle grip was actually slipping on the bar. I had no choice but to pull in, it was just too dangerous to carry on.”


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

Vermeulen wins again

Chris Vermeulen made it three wins from just five races to go a staggering 38 points clear at the head of the World Supersport championship.

The young Australian took the holeshot on his CBR600RR and never looked back. He kept the pressure on hard, leaving the rest of the pack struggling in his wake.

“I really didn’t expect to get away again like that,” explained Vermeulen after the race. “I expected the pack to be right with me here, especially as I am still struggling with my thumb injury.”

Vermeulen’s thumb, damaged in a crash at Monza, caused him more trouble at this twisting and technical track than it did at Monza.

“It’s much more physical here,” he said, “but the Honda CBR600RR was awesome, as usual, and the guys at Pirelli and WP Suspension came up with a brilliant package, once again.”

Vermeulen’s team mate, Karl Muggeridge, started from pole after dominating qualifying, just as he did at Monza. But a poor start left him with plenty of work to do to catch the lead pack. Muggeridge made up the ground, and got up into third before pushing a little too hard and loosing the front end. He remounted to take a single championship point in 15th.

“Karl isn’t having much luck at the moment,” observed team manager Ronald ten Kate. “But he is riding really well and we are confident that when his luck returns, he’ll be right back up there.

“As for Chris, what can I say except – amazing! But he couldn’t have done it without the brilliant package of the Honda CBR600RR and Pirelli tyres and WP Suspension. OK, I know you’ll think I am just saying this, it’s obligatory to praise your sponsors and partners, but I honestly mean it, they really are working wonders for us.”