Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Foret takes a the Lausitz lap record, the race win and the championship lead

Fabien Foret put in another faultless display in his Ten Kate Honda to take the win at Lausitzring in the World Supersport championship race. Foret, who qualified for the race in pole, was third into the first bend behind holeshot man Katsuaki Fujiwara and Andrew Pitt.

On lap two Foret shot by Pitt under brakes into turn one, a move he repeated on lap four when he passed Fujiwara for the lead. For lap after lap it looked like he wouldn’t be able to break Fujiwara, who clung grimly onto the back of Foret and his superfast Honda.

Then in the closing stages Foret poured on the style, taking the lap record as late as lap 18. Fujiwara had no answer to Foret’s late pace, and slipped to nearly two seconds behind. Foret slowed right up on the last lap but still finished 0.7 seconds up on Fujiwara.

In the latter stages of the race a fight developed for second place between Fujiwara, Chambon, Pitt and Christian Kellner. Pitt managed to squeeze past Chambon on lap 22, which put Chambon further adrift from Foret in the title chase. Foret’s win meant that he moved into the
championship lead, nine points up on Chambon. Foret had trailed Chambon by three points going into the race.

It was a disappointing day for Karl Muggeridge who lost the front end of his Honda early in the race while carving through the pack. He was lying third when he crashed. He remounted to finish 17. Kellner ended up fifth in front of the young Australian Chris Vermeulen.


Lausitzring World Supersport Race Results:

1. Fabien Foret, Honda CBR600F,23 laps, 40:02.756
2. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki GSX-R600, -0.721
3. Andrew Pitt,Kawasaki ZX-6R,-1.354
4. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki GSX-R600, -1.691
5. Christian Kellner, Yamaha YZF-R6, -3.339
6. Chris Vermeulen, Honda CBR600F, -17.532
7. James Whitham, Yamaha YZF-R6, -18.695
8. Jörg Teuchert, Yamaha YZF-R6, -21.344
9. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha YZF-R6, -21.480
10. Paolo Casoli, Yamaha YZF-R6, -31.041
11. Stefano Cruciani, Yamaha YZF-R6, -37.601
12. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Ducati 748R, -39.217
13. Iain MacPherson, Honda CBR600F, -39.938
14. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha YZF-R6, -42.511
15. Robert Ulm,Honda CBR600F, -43.968
16. Christian Zaiser, Yamaha YZF-R6, -50.114
17. Karl Muggeridge, Honda CBR600F, -52.160
18. David De Gea, Honda CBR600F, -62.953
19. Antonio Carlacci, Yamaha YZF-R6, -67.286
20. Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati 748R, -67.851
21. Claudio Cipriani, Yamaha YZF-R6, -70.285
22. Rico Penzkofer, Ducati 748R, -78.915
23. Diego Giugovaz, Yamaha YZF-R6, -3 laps, DNF
24. James Ellison, Kawasaki ZX-6R, -13 laps, DNF 25. Christophe Cogan, Honda CBR600F,-21 laps, DNF
26. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha YZF-R6, -22 laps, DNF
27. Ron Van Steenbergen, Honda CBR600F, -22 laps, DNF
28. Robert Frost, Yamaha YZF-R6, -23 laps, DNF
29. Kyro Verstraeten, Honda CBR600F, DNS

More, from Ten Kate Honda:

Foret takes his third win of the season at Lasitzring

Ten Kate Honda rider Fabien Foret put in a masterful display at Lausitzring today to take his third win of the season. Pole sitter Foret
took the race win in style, even setting the lap record on lap 18! The win put him nine points clear at the top of the championship table.

“The track really suits my racing style,” commented Fabien after the race. “Both my bike and the Pirelli tyres worked very well. It was easy for me this weekend, I just had to get on my bike and ride. Everything was perfect.”

When asked how it was possible for him to set the lap record so late in the race at a time when other riders were starting to suffer from tyre
wear, Foret replied; “The Pirelli tyres I used today are incredible. They gave their best all through the race and right up to the chequered
flag they were still working perfectly. But it’s also due to the quality of the suspension because the WP Suspension helps me to conserve the tyres.”

It wasn’t such a good day for Iain MacPherson; “I’m obviously disappointed. But I’ll be back at Misano, which is a track I like, and
I’ll trying hard for a win there.”

After the race Fabien Foret’s engine was once more examined by the race officials and found to be perfectly within all the competition’s rules.

“We build our bikes to be very fast,” commented team manager, Ronald ten Kate, “but we build them fairly. “Today has once again shown the quality
of Fabien Foret,” he continued, “His display on the track was incredible, so mature, and yet so fast. But it’s not a solo effort, the entire team has worked very hard to ensure that he had the perfect set up for the dry. And credit has to go once again to WP Suspension and Pirelli Tyres for their invaluable contribution to our success.”

Ronald ten Kate had some positive words for Iain MacPherson; “I don’t think this circuit suits his style, he struggled here last year. But the team is 100% behind him and we’re confident he’ll be very strong at Misano. He’s proved in recent races, and testing, that he can be just as fast as Foret.”