Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc

By Glenn LeSanto

Foret wins battle with Vermeulen to take Supersport win

The crowd at Monza was treated to a tremendous World Supersport race that saw Fabien Foret dicing with young Chris Vermeulen for the lead late in the race.

Chris Vermeulen, who rides for Van Zon Honda TKR, a satellite team of Ten Kate Honda, took second place after a tremendous battle with Foret in front of the 82,000-strong crowd. But Foret had to ride on the edge of his wits as Vermeulen pushed him hard right to the line. Foret took the win despite steadily running out of brakes in the closing stages.

“Towards the end of the race my brakes were fading because the pace was so unbelievably hot,” explained a delighted Foret, who broke the lap record in the race. “But the Pirelli tires were fantastic, even right at the end of the race they were giving full grip. The Honda is extremely fast, perfect for Monza, and I made a break away from the pack with Chris Vermeulen in the last few laps. I knew it would be all down to the last bend between Chris and me. I was able to get the better line in that last turn to get victory and to close up to Chambon in the Championship.”

The result left in-form Foret only four points behind Championship leader Stephane Chambon after five races; Chambon finished the race fifth after losing a battle with Andrew Pitt. Chambon’s teammate Katsuaki Fujiwara had been battling for the lead himself but the two Honda riders used every ounce of their performance to put a one-second gap on the Suzuki man.

At one stage Foret had been well ahead of the pursuing pack but his brake problems allowed them to bridge the gap in just one lap.

Early in the race it looked like Alessio Corradi would be in the hunt for the lead. He was in the front group at the start of the race and even took his turn to lead. But his wild riding style caught him out and he crashed after only completing eight laps.

Other victims of crashes or mechanical problems included James Whitham, who suffered clutch failure after only two laps, and Karl Muggeridge, who also lost his clutch even earlier–entering the first turn! Christian Kellner threw his Yamaha down the road on lap one and Kevin Curtain’s bike blew on lap 11.

Both Foret and Vermeulen were riding on Pirelli rubber, with Fujiwara, Pitt, Chambon and sixth-place finisher Paolo Casoli following them home on Dunlops.