Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Aaron Yates took the win in the 25-lap AMA Superbike final by 2.8 seconds over Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom Saturday at Road Atlanta.

The win was the sixth of Yates’ career, his first Superbike race win at his home track and his first Superbike victory since winning both races of a double-header at Mid-Ohio July 15-16, 2000.

The win combined with Mat Mladin’s DNF puts Yates in the AMA Superbike point lead.

Anthony Gobert got the holeshot into turn one but was quickly overtaken by Eric Bostrom, Mat Mladin and Yates on the first lap. Mladin took the lead from Eric Bostrom on the second lap of the race and quickly began to pull away by 0.5 second per lap.

After a string of laps hovering around 1:24.0, Mladin had a 3.8-second lead on lap ten. Then just as Mladin sat up to brake from an estimated 175 mph for the turn ten chicane, his rear Dunlop practically exploded, coming apart in big chunks of rubber.

Mladin gave a heoric effort trying to save it. He kept his bike up and going straight despite his rear wheel skidding side-to-side on only a few remnants of rubber for approximately 350 feet of pavement. Still carrying a great deal of speed, Mladin jumped the transition between the track and the gravel trap, continued to try to bring his bike under control in the gravel but lost the front end and finally crashed. Mladin pointed fans to his rear tire before attempting to ride the bike back into the pits, but he couldn’t get the bike out of the impact zone and walked back to the pits.

After he was displaced to second by Mladin, Bostrom worked hard for seven laps to hold off the advances of Yates. Yates finally got by Bostrom on the brakes for turn ten on lap eight and quickly pulled out a comfortable gap. Eric Bostrom closed the gap at times in traffic but had nothing for the Georgia rider.

Kurtis Roberts ran a steady race in fourth, which eventually became third, from the second lap.

Anthony Gobert was as far back as seventh on lap ten before pushing forward past Ben Bostrom and a fading Miguel Duhamel to score fourth, his best finish of the 2003 season.

Ben Bostrom came home fifth in front of Michelin-shod Larry Pegram, Corona Extra Suzuki’s Jordan Szoke, Prieto Racing’s Michael Barnes, Team Embry Geoff May and HSA Racing/Kaufman Trailers’ Shawn Higbee.

Duhamel started fading quickly on lap 13, slowing from a early pace of 1:25s to 1:28 before settling in at 1:31s. Duhamel finished 11th, one lap down.

AMA Superbike Race One Results:

1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 25 laps
2. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, -2.857 seconds
3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, -20.449 seconds
4. Anthony Gobert, Ducati, -26.454 seconds
5. Ben Bostrom, Honda, -44.789 seconds
6. Larry Pegram, Ducati, -56.206 seconds
7. Jordan Szoke, Suzuki, -68.781 seconds
8. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, -79.779 seconds
9. Geoff May, Suzuki, -1 lap
10. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, -1 lap
11. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, -1 lap
12. John Dugan, Suzuki, -1 lap
13. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki, -1 lap
14. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki, -1 lap
15. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, -1 lap
16. Rich Conicelli, Suzuki, -1 lap
17. Scott Harwell, Suzuki, -1 lap
18. Tom Wertman, Suzuki, -1 lap
19. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, -1 lap
20. Jake Holden, Suzuki, -1 lap

Provisional AMA Superbike Points:

1. Yates, 187
2. Mladin, 175
3. Eric Bostrom, 170
4. Ben Bostrom, 168
5. Roberts, 160
6. Duhamel, 141
7. Pegram, 124
8. Higbee, 120
9. Haskovec, 111
10. Pridmore, 100

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Mat Mladin sent a shot across the bow of his competition in the final 20-minute Superbike practice Saturday before the first of two 25-lap races this weekend by turning a 1:22.861.

The time is well under Nicky Hayden’s Road Atlanta lap record of 1:23.287 set last year. Mladin’s time on the revised course will not be recognized as an official lap record because it was not recorded during official timed qualifying.

Eric Bostrom nearly matched his fast time (1:23.944) from Saturday morning’s qualifying with a 1:23.988 in the final warm-up session.

Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts was third-fastest in the 20-minute sessions with his fastest time of the weekend, a 1:24.125.

Saturday Afternoon AMA Superbike Practice Times:

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:22.861
2. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki, 1:23.988
3. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 1:24.125
4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:24.862
5. Ben Bostrom, Honda, 1:25.111
6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:25.518
7. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:26.406
8. Larry Pegram, Ducati, 1:26.772
9. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 1:27.174
10. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, 1:27.997

16. Anthony Gobert, Ducati, 1:32.928

From a press release issued by the Parts Canada Superbike Series:

CREVIER LEADS SUPERBIKES

SHANNONVILLE, ON – Steve Crevier of Maple Ridge, BC led the way on the opening day of practice for the first round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park on Friday.

In his Canadian debut with the Diablo Performance team the six-time national Superbike champion toured the 1.5-mile ‘Pro’ track in 1:07.559 on his Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Tom Kipp of Chardon, OH was second quickest on the Canadian Kawasaki Motors Kawasaki ZX-7RR at 1:07.699 and Toronto’s Michael Taylor placed third on the Orion Motorsports Honda CBR954RR with a time of 1:08.086.

Qualifying for Sunday’s Superbike feature race will run Saturday afternoon.

“We’ll make some small changes for tomorrow,” said Crevier, who holds the track lap record at 1:05.746. “I think we’ll need a second and a half tomorrow to stay on top. I think the record will be pretty easy to smash, just because the level of competition has gone up this year.”

Kipp is a late addition to the Canadian Kawasaki team. He was brought in after primary rider Owen Weichel broke his wrist in a crash in California two weeks ago.

“We were definitely able to get into a groove quicker than I expected,” said Kipp, who last raced at Shannonville in 1991. “I’m very happy with the Kawasakis.”

Taylor led a tight group of five riders within half a second of each other as new series rules, designed to even the playing field in the Superbike class made their debut.

“We made a lot of changes before the last session,” Taylor said. “I like the bike. We’ll have to keep it up for tomorrow.”

Defending race winner Frank Trombino of Kleinburg, ON was fourth on his Brooklin Yamaha YZF-R1 with a time of 1:08.168. He was followed by Taylor’s Orion Motorsports Honda teammates Kevin Lacombe and Robbie Baird.

Lacombe, from Granby, QC recorded a 1:08.205 on his Honda RC51 while Australian newcomer Baird managed a 1:08.220 on his similar machine.

Pascal Picotte was quickest in practice for the Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike national class. The Granby, QC rider set a time of 1:08.534 on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Kipp was second fastest at 1:09.241 aboard a Kawasaki ZX-6RR and Trombino placed third with a 1:09.242 on another Yamaha.

Bill Card of Wellesley, ON was quickest in the opening day of practice for the International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike division on his Honda CBR600RR with a time of 1:12.868. Richmond Hill, ON’s Eric Warren placed second with a 1:13.027 aboard a Suzuki GSX-R600 and Mark Douglas of Warkworth, ON was third at 1:13.534, also on a Suzuki GSX-R600.

Qualifying for all three national classes will take place Saturday afternoon. Riders will be on the track at 8:30 a.m. with the first qualifying session slated for 1:00 p.m. Feature races will run Sunday.

This weekend’s event will be televised on TSN on Sunday, June 15 at 11:00 am EDT and later this year on Quebec’s RDS and across Canada on the Outdoor Life Network.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Hooters Suzuki’s Vaclav “Vincent” Haskovec came from behind to beat Attack Suzuki’s Josh Hayes in the run to the last corner to win the AMA Superstock race at Road Atlanta Saturday. It was 29-year-old Haskovec’s first AMA National race win, and the Czech Republic immigrant now leads the Superstock point standings.

Hayes got the holeshot and led every lap except for the last lap.

Haskovec was sixth after lap one; passed Adam Fergusson, John Haner and Tommy Hayden on the first lap; and battled with Chris “Opie” Caylor through the middle of the race.

Haskovec turned the fastest lap of the race, 1:26.801 on lap five, passed Caylor in turn one on lap six, pulled within striking distance of Hayes on lap 12 and even sized up Hayes for a pass in turn 10 on lap 14. Haskovec spun up his rear at the exit of turn seven on the final lap, allowing Hayes to pull an advantage down the back straight. Hayes still protected the inside of turn 10, while Haskovec set up for a drive out of 10 and up the hill. Haskovec got the power down up the hill, and Hayes spun up and ran wider over the hill than he wanted. Haskovec rubbed up inside Hayes coming down the hill to turn 12 and took the win by less than a bikelength.

Caylor finished a close third.

Hayden’s 636cc Kawasaki ZX-6R was overpowered by the 750cc machines down Road Atlanta’s straightaways. The situation became worse in lapped traffic, but Hayden held on to finish fourth.

Haskovec’s teammate Mike Ciccotto put in a late-race charge to move from eighth up to finish fifth.

Eric Wood, Fergusson, Jimmy Moore, Haner and Yamaha YZF-R6-mounted Jason DiSalvo rounded out the top 10.

Mike Smith and Jordan Szoke both pulled out of the race with mechanical problems. Smith was third when he slowed on the back straight on lap two. Szoke was ninth when his engine apparently blew on the front straight on lap 13.

AMA Superstock Race Results:

1. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R750, 15 laps
2. Josh Hayes, Suzuki GSX-R750, -0.108 second
3. Chris Caylor, Suzuki GSX-R750, -0.851 second
4. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, -7.654 seconds
5. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki GSX-R750, -10.716 seconds
6. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, -11.310 seconds
7. Adam Fergusson, Suzuki GSX-R750, -12.255 seconds
8. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R750, -14.657 seconds
9. John Haner, Suzuki GSX-R750, -15.885 seconds
10. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R6, -15.961 seconds
11. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R750, -17.139 seconds
12. Matt Furtek, Suzuki GSX-R750, -17.812 seconds
13. John Dugan, Suzuki GSX-R750, -20.178 seconds
14. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, -25.809 seconds
15. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, -30.569 seconds

Provisional AMA Superstock Point Standings:

1. Haskovec, 120
2. Hayden, 118
3. Fergusson, 109
4. Hayes, 100
5. Meiring/Caylor, TIE, 93
7. DiSalvo, 92
8. Moore, 90
9. Haner/Ciccotto, TIE, 77
11. Ulrich, 65
12. Furtek, 56
13. Wood/Szoke, TIE, 54
15. Acree, 52


More, from a press release issued by Marietta Motorsports:

1-888-FASTLAP’S CAYLOR FINISHES 3RD IN 750 SUPERSTOCK AT ROAD ATLANTA

BRASELTON, Ga.- 1-888-FASTLAP rider Opie Caylor stood on the podium in front of his friends and family at his home track of Road Atlanta after taking third in the 750 Superstock race on his 1-888-FASTLAP/Team EMGO Taiwan Suzuki GSX-R750.

Caylor started the race from the second row after qualifying sixth. In the opening two laps, he worked his way into second. For the remainder of the 15-lap race, Caylor battled with Vincent Haskovec as the two tried to chase down race leader Josh Hayes.

Haskovec passed Caylor on lap six, but the two slowly began to close the gap that Hayes had gotten. The three riders stayed close to each other for the remainder of the race in what many fans declared the most exciting race of the day.

Caylor was able to pull away from Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden, who tried to challenge him for third. Caylor ran unchallenged in the closing laps, earning his first podium of the season.

“It seems like it’s always hardest to do good at your home track,” reflected Caylor. “I went to California Speedway and qualified with a better position than I did here. But we ended up on the box today and it’s great.”

1-888-FASTLAP rider Brian Stokes finished 16th on the Team Embry Suzuki GSX-R750. He battled with Rich Conicelli for the entire race. “Conicelli is a good rider and we had fun. It gave me something to do. I hit a couple of false neutrals on the back straight, so my speed back there wasn’t as high as the other bikes. But we did well today and it was a fun time.”

More information about 1-888-FASTLAP, including information about Caylor and Stokes, can be found on the Internet at www.1888FASTLAP.com.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning AMA Superstock Practice Times:

1. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.907
2. Josh Hayes, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:29.166
3. John Dugan, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.183
4. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:30.210
5. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.468
6. Tony Meiring, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 1:30.560
7. Matt Wait, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.597
8. Jamie Stauffer, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:30.696
9. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.762
10. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:30.800
11. Jason Peters, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.356
12. Mike Smith, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.470
13. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.797
14. Jacob Holden, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.853
15. Hawk Mazzotta, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.284
16. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.300
17. Tom Wertman, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.516
18. Thad Halsmer, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:33.960
19. Darren Luck, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:35.321
20. Jeff Muskopf, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:35.858
21. Chuck Ivey, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:37.412
22. Mike Scruggs, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.224
23. William Johnson, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.758
24. Nathan Hester, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:38.818
25. Chris Greer, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:40.416
26. David Bell, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:40.866
27. Robert Hilliard, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:41.988

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AMA 250cc Grand Prix Qualifying Results:

1. Rich Oliver, Yamaha, 1:27.936
2. Simon Turner, TSR Honda, 1:30.443
3. Chris Pyles, Honda, 1:33.361
4. Colin Jensen, Aprilia, 1:33.463
5. Ed Sorbo, Yamaha, 1:33.699
6. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha, 1:33.997
7. Darren Fulce, Yamaha, 1:34.465
8. Ed Marchini, Yamaha, 1:34.937
9. Greg Esser, Honda, 1:35.401
10. Sean McNew, Honda, 1:35.546

Chuck Sorensen, the defending AMA 250cc Grand Prix Champion, did not participate in Saturday’s qualifying session at Road Atlanta due to an injury suffered in a crash on Friday.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Trevor Hedge, www.mcnews.com.au

The opening stages of the second round of the Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship were played out under cloudy skies at Victoria’s magnificent Phillip Island circuit today.

Shawn Giles (Suzuki) signaled his intentions in first qualifying by going 1.5 seconds under the previous Australian Production Superbike qualifying record and over half a second under the race lap record. Nobody could beat that mark in final qualifying which put Giles on pole position for tomorrow’s three races.

Yamaha’s Kevin Curtain dominated the opening encounter of the five round championships at South Australia’s Mallala Motorsport Park last month with a perfect record of race wins in both the Superbike and Supersport classes. At that meeting Giles was still suffering the effects of a case of severe food poisoning which hindered his performance.

But Giles proved he is back, and fit, after conquering those ills to take pole on his GSX-R1000 Suzuki. Curtain piloted his Yamaha YZF-R1 to a 1:35.244 in the final qualifying session which was good enough for fourth on the grid.

Curtain’s team-mate and fellow Novocastrian, Daniel Stauffer, was the second fastest man in final qualifying and will take his place next to Giles at the front of the grid. Daniel is the brother of Jamie Stauffer who recently filled the Suzuki AMA Supersport seat vacated by Aaron Yates.

Also on the front row is 20-year-old Shepparton rider Craig Coxhell. He is the youngest rider on the front row of the grid and is partner to reigning Australian Superbike Champion Shawn Giles in Team Suzuki Australia.

But Kevin Curtain did manage to top the tables in the 600cc Supersport category, the 26-year-old needed only one of the two qualifying sessions to secure pole. Second on the Supersport grid is young Brendan Clarke, who, like Curtain, also rides a Yamaha YZF-R6 for the Nikon Yamaha Team. Both riders are back riding in Australia after stints riding on the world championship stage. Curtain rode World Supersport on a Honda while Clarke was the youngest ever 500 Grand Prix competitor when he rode for the Shell Advance Grand Prix squad two years ago.

The tyre rules for Australian Supersport mean that riders have only two sets of tyres to last them through the qualifying sessions, and the three eight lap races scheduled over the weekend. With this in mind both the Nikon Yamaha riders only did the absolute minimum laps needed to ensure their places at the front of the grid.

The first of the weekend’s three Supersport races was run today with Kevin Curtain storming away to an easy victory. The battle for second was hard and fast with Brendan Clarke, Shannon Johnson, Josh Brookes and Glenn Allerton all taking turns at leading the fight. Honda team-mates Josh Brookes and Shannon Johnson rubbed fairings, and elbows, down the main straight in the final run to the line but it was Brookes who held on to take second, but the call was close enough for the video evidence to be called upon to back up the timing system. Both the Honda riders had a talking to about their antics down the main straight which nearly resulted in Brookes rubbing the wall at around 240kph.

Alex Cudlin took the Superstock win by the narrowest of margins over Alex Tomassetti after the duo had a great battle. Leigh McKenzie was the star performer at the previous Mallala round but at the ultra fast Phillip Island circuit the Victorian could only take third behind the two New South Wales riders.

Mildura’s Josh Waters got a shocker of a start in the 125 Grand Prix race but quickly worked his way up to the front. The 16-year-old had a ding-dong battle for the win with multiple time Australian Champion Peter Galvin. Waters took the win by two-tenths of a second after both himself and Galvin continually lowered the lap record. While Waters eventually recorded the win, it was Galvin who set the new record with a 1:41.632. Waters also did times in the 1-minute-41 bracket but the best of the rest could only managed 1-minute-44s.

Western Australia’s Peter Taplin took the win in 250 Grand Prix to continue his perfect record so far this year. Mark Stanley challenged him at times but Taplin eventually took the win by two seconds, while Stanley just managed to hold off Chris Wilkie to take second place.

Caleb Stalder continued to be the class of the field in the dwindling 250 Production ranks. This class sees basically standard Aprilia RS250 machines go head to head with each other and the class has produced champions such as Troy Corser, Mat Mladin, Robbie Baird, Kevin Curtain, Broc Parkes, Anthony West and Aaron Gobert.

But at this stage of the game the 250 Production class is definitely only a shadow of its former self, with grids quite often numbering less than 15. Some rule changes were introduced this year which puts riders on a Michelin Pilot Sport control tyre. The riders have petitioned this move and want to get the rule changed so they can ride on the more track focused ‘Pilot Race’ tyres.

The main factor in tomorrow’s three Superbike races could well turn out to be the notorious Phillip Island weather. ‘A few showers’ are forecast but there is also a chance that the weather could turn nasty. This could really throw a spanner in the works as it has been a long time since a Shell Advance Australian Superbike experienced inclement weather so many of the top riders have not ridden in the rain for a couple of years.

If it is dry, the top four Superbike riders are all on Dunlop rubber but compound choices could be where it is won or lost in regards to the overall round win. Australian Superbikes get two sets of tyres each for them to complete three races on, so one set has to be used in two races. If it is wet Michelin have previously proven to be superior which could allow Honda riders such as Shannon Johnson and Josh Brookes figure more in to the equation. But Dunlop are rumoured to have some great new wets available in Australia this year. If it does turn wet I guess we will find out…

But come rain, hail, or shine the action will be fierce as Australia’s fastest motorcycle racers battle it out around the 4.45km circuit on Sunday to see who comes away the victor from this second round of the Shell Advance Australian Superbike Championship.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning AMA 250cc Grand Prix Practice Times:

1. Rich Oliver, Yamaha, 1:30.573
2. Ed Sorbo, Yamaha, 1:35.287
3. Perry Melneciuc, Yamaha, 1:38.068
4. Simon Turner, TSR Honda, 1:38.275
5. Greg Esser, Honda, 1:38.275
6. Darren Fulce, Yamaha, 1:39.878
7. Chris Pyles, Honda, 1:40.048
8. Colin Jensen, Aprilia, 1:40.933
9. Barrett Long, Yamaha, 1:41.311
10. Stephen Bowline, Honda, 1:41.321
11. Nobi Iso, Aprilia, 1:41.368
12. Sandy Noce, Yamaha, 1:41.511
13. Ed Marchini, Yamaha, 1:41.946
14. Rick Merhar, Yamaha, 1:41.946
15. Jeremy Bonnett, Yamaha, 1:42.241

Note: Stargel Aprilia’s Chuck Sorensen missed Saturday morning practice while getting his right hand examined by doctors. Sorensen crashed in the newly-added turn three chicane section Friday.

From a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

Jeremy’s First Ride

McWill throws a leg over his new bike

Proton Team KR works rider, Jeremy McWilliams had his first taste of the team’s new four-stroke V5 on Wednesday afternoon. The motorcycle, which is still in development was rolled out at the Turweston airstrip near the team’s base in England.

McWilliams did several high speed passes getting familiar with the clutch and gear change.

The development team has been working day and night to get the Proton KR V5 ready for it’s circuit debut, which is hoped to be next weekend at Le Mans.

Jeremy McWilliams:
I’m really impressed with the smoothness of the engine. It feels bloody quick. When I give it throttle it just takes off. Since it was my first time on the bike I wanted to get acquainted with it, so I just ran it up and down to get a feel of the engine and systems. I can’t wait to get it to the race track, because it feels like it’s going to be everything it was designed to be.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Muggeridge smashes records to go pole at Monza

Karl Muggeridge blasted his way to pole position in the Supersport at Monza, beating his Ten Kate Honda team mate Chris Vermeulen by nearly a second and going 1.7 seconds under the existing best lap time.

When Karl Muggeridge returned to the pits and looked at the lap times, his first words were quite simple: “Some gap!” said the Australian as he glanced at the timing monitors.

It wasn’t the easiest of qualifying session for Muggeridge as riders hung around waiting for a slipstream partner.

“The hardest part of that was traffic,” he explained. “At one point I had to actually stop on the track because so many people were waiting for a tow, and the problem with that is that your tyres go cold.”

Still suffering from a thumb injury from the first free practice on Friday where he snapped the ligaments in his right thumb, Chris Vermeulen was very happy with second on the grid.

“I did the same time on race tyres as I did on qualifiers because of my thumb injury, I just couldn’t make use of the extra grip.

“The pain is worse on the brakes and that is going to make it hard to pass people in the race. But with the Ten Kate Honda I might get away with using the power to pass riders.”

Kawasaki’s Pere Riba moved back from MotoGP after a disastrous season and has had some teething problems with the new model Kawasaki ZX-6RR. But the Kawasaki France team have been working hard and improvements at the last two rounds saw him qualified third.

“At the beginning of the season I wasn’t happy with the bike,” explained the Spaniard and former Ten Kate rider. “In Japan we made big changes to the chassis and suspension and here in Monza we have made some modifications to in the engine to find more power.”

Alstare Suzuki of Katsuaki Fujiwara edged out Scotsman Iain MacPherson by 0.08 second to snatch the final front row start.



Final World Supersport Qualifying Results:

1. Karl Muggeridge, Honda, 1:51.480
2. Chris Vermeulen, Honda, 1:52.311
3. Pere Riba, Kawasaki, 1:52.570
4. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki, 1:52.922
5. Iain MacPherson, Honda, 1:53.003
6. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki, 1:53.159
7. Werner Daemen, Honda, 1:53.255
8. Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Yamaha, 1:53.331
9. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha, 1:53.332
10. Fabien Foret, Kawasaki, 1:53.246
11. Sebastien Charpentier, Honda, 1:53.639
12. Robert Ulm, Honda, 1:53.667
13. Simone Sanna, Yamaha, 1:53.742
14. Gianluca Namelli, Yamaha, 1:53.755
15. Christophe Cogan, Honda, 1:53.769
16. Alessandro Polita, Yamaha, 1:53.830
17. Christian Kellner, Yamaha, 1:53.846
18. Barry Veneman, Honda, 1:53.876
19. Jorg Teuchert, Yamaha, 1:54.283
20. Broc Parkes, Honda, 1:54.315


More, from a press release issued on behalf of Ten Kate Honda:

Ten Kate Honda dominate final qualifying at Monza

Karl Muggeridge and Chris Vermeulen showed the dominance of the Ten Kate Hondas by taking the top two grid positions for Sunday’s race at the historic Monza circuit.

Muggeridge blew the opposition into the weeds going almost a full second quicker than Vermeulen and more than a second faster of Pere Riba in third.

But it wasn’t all easy for Muggeridge. “There was so much traffic out there it made it tough,” he explained. “Riders were slowing down in the middle of the track to wait for a tow. It didn’t only mean that the lap was ruined but also let the tyre go cold. The Honda CBR600RR is great and the Pirelli tyres are fantastic here. Getting pole is a real confidence booster for me because it’s taken a few races to adjust to the new bike.”

While Karl’s performance was impressive his team mate Chris Vermeulen’s second on the grid is nothing short of incredible considering his thumb injury.

“Braking is very painful,” said Chris after the session. “My time on qualifying tyres was the same as on race tyres because I couldn’t make use of the extra grip due to my thumb. In the race passing on the brakes will be difficult, but if I can’t pass on the brakes I’ll have to use the power of the Ten Kate Honda instead.”

Team manager Ronald ten Kate was obviously pleased to see both his riders at the top of the timesheet.

“Incredible! I’m literally speechless,” was all he could say at first after qualifying. But then he found words to describe his riders’ efforts. “Being on pole is great but to see Karl smash the best lap record by 1.7seconds is amazing. It shows that we are constantly improving the new bike and that we have two very capable riders. Chris did so well today despite his injury and I’m sure that in the race he’ll be running on pure adrenaline.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

FRONT ROW FOR KATS

2003 Supersport World Championship ­ Round 4, Monza, Italy. Final qualifying, Saturday 17th May.
Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Katsuaki Fujiwara made a dramatic improvement at Monza today to earn himself a place on the front row of the grid.

Kats posted a lap of 1:52.22 after changing almost everything on his GXSR600 Alstare Suzuki. Fujiwara’s team mate Stephane Chambon also improved his lap times considerably and ended up sixth quickest.

The final qualifying was dominated by the ultra-fast Hondas of Karl Muggeridge and Chris Vermeulen. Both had topped yesterday’s standings and today was just the same. Aussie Muggeridge took nearly a second off his best time yesterday to take pole position ahead of his team mate Vermeulen. Third quickest was Spaniard Pere Riba (Kawasaki), just two tenths of a second faster then Fujiwara.

KATSUAKI FUJIWARA ­ 4th, 1:52.922: We made many changes after yesterday: Suspension, gearbox and the balance of the bike and it all worked much better. This morning I felt under a lot of pressure to qualify better, so now I am much happier that we are on the front row of the grid. It’s very important to be on the front row here and make a good start, because the first chicane is very tight and you don’t want to get caught up in a pack. The Hondas are very fast here and it’s not possible to draft them and then pull out and pass, so tomorrow’s race is going to be very, very hard.

STEPHANE CHAMBON ­ 6th, 1:53.159: We changed many settings from yesterday, including the gearbox and I’m happy that it made an improvement. Yesterday I was struggling a lot with a front-end problem, but today was much better. I don’t really get on with this track, so I know I’m in for a very difficult race tomorrow. A good start is important ­ especially from my second row grid position ­ because the first chicane is so difficult and tight.