World Superbike 2004 - Round 1 - Valencia - Saturday Qualifying

Having started well on the opening day of Superbike qualifying the combination of Superbike rookie Chris Vermeulen and the all-new Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR finished an epic third in Superpole, earning a third place start on the grid for Valencia's 23-lap Superbike race.

His time of 1:36.977 was Chris's best of the weekend, the young Aussie Supersport Champion revelling in his first ever Superpole outing. He could have gone even faster but was held back by the high winds, which have been a constant aspect of the first race of the 2004 season.

The competition at Valencia was keen, with the fastest rider proving to be the Ducati Fila competitor Regis Laconi. Second best was his team-mate James Toseland and the last front row qualifier will be Briton Leon Haslam.

"I am really pleased with that result, especially as it wasn't a perfect lap," said Vermeulen. "The wind was so high I had to hold back a little bit for safety. I had to finish the lap for the time to count. I'm happy with the set-up for the race and it's perfect to start from the front row."

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate could hardly find the words to express his pleasure at such a positive result for a bike and rider combination new to the Superbike class. "I think I am really almost speechless," he smiled. "We hoped for a result like that this weekend but we didn't really expect it. The technicians have been working really hard to get the bike ready and as good as it can be and we want to get the same sort of result in the race now as well."

The new USB Power Commander is already available for the ZX-10R, as is a powershifter