World Supersport 2004 - Round 1 - Valencia - Sunday

After going 1-2 in qualifying the Ten Kate Honda pairing of Karl Muggeridge and Broc Parkes made excellent starts from their front row positions, but each was to experience misfortune of a different kind, on their way to an eighth place finish and a crash respectively.

The rains which blighted the track after the morning warm-up meant that all teams were offered a 15-minute practice session to test wet tyres, but the race itself was held in dry conditions.

Broc Parkes, the early leader, had the heartbreak of a crash on lap three, ending his interest in the race early in the day. The young Aussie rider, who qualified in second place was disappointed with his showing on the team's most favoured test track, but has already shown is abundant talent and the speed of the Ten Kate Honda.

Muggeridge, who was to tangle with another rider and drop from seventh to eighth place in the reckoning, was also a race leader but dropped back as the race wore on to its 23 lap conclusion. He said, "We chose a medium rear tyre and it turned out to be the wrong choice. From the fourth lap the bike started sliding and I went backwards as other people went forwards. It was really frustrating and then I got hit on the last lap and almost crashed. It's not all over yet, and it's a long season with a lot of points up for grabs."

"I got a really good start," said Parkes, who looks to the next race on home tarmac to rebuild his year. "Maybe my start was too good. I felt that I entered the corner the same as ever and opened the throttle just the same but the back came round and I highsided."

"Karl's rear tyre was really worn," said Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate, "and we are surprised that other people could go past Karl, some on even softer tyre choices. It's disappointing for Broc and us all that he crashed but that is racing sometimes. We have shown how fast we can go, so we will be looking to the next round."

The race was won by the Yamaha of Jurgen van den Goorbergh, with his team-mate Fabien Foret second and the Suzuki of Katsuaki Fujiwara third. The next round of the championship takes place at Phillip Island, Australia, on 28th March.

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