World SuperSport 2003 - Round 11 - Magny Cours

The 11th and final race of Honda’s multi faceted attack on the 2003 World Supersport Championship will be an opportunity for all the officially supported CBR600RR riders to underline their prowess just one more time. Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) has enjoyed the most stellar season possible, running out the youngest ever champion, just 21; at the previous race in Imola. He finished in second place at that venue, close behind his team-mate Karl Muggeridge, who busied himself stacking another win onto Honda’s impressive 2003 season tally.

Thus far Honda riders have taken six race wins out of a possible ten - four for Vermeulen and two for Muggeridge. A further seven podiums have been garnered, the majority split between Vermeulen and Muggeridge but with Iain Macpherson (Van Zon Honda CBR600RR), Broc Parkes (BKM Honda CBR600RR) and Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) all taking a third place apiece.

Honda riders have in fact scored a podium finish of some kind at every single race so far, plus a total of five pole positions after qualifying at circuits as diverse as Oschersleben and Phillip Island.

The 2003 season has unquestionably been the high water mark for the World Supersport Championship’s quality of entry, making Honda’s win in the Manufacturers’ Championship - with races to spare - all the sweeter.

The last round line up of Honda riders has been expanded to include the former BKM Honda rider Broc Parkes, with the Aussie running in Ten Kate colours for the final race of the season. He will find the series every bit as tough as when he left it, shortly before the Assen weekend. His new Magny Cours team-mates will not be the only hard nuts to crack in a series with so many potential podium finishers. Motocross star Frederic Bolley will also make a one-off appearance at the French round.

For Vermeulen the feeling of being champion has now sunk in, and he is looking at the next race as just another chance to go for his fifth victory.
“The last two races I have been thinking more about the championship than the race so hopefully at Magny Cours we can turn things around. We’ve tested there twice but in the second one we didn’t get a lot of time. We still seemed to be on the pace compared to the other guys that were there. The track’s got a lot of different corners, ups and downs, so I think it’s really very good.”

Muggeridge, going for nothing less than a hat trick of three consecutive wins, feels confident after a good shakedown session at the French circuit.
“Chris and I went testing there and it seemed to go very well. We ended up on similar times to each other and our times were as fast as the Suzuki guys went on softer tyres - so we’re happy. We both have a good set-up for the track. The circuit layout itself is OK, but it’s not really a rider’s track. It’s very car oriented, so turn one and two is the best bit – it’s very flowing there.”

Sebastien Charpentier has already enjoyed the champagne at Magny Cours, in a French National Championship event he competed in this summer.
“This race should be OK for me. Magny Cours is a good track and I won a French Championship race in August. So I have a good set-up and Pirelli tyre for this weekend. The team have worked very hard for Magny Cours on a new engine spec and I am approaching my home race in as relaxed a way as possible.”

Parkes, a former SBK rider who had a significant impact since joining the ranks of Supersport, explained how he came to get his ride at Magny Cours “I spoke to Ten Kate a few months ago to try and run in Assen after my team stopped. Until Chris won the championship they wanted to wait before they gave me a chance to race, and now he’s done that. All my life I’ve wanted to have a competitive bike, so it will be interesting to see what I can do on it.”

Iain Macpherson approaches his final race of the season with some recent track knowledge lodged away on his memory banks.
“We did a two day test at Magny Cours around about August time but half of it got rained off. The track seemed OK, nothing special but not so bad. I actually like going to a circuit where no-one has been before and there has been no testing at all - but it’s not very often you get to do that.”

Robert Ulm (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) sees out the season on his Klaffi Honda “I want to put in the best performance possible at the last race of the year.”

Werner Daemen (van Zon Honda CBR600RR) is another to have benefited from previous testing experience at Magny Cours, but leaves a word of warning for all about the nature of the circuit.
“The test went not too bad but Iain had a big crash and he went to hospital for some checks. When we got back it was raining so we lost some time. Magny Cours is a nice track but there is a very big risk of crashing; on most of the corners you have to carry a large angle of lean.”