Chris Vermeulen

A mature Chris Vermeulen has ridden to a conservative 6th placing in round 8 of the World Supersport Championship at Brands Hatch in England.

Starting from 4th on the grid, the young speedster wasn’t able to add to his winning total in 2003, however he did manage to out strip his nearest rival for the world crown.

Katsuaki Fujiwara finished in 9th spot to slip 38 points behind in the race for the title. Jurgen van den Goorbergh’s 2nd saw him move to outright 2nd in the series, 37 points behind the young Aussie.

“It wasn’t a win or the top 5 I was hoping for, but I did manage to extend my lead for the championship so that’s a real positive,” Vermeulen said.

With three rounds remaining, Vermeulen and his Tenkate Honda CBR600RR edged ever so close to the title, after the race was red flagged in the final lap due to a minor crash.

“We had a pretty good race package but just seemed to be a touch off the pace, no matter we get another month off to think about things and then it’s on to Assen. Another solid result there and the championship will be close.”

The series now enjoys a months break before resuming at Assen in the Netherlands on September 7.

Karl Muggeridge

Ten Kate Honda’s Karl Muggeridge finished on 4th place in today’s 23 lap race here at Brands Hatch at the eight round of the World Supersport Championship.

Muggas got an excellent start of his third grid position and too the first corner at the 4.197 meters as leader but shortly later settled into second position behind Suzuki Alstare’s Stephan Chambon who set the pace with a new lap record of 1m29.149.

Muggas couldn’t hold up with that as he was struggling with rear grip out of the corners since the start of the race and so dropped slowly back into 4th position.

Muggas comments: “The bike set-up was really good, the front handles the best it ever did and the breaks worked well too. I just couldn’t get the power down as I was fighting with grip, the rear was sliding all over the place. It was a really hard race, I had to concentrate 150% the whole 23 lap as the line of sliding off was so fine. We probably choose a too hard tyre, but we didn’t think that the softer compound would last the whole race. It’s a funny game with the rubber. Anyway, fourth is still a good solid result, it would had been great to be on the podium, but there is always another time.”

Chambon who let the entire 23 laps took the victory here at Brands in front of Jurgen Van der Goorbergh who moved to second place in the Championship. Honda’s Sebastien Charpentier was the third man on the podium.

HRC

French rider Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) delivered on the great potential he has shown this season with a fine third place finish, marching from fifth on lap one in a consistent attack around the modified Brands Hatch circuit. Sixth place for Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) was enough to push him further ahead in the world championship battle, even if he had to give best on the day to his team-mate Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR), who finished fourth.

The scheduled 23 lap race was cut to 21 after an accident in which Kawasaki rider Stefano Cruciani went under the airfence and was struck by his own machine - with such force that his back protector was snapped clean through – although Cruciani was uninjured.

Local British rider Ian Macpherson (van Zon Honda CBR600RR) missed out on a top ten finish by one place, 24 seconds down on the leaders.

The last points on offer were taken by the BKM Honda CBR600RR pairing of Christophe Cogan (14th) and Broc Parkes (15th). Werner Daemen fell on the 12th lap, due to gearbox selection problems.

After a wet and dry couple of days of qualifying, which put eventual race winner Stephane Chambon (Suzuki) on pole, many teams found tyre and set-up problems - due to a simple shortage of dry track time. The track temperatures on race day were also significantly higher than during Saturday’s dry qualifying session, and thus tyre choice was to become crucial.

Charpentier was particularly pleased to have scored his first podium place in a season in which he came to the championship as a substitute rider for his Klaffi Honda team. “I had a good feeling with the bike throughout the race, said Charpentier. “The choice of race tyre was very difficult because of the rain but in the end my choice was good. The Pirelli was very consistent and I am happy with the result.”

Muggeridge found unexpected tyre problems, wishing he had gone for a softer tyre. “The bike was working well but I just couldn’t get the power to the ground very well,” he said. “From the beginning it was already starting to slide but I thought it would stay that way and no more but after about eight laps it started to spin. It was down to choice because some of the other guys chose a stage softer Pirelli and theirs seemed to work better.”

Vermeulen was disappointed but philosophical to not improve on his fourth place qualifying position, hoping in vain to add to his four race winning total.
“The main factor today was tyres,” he stated. “I think we picked the wrong one because Jurgen van den Goorbergh’s seemed to be working a lot better than ours. The lack of dry track time also made it difficult for us all. It just wasn’t so good today - but it could have been a lot worse because we still have a good championship lead.”

Macpherson suffered the after effects of a crash in timed qualifying, finding his set-up imperfect and running into some unforeseen physical problems. “I was struggling a bit,” said the Scot. “I had a problem with the front brake coming back to the bar and I also had arm pump. I’m disappointed because I know I can ride faster. We had to guess the gearing after a crash in qualifying and I was having to learn the gearbox out there in the race.”

Cogan, was another with set-up woes and at a very demanding Brands Hatch circuit, he paid a price for them. “I found the race very difficult,” he explained. “The suspension didn’t feel quite right and as soon as I let the brake off the machine was moving around a lot in the corners.”

Another hard day in the office for Parkes was something of a disappointment at a track he has enjoyed little luck at in the past. He suspected a cracked exhaust. “We’ve had a few problems with the bike this weekend and I just wasn’t confident,” said the Aussie. “After about five laps the bike got really loud, I think it was a cracked exhaust. We didn’t have the best setting and Brands Hatch is not my best track. I’d like to go fast but it never seems to work here.”

Ulm was disappointed to suffer his third no score of the year. “The feeling from the machine wasn’t quite right and I found it difficult to push hard. It really was a struggle throughout and that sums up my weekend here.”

Daemen escaped injury after a fast fall, and explained it thus: “I am OK but I had problems with the gearbox. I had trouble changing down from third to second gear. I came down into Graham Hill Bend, mid-corner the bike dropped into second and I was high sided.”

After round eight of the total 11, Vermeulen leads new second place rider Jurgen van den Goorbergh by an impressive 37 points, 141 to 104. Katsuaki Fujiwara moves to third on 103 with Chambon on 100. Muggeridge is the next best placed Honda rider behind Vermeulen, seventh overall on 59 points.

In the ninth round of the World Superbike Championship Superpole winner John Reynolds was in contention for the race win in the first 25-lap leg, but like Ruben Xaus (Ducati) shortly afterwards; he was forced to retire with mechanical problems.

Local wild card rider Shane Byrne (Ducati) scored the race win, from championship leader Neil Hodgson (Ducati) and regular SBK Brit Chris Walker (Ducati). Byrne’s best lap time is the new SBK lap record, 1:26.755.

In the second race Byrne was once more successful, but he had to fend off the attention of Reynolds on the final lap to take his second career Superbike win - a scant few hours after the first. James Toseland (Ducati) scored third place, for another all-British rostrum party.

Hodgson improved his points gap over Xaus once more, 386 to 246. It is not quite enough to give Hodgson the world championship but with a gap of 140 points and only a possible 150 remaining, the result is now almost a foregone conclusion. Toseland sits third on 227, Laconi fourth on 208.

Supersport and Superbike classes return to the fray at Assen on September 7.

Yamaha

Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Belgarda Team) moved up to second place in the Supersport World Championship after finishing second in round eight of the series at Brands Hatch.

The Dutchman qualified fifth on his first visit to the technically challenging circuit and a good start saw in third as the pack charged into the first corner. The huge crowd watched as the Yamaha moved ahead of Karl Muggeridge (Honda) on lap seven, although by that time track specialist Stephane Chambon (Suzuki) had built up a lead he was to stretch to over seven seconds by the chequered flag.

Christian Kellner (Yamaha Motor Germany) scored seventh place, just ahead of his team-mate Jörg Teuchert, while Alessio Corradi (Yamaha Team Italia Spadaro) finished tenth.

An accident near the end of the race brought out the red flags with one lap to go, when Italian rider Stefano Cruciani went under the airfence, but eventually proved to be uninjured. The regulations demand that the result is called from the lap before any incident, and the results are based on the finishing positions on lap 21 of 23.

In the championship table, Van den Goorbergh has closed in on points leader Chris Vermeulen (Honda), who finished sixth at Brands. With three rounds of the series remaining, the Australian leads on 141 points to Van den Goorbergh’s 104. Kellner lies fifth with 78 points and Corradi sixth on 63.

Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Belgarda Team) – second “I think I’m riding better and better with each race. Chambon got away very fast and I was behind Muggeridge for a while. Once I was passed I was able to get into my rhythm and I have more feeling for the bike and more feeling for the tyres. Each race I enjoy more and more. The Brands Hatch track is sensational and there is a crowd at every corner. The spectators really make it worth riding here.”

Christian Kellner (Yamaha Motor Germany) – seventh "I had hoped for a better result from this race. I like this track and after putting in some consistent laps on a race tyre in practice I felt a podium finish was possible. Instead I had a real problem getting past Fujiwara. I tried so hard to get by him but I couldn't find a way through and spent 17 laps behind him. As I expected I was able to pull away from him when I got through but by then the guys ahead of me were too far in front."

Jörg Teuchert (Yamaha Motor Germany) – eighth “My main problem came in the second or third lap when I was too early on the throttle and I lost a lot of ground. One rider passed me but when I get going again I could see Christian and another bunch of riders in front of me but I was faster than them. I was too aggressive again and I almost had a really big highside. It was a hard fight from then on and I could not catch up again so fast.”

Alessio Corradi (Yamaha Team Italia Spadaro) – tenth “I had a problem at the very start when my engine bogged down on the line. I then found it difficult to overtake Iain Macpherson and by that time all the riders in front were gone.”

Matthieu Lagrive (Yamaha Motor France IPONE) – 17th “I had a very tough race and the fact that we didn’t have too much dry track time did not help us at this track. Our set-up wasn’t so perfect but I made up some places in the early laps.”

Thierry van den Bosch (Yamaha Motor France IPONE) – 24th “I had a good warm-up and the settings were better but in the race the temperature was hotter and my suspension was too soft. It was OK for the first lap but then I had to slow down to avoid crashing.”

Simone Sanna (Yamaha Belgarda Team)– DNF “I had a problem and it made me run on straight at one corner. I was off the track and going too fast to stop. There was nothing I could do and my race was over.”  

Octagon

In the World Supersport Championship Stephane Chambon (Alstare Suzuki) ripped his way to an excellent win, easing up in the last laps to finish seven seconds ahead of Yamaha Belgarda rider Jurgen van den Goorbergh.

The scheduled 23-lap race was cut to 21 when Stefano Cruciani crashed and went under the protective airfence with his motorcycle. Cruciani was unhurt, in spite breaking his back protector in half.

Sebastien Charpentier took his Klaffi Honda to his first podium of the year, and Karl Muggeridge survived fading tyres to score fourth on his Ten Kate Honda.

Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-6RR) followed up his Misano win with fifth place, World Championship leader Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) taking sixth. With Katsuaki Fujiwara (Alstare Suzuki GSX-R600) only ninth, Vermeulen’s championship lead is still impressive, and van den Goorbergh moved into second place in the title race.

Vermeulen has a total of 141, van den Goorbergh 104 and Fujiwara 103. Chambon sits fourth on exactly 100.

Kawasaki

Fabien Foret, riding the Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-6RR, claimed an impressive fifth position in front of a weekend crowd of 120,000 spectators at Brands Hatch. Pere Riba (Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-6RR) backed up the result for the team claiming 13th position after fighting back from 19th position in qualifying.

Despite a front row start, Foret struggled to get the Kawasaki ZX-6RR off the line and initially dropped back through the pack. A brave move around the outside at Paddock Hill Bend bought him back into contention with the leaders and he immediately began to show his qualifying pace.

In the early laps he was caught behind championship leader Chris Vermeulen and was unable to utilise the fine handling of the Kawasaki ZX-6RR to pass. On lap seven a brave overtake at the new Sheene Curve escalated him to fifth and with a clear track he was able to drop Vermeulen and begin bridging the gap to the duelling Karl Muggeridge and Sebastian Charpentier.

A string of personal best laps enabled him to catch the battle for the last podium spot, but in the closing stages of the race a crash necessitated the race was stopped, with Foret securing a hard earned fifth. "I am happy but it is still very difficult to be at the front. I was riding on the limit because some of the other riders are very slow mid-turn but then they have the acceleration out the corners. The Kawasaki is improving step by step and I am looking forward to the rest of the season."

Pere Riba, the hard charging Spaniard, had to fight for positions in the opening laps, starting from 19th on the grid. Whenever he had clear track his lap times were impressive, but due to the traffic it was a tough battle to get into a point scoring finish. He ended the day 13th. "I started a long way back and that caused us a problem from the beginning. I had to be very careful because at the back of the pack the riding is crazy. I passed a lot of riders but it was very difficult to ride my own line. The result is OK considering - but in Supersport it is very important to start near the front."

In the championship standings Foret is eighth, Riba tenth. The World Supersport series now enters the summer break with the next round of the championship taking place at the famous Assen circuit in the Netherlands on 5 - 7 September 2003. With ongoing development of the Kawasaki ZX-6RR the Kawasaki Racing Team are focussed on a strong showing at the remaining three rounds of the year.