Ten Kate

Ten Kate Honda’s Chris Vermeulen and Karl Muggeridge put on a scintillating display to post the two fastest times in the first session of qualifying here in Assen, Holland, in round nine of the World Supersport championship.

“The team has been working really hard in the break since the last round at Brands Hatch and that’s what showed today. There is still work to do before the race but we’re probably in the best shape all year on the Friday of an event,” said a buoyant Vermeulen, who snatched provisional pole on his last lap.

Muggeridge, who was pipped by only 0.185s by his fellow countryman, was equally positive, “We’re still looking to get the machine turning a little better but the power is really smooth throughout the range making the machine much more rideable.”

Both riders bettered the previous Assen best time of 2m06.077s set by Vermeulen in 2002 with the 21-year-old Australian’s time of 2m05.736 almost a second quicker (0.933s) than that of nearest championship rival, Jurgen van den Goorbergh (fourth).

“We’re having a good look at rear race tyres and, after a break of two rounds, I’d like to be climbing the podium again on Sunday,” added Vermeulen, who is looking for his fifth win of the campaign.

Muggeridge is also eager to grab his second World Supersport win (Brands Hatch 2000 being his maiden victory) and the 29-year-old put into perspective the improvements in the bike’s performance, “The difference in the motor from the Brands Hatch engine? It’s like the difference between a turbo diesel and a petrol car!”

Team manager Ronald ten Kate echoed the words of his riders: “There is a little pressure here at Assen but testing is really paying off and the heat is off now. It’s a great start to the weekend.”

The unmistakable Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR machines fired the first warning shot to the other contenders in the World Supersport class. And with the extra impetus from racing in front of the home fans, the pressure is on the yellow bullets.

Karl Muggeridge

Ten Kate Honda’s Karl Muggeridge set the second quickest time in today’s first qualifying session just 1.8 tenths behind his team mate Chris Vermeulen who took provisional pole here at the Dutch TT circuit in Assen at round nine of the World Supersport Championship.

Muggas who set the first time in the 2’05’s is pretty happy with today’s result but believes there is quite a bit more to come for tomorrow.

Muggas comments: “The bike is working well and the tyres are ok; we made some good progress this afternoon and are going into the right direction for a perfect race set-up. We still have to get the chassis working a little bit better but that will come with some more track time tomorrow. I think low to mid 2’05s should be possible.”

Muggas and Vermeulen left quit a gap between them and their fellow competitors and have a comfortable gap of 0.894 seconds.

It promises to be a hectic weekend for the reigning World Supersport championship team who are based at Nieuwleusen, just half an hour’s drive from Assen. Racing aside, there is also the minor worry of ensuring that over 600 guests are catered for over four days here at Assen.

Chris Vermeulen

Just three good results stand between Chris Vermeulen and a maiden world championship and the Honda rider has made his intentions very clear at Assen in the Netherlands.

Round nine of the World Supersport Championship got underway with provisional qualifying last night Australian time and the 21 year old from Queensland stuck his CBR600RR on pole in a last lap dash.

Vermeulen said, “The team has been working really hard in the break since the last round at Brands Hatch and that’s what showed today. We’re by no means ready to go and race yet, but we’re probably in the best shape we’ve been all year on the Friday night of an event.”

That’s an ominous warning from Vermeulen who’s already won four of the eight races contested this season and leads the battle for the world by an amazing 37 points and just needs some consistent finishes to close out his maiden title.

“It would be the dream I have been chasing all my racing life. To win the world title is every thing to me at the moment. Over the last month while we’ve been on a break it’s all I’ve thought about and I know this weekend is a great opportunity to push for a win and make it almost impossible to lose the world title,” the Sunshine Coast rider said.

The Tenkate rider is also chasing the all time record for wins in a season. It currently stands at five.

Suzuki

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Katsuaki Fujiwara and Stephane Chambon ended the first day of qualifying just off the front row in fifth and sixth places respectively. Series leader Chris Vermeulen (Honda) set provisional pole today, with a time of 2:05.736, with his team mate Karl Muggeridge second. Both riders raced here earlier in the year and put their track time to good advantage - the only riders to set 2:05 laps.

KATSUAKI FUJIWARA - 5TH, 2:06.932 - "It was not an easy day for us and we had to work very hard to set these times today. At the moment, the new part of the track is hurting us, because although the GSXR600 Suzuki is a good bike, it sometimes is hard getting it to change direction quickly. It has always been a bit like that this season, but here at Assen seems to be a bit worse than normal. We'll see if we can alter the set-up and improve the handling, but I think Sunday is going to be a long day!"

STEPHANE CHAMBON - 6TH, 2:07.131 - "My GSXR600 is generally very good here, except for the new part of the track. The new design means that you have to pick the bike up from one side and then wrestle it to the other side - and the bike doesn't like it too much! It's a problem we know about, but it feels worse here and that's why Kats and I were not able to go any quicker today. We'll see if we can alter the bike's balance tomorrow and see if that is an improvement. If it does - good. If not, I'm in for a hard job on race day!"

Kawasaki

World Champion Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-6RR) and Pere Riba (Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-6RR) experienced a difficult first qualifying session at the fast and challenging Assen circuit, with Riba finishing 14th and Foret 16th.

Riba, who experienced difficulties with changes of direction at a track where this aspect of the set-up package is of paramount importance, tested many alterations to his machine. For Foret, a small technical problem reduced the available track time, making for a frustrating session in uncharacteristically warm track conditions.

The team has not had the opportunity to test the leading edge ZX-6RR at Assen, and have no previous set-up data from earlier years, this being the first season of competition for the team and the new style machine. "We are working with the handling on the bike," said Riba. "The track is new for the team and it is very important to be able to change direction well. We struggled this morning and made progress this afternoon but we are still a long way from the times we need to be doing. We have a lot of work to do and a number of things to try."

Kawasaki Team Manager Christian Bourgeois explained Foret's first day experience. "Fabien's number one bike had a water leak so he was forced to use his second bike, which he has not ridden this weekend. He only did one fast lap on the bike, so considering this, his position is not so bad. We have lots of things to try tomorrow, with tyres and fuel mixture, so we hope for a better day."

• Sep 5 - MotoGP - MotoGP First practice - First Qualifying - Friday MotoGP Team Reports
• Sep 5 - World Superbike - WSBK First practice 1 - First Qualifying - Friday WSBK Team Reports
• Sep 5 - World Supersport - WSS First practice 1 - First Qualifying - Friday WSS Team Reports