World Supersport 2003 - Round 9 - Assen

Chris Vermeulen

Chris Vermeulen is just 8 points shy of becoming Australia’s next world champion, after grabbing a nail biting 2nd in round 9 of the World Supersport Championship at Assen in the Netherlands tonight.

With 2 races remaining the 21 year old’s only real challenger for the title is Katsuaki Fujiwara. The Suzuki rider is 42 points behind the young Aussie, with a maximum of 50 points still up for grabs.

“I am obviously disappointed I didn’t win the race, but things couldn’t have gone much better as far as the championship goes,” Vermeulen said.

The Tenkate Honda rider was pipped on the final lap of the Assen race by his teammate Karl Muggeridge, who managed his first win of the year.

“The race pretty much went to plan except for the last lap. I led for a good part and thought I could grab my 5th win. I think that would have equalled the all time record, but that wasn’t to be. It was still a great result for the team.”

The Queenslander will now look to wrap up his maiden world title at the famous Imola circuit in Italy at the end of the month. “I just need 8 points and the title will be mine. It’s been a brilliant team effort. Everyone has worked so hard, the bike is awesome. I need to keep telling myself it’s not mine yet, but I can taste it.”

Vermeulen is in his third full year of the Supersport World Championship and is tipped to be heading to the World Superbike Championship next year, to follow in the footsteps of Troy Bayliss.

Karl Muggeridge

Ten Kate Honda’s Karl Muggeridge pipped team-mate Chris Vermeulen to the chequered flag to make it a dazzling one-two for the Dutch team in Sunday’s ninth round of the World Supersport Championship at Assen, Holland.

Muggas got off to a flying start and took the lead for the first 6 laps until Vermeulen passed by and the two of them had a bit a battle going on for the next couple laps, which gave Fujiwara the chance to close the gap a bit. So Muggas decided to settle behind Chris for a while until they get a comfortable gap between them and the Suzuki guys.

Race winner Muggeridge, who claimed his second World Supersport win (to add to Brands Hatch 2000) said: “It’s an awesome feeling. I have it my best shot on the last lap and my plan worked. But I have to give all the credit to the team, who worked really hard to get the best bike ready for this weekend and also organized us some testing laps on the track. So Chris and I had really the easy part of the job. For the next couple rounds I hope we can keep up the flow and we will definitely try to dominate them.”

Ten Kate

“It’s an awesome feeling. I gave it my best shot on the last lap and my plan worked. Our part is the easy bit but it is the team that deserves all the credit,” said race winner Muggeridge, who claimed his second World Supersport win (to add to Brands Hatch 2000).

Runner-up Vermeulen said: “I wanted to beat him as badly as he wanted to beat me. I thought I’d get him back on the last chicane but there was nothing I could do. I am really happy with second.”

Muggeridge got off to a flying start as Vermeulen found himself down in fifth after the first corner but the championship leader was quickly back on the pace and up to third by the end of the opening lap.

The 21-year-old continued to push hard and passed Muggeridge to take the lead on lap seven as championship runner-up Jurgen van den Goorbergh highsided after attempting an inside pass on the number seven Ten Kate bike.

Team manager Ronald ten Kate said: “It’s been a great weekend and we achieved the perfect result. The team has worked so hard and our testing has really paid off!”

Vermeulen now extends his championship lead to 42 points over nearest rival, Katsuaki Fujiwara, and with two races remaining, the young Australian now needs only eight points to secure the 2003 World Supersport championship crown.

The weekend belonged to the Ten Kate team who qualified in first and second positions and clinched the prized top two spots on the podium. Just as they did last year at the Circuit van Drenthe.

HRC

The 1-2 qualifying form shown by the Ten Kate Honda duo of Karl Muggeridge and Chris Vermeulen was more than enough to see them take the first two podium places at Assen, with Muggeridge the more forceful and thus the eventual race winner.

The 16-lap battle took place as scheduled, despite the early fog which had delayed warm up in all classes. The front row starters, Vermeulen, Muggeridge, Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) and Yamaha rider Jurgen van den Goorbergh, made up the leading quartet for the first section of the race. Charpentier slipped slowly backwards to finish an eventual fifth. The leading trio was reduced to a duo of Honda CBR600RRs when van den Goorbergh crashed out on lap seven.

Despite some late pressure from third place finisher Katsuaki Fujiwara (Suzuki) the Honda pairing had the track to themselves from then on and Muggeridge’s last lap pass on the world championship leader gave him the win. Despite losing a possible five points Vermeulen has a seemingly unassailable advantage of 42 points with only a maximum of 50 left to score.

British rider Ian Macpherson (van Zon Honda CBR600RR) fell from a good top ten position while his team-mate Werner Daemen was ninth. Up to 12 riders disputed seventh place as the race wore on and Daemen had to ride hard and cleverly to secure his top ten finish.

Robert Ulm was the last points scorer in 15th, behind a gaggle of Honda wildcards, consisting of Michael Laverty in 12th, Dean Thomas (13th), and Jan Hanson (14th).

Muggeridge was delighted with his win but said it did not come easy, especially after some bad luck early in the year.

“I had a terrible run at the start of the season but recently we’ve turned it around and found more harmony in the team,” he affirmed. “All credit goes to Ten Kate they’ve done all the work behind the scenes, given us track time and myself and Chris get to go out there to do the fun bit. ”

Had Stephane Chambon (Suzuki) finished in front of his team-mate Fujiwara, Vermeulen would have been in position to claim the world title - if he had beaten Muggeridge. It was to prove a moot point when the Japanese Suzuki rider finished in front of the Frenchman in any case.

For Vermeulen, second was satisfying but he hoped for more.

“There were no team orders,” he confirmed. “I was hoping Karl would let me win but he was a little bit too quick today. I’m really happy for the team, they’ve worked hard and to get a 1-2 here at Assen is what we wanted. I didn’t like to see Jurgen crash but it was a relief that he wasn’t right behind me. I looked back a lap later and Katsuaki was there so it was time to make a move. My main objective was to finish in front of Jurgen and Katsuaki and I’ve done that and extended the championship lead.”

Charpentier, who has proved his prowess since his first race for the Klaffi team at Sugo, experienced some set-up problems but still managed a highly respectable fifth place.

“The race was OK and to finish in fifth position is good for the championship,” said Charpentier. “I had a small problem with my bike under acceleration and also some grip problems around this circuit and that made it difficult for me. Now I am focussed on Imola and Magny Cours.”

Werner Daemen had a real scrap on his hands throughout but overcame most of his rivals.

“That was a real fight but my race was good even though I had some problems with my front brake and fell a little bit back,” said Werner. “Once I got my brakes working better I could fight closer to the front of the group again but I think I had fitted a little bit too soft front tyre.”

Robert Ulm had an early tangle with another rider but found a good race set-up after the changeable practice sessions.

“Now I feel much better with the machine set-up but it is a shame I was the last in the group from seven to 15,” he said. “I had a fight with some of the wild card riders but I was run to the outside of the track early on.”

Iain Macpherson’s fall was a disappointment for the Scotsman, who had been looking good and as high as sixth at one stage.

“I think my front tyre was a little too soft and that caught me out a bit,” stated Macpherson. “It was my own fault but we weren’t helped by the weather conditions during qualifying yesterday.”

The BKM Honda team withdrew from competition on the eve of the Assen race weekend due to a lack of sponsorship funds.

Vermeulen’s gap of 42 points over Fujiwara puts him in pole position for the championship win at the next race at Imola but nothing is ever taken for granted in the always competitive Supersport Championship. After round nine of the planned 11, Vermeulen has a total of 161 points, Fujiwara is second on 119, Chambon third on 113 and van den Goorbergh drops out of championship contention with a static 104. Muggeridge’s win leapfrogs him to fifth overall, with a total of 84.

In the World Superbike Championship Neil Hodgson (Ducati) won his first World Championship title by finishing second in the opener, 0.609 seconds behind his team mate Ruben Xaus (Ducati). Superpole winner Pierfrancesco Chili (Ducati) secured third spot after a spirited last lap overtake on James Toseland (Ducati). Gregorio Lavilla (Suzuki) crashed while leading.

In the second race Hodgson, without the pressure of the World championship position over his head, won from Xaus, with third taken by Lavilla.

Hodgson left Assen as champion with a total of 431 points, 140 points ahead of Xaus, who confirmed his second spot overall. Toseland sits third on 240, after his machine failed to finish race two.

Supersport and Superbike classes return for their tenth and 11th rounds respectively at Imola on September 27th.

Yamaha

Jörg Teuchert (Yamaha Motor Germany) proved to be the best R6 finisher at the ninth round of the Supersport World Championship at Assen today, fighting through from 21st on the grid to finish ahead of a frantic nine rider group in seventh place.

But while Teuchert was satisfied with his day’s work, there was less joy for local hero Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Belgarda Team). The Dutchman was comfortably running in the leading trio when, on lap seven, he highsided on the entrance to the first corner of the 6.027km Assen track. Jurgen was caught out when following eventual race winner Karl Muggeridge (Honda) and second placed Chris Vermeulen (Honda). He was admitted to the medical centre for checks but suffered no serious injury.

Alessio Corradi (Yamaha Team Italia Spadaro) rode to 11th place, despite having a set-up compromised by the wet qualifying and practice sessions. Christian Kellner (Yamaha Motor Germany) experienced some gear selection problems and finished 16th, ahead of Yamaha Motor France IPONE pairing Thierry van den Bosch and Matthieu Lagrive.

Simone Sanna (Yamaha Belgarda Team) was running in 11th place when he had a high-speed crash on lap 14. He was also uninjured in the incident.

In the championship table, Van den Goorbergh’s fall drops him down to fourth place on 104 points. With two rounds remaining Vermeulen has extended his championship advantage to 47 points over Katsuaki Fujiwara (Suzuki), who finished third in Assen.

Jörg Teuchert (Yamaha Motor Germany) – seventh “That was the best I can do from 21st on the grid. We had a big problem because of the rain on the second day so it was not possible to try for a better qualifying lap. The start was not so bad and I was overtaking Nannelli and we touched, so I ran straight and that cost me two or three seconds in the early laps. I got to the big group quite quickly after that but their corner speed was slow and I found it tough to make passes.”

Alessio Corradi (Yamaha Team Italia Spadaro) – 11th “I was stuck in the pack and didn't have a good feeling from the front. Every rider could overtake me in the braking zones and it was very hard work. I had a problem with set-up all weekend which wasn’t helped by the limited dry practice.”

Christian Kellner (Yamaha Motor Germany) – 16th “The start was not so good but I was getting better as the race went on. I had a small intermittent problem with my gearchange. Most of the time it was OK but two or three times I went into the chicane and had no gears which made me run on and have to wait for the gears to come back. That cost me a few places.”

Thierry van den Bosch (Yamaha Motor France IPONE) – 17th “I crashed on Friday and aggravated my shoulder injury so I was on a lot of pain throughout the race. After eight laps I was thinking I would have to pull in but I decided to finish as I need as much track time as possible.”

Matthieu Lagrive (Yamaha Motor France IPONE) – 18th “I had a good fight with nine or ten riders at one point but if I had not been pushed to the outside of the track the result would have been much better. That cost me a lot of places.”

Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Belgarda Team) – DNF “I went into the first corner and maybe braked a little too late. I tried to go up the inside but realised that I had to slow more or I would hit Vermeulen or Muggeridge. Maybe I could have taken their line or run into them and got around the corner. That would have been a dangerous move so I tried to make it round the corner. The back end came around and spat me off, which has left me with a sore back and elbow, but otherwise I am ok.”

Simone Sanna (Yamaha Belgarda Team) – DNF “I did not get such a good start but I quickly caught up to the big group that was battling for seventh. I was feeling good, happy with the bike and happy with my riding, but I pushed too hard and lost the front end.”

FG Sport

In the World Supersport Championship, the runaway leader Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) extended his championship lead to 42 points, after he and his team-mate Karl Muggeridge ended the day fighting for the lead. Muggeridge won the internal tussle, with Vermeulen a close second. Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Belgarda), who was in full contention early on, fell on lap seven of the 16, after running into turn one too hot.

Katsuaki Fujiwara (Suzuki) recovered from a less than glittering start to take third place, and both he and his fourth placed team-mate Stephane Chambon are the only riders capable of winning the title - other than Vermeulen of course. Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda) was a fine fifth.
A tough day for the other manufacturers saw Fabien Foret a distant sixth on his factory Kawasaki, and Jörg Teuchert at the head of an amazing ten rider fight for points, was the best Yamaha rider in seventh.

Kawasaki

Fabien Foret continued his run of good results with a fine sixth position at the demanding Assen circuit. Riding the Kawasaki Racing Team ZX-6RR, Foret rode with his usual commitment and determination to secure another valuable 10 world championship points. Pere Riba looked to be matching the pace of his team-mate until the third lap when an unknown mechanical fault ruled him out of the race.

From the fourth row Foret pushed hard from the start and immediately began to escalate himself up the leader board. With clear track in front of him he quickly began to close down Scot Iain Macpherson for seventh position before passing him on lap six. Once past Macpherson he was able to match the lap times of the leaders. Unfortunately the gap was too big to bridge to the front and Foret was unable to close them down further, riding a lonely race to finish.

"I think that this result is the best I can do," said Foret. "Starting from the fourth row made it very difficult for me. I made a good start and I was able to put in good lap times because I was alone on the track and had no other riders in the way. This is possible on this bike and we are always working to get it better for the next race."

Pere Riba was unable to build on a fine start to the race. After storming in to the top ten he looked set to follow Foret on his charge through the field but with just three laps completed he was forced to slow and subsequently retire from the race.

"I made a good start and myself and Fabien were together," said the Spaniard. "I am sure that if I didn't have a problem we would have had a good race together and we would have been very close at the finish."

The next round of the World Supersport Championship takes place at Imola on 28th September 2003. The Kawasaki Racing Team are aiming for another strong finish with both of their riders determined to further develop the Kawasaki ZX6-RR and secure more world championship points.

Suzuki

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra riders Katsuaki Fujiwara and Stephane Chambon rode their hardest races of the year and were rewarded with a podium and a fourth place. Fujiwara took third place after 16 laps of demon braking as he sought to close in Muggeridge and Vermeulen at the front and Chambon was close by in fourth place.

Karl Muggeridge won the race, with Honda team mate Chris Vermeulen second and Katsuaki Fujiwara (Suzuki)) third, Stephane Chambon (Suzuki) fourth, Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) fifth and Fabien Foret (Kawasaki) sixth.

KATSUAKI FUJIWARA - 3rd - "Oh that was very, very hard! I was braking so hard, by right hand is wasted and I could hardly hold on at the end. I had to do it to try and catch the two up front, but I'm very happy to get a podium in the end. It was good for me and the team and I'm also happy because Stephane was right behind me. The Hondas were a bit faster, but they got through the turns better and that was their advantage. Assen was hard work for me and Stephane because our bike just could not change direction so easily as the Hondas. But I'm happy and I want to get two more podiums in the last two races and that's what I'll be chasing - hard!"

STEPHANE CHAMBON - 4th - "Hard job today for me and also for Kats, but we stuck at it and I'm happy with the result. The tyres went off a little after about 10 laps and I was sliding a bit, but no big problem. I was catching Kats towards the end and if the race had gone on one more lap, then I think I would've had him! Assen is always difficult for us and I had a big fight with MacPherson and some other riders before I could challenge Kats. I'm only six points behind Kats now, so I want to chase him all the way to end and get some more podiums."