Chris Vermeulen will start tomorrow’s opening two races of the 2005 World Superbike season from the second row of the grid after a hectic wet Superpole session at the Losail circuit in Qatar. His Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Karl Muggeridge qualified 18th fastest.

Regis Laconi secured pole position after the riders took to the 5.38km circuit with just 15 minutes remaining. Although declared wet, Superpole started with a dry track but further rain forced the Superpole qualifiers to remain in their boxes for most of the session.

Lying in 13th place, Vermeulen crashed at Losail’s final turn as he tried to improve on his position and was forced to run back to his garage to go out on his spare machine with just five minutes to go, finally qualifying in eighth place.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager: "That was one of the most bizarre and dramatic Superpole sessions that I can remember. It started dry but we were about 30 seconds late going out for our first run with Chris when the rain started again. Then we sat around for half an hour hoping the track would dry. When Chris finally went for a quick lap, he got caught behind a slower rider and crashed as he tried to pass. It could have been a lot worse than the second row and I know he’ll give it his best shot tomorrow. I can understand Karl’s frustration because he has had virtually no time on the bike and is still not fully fit. We all know that his capabilities as a rider are much better than his qualifying performance suggests and he’s working well with his crew. He’ll give his all tomorrow and just get stronger as the season progresses."

Chris Vermeulen – final qualifying position eighth; Superpole time 2m02.960s - "I’m more annoyed about the crash than anything. I was on a quicker lap and just came up behind a virtually upright Yukio Kagayama at the last corner. I lost the front trying to go underneath him and thought I’d saved it but then the back caught as the bike came back up. It was a bit of a dash back to the box to get on the spare bike and Ronald told me there were five minutes left as I went back out. I guess the second row is better than where I was but I’m really going to have to give it my best shot in tomorrow’s races to get the season off to a solid start."

Karl Muggeridge – final qualifying position 18th; qualifying time 2m03.532s - "Yeah, I’m frustrated because I’m still feeling pretty drained. The bike feels great and the crew’s working really well together but I just don’t seem to have any energy. I ran out of time in the test here last weekend and we lost yesterday’s free practice session because of the rain so all I can do is to keep trying to make those positive changes during warm-up tomorrow morning. I think I’d probably have a better chance in the races if it carries on raining but I’ll just have to get the best possible start and see what happens."

Supersport

Sébastien Charpentier will start tomorrow’s opening race of the 2005 World Supersport championship from pole position after setting the fastest time in yesterday’s opening qualifying session at the 5.38km Losail circuit in Qatar. His Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara will start the 18-lap race from second place on the grid.
Further rain in the Qatar desert today prevented many of the supersport riders from improving on the lap times set yesterday afternoon and the Winston Ten Kate Honda one-two qualifying performance marks an impressive season opener for the team’s two new supersport riders.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager:
I have to say I’m really happy with everything. Sébastien has been on the ball all weekend after heading the time sheets during last week’s test here at Losail. I’ve been very impressed with the precise way he has worked with his crew to keep making improvements to the bike. Katsuaki has secured a perfect one-two for the team, which is a great way to start the season with our new sponsor. I think he is now fully adapted to working with a new bike and a new team and we’re in great shape for tomorrow’s race.

Sébastien Charpentier: grid position, first; time, 2m03.841s
It was really strange weather today – sometimes rain and sometimes not. But the rain comes with very fine sand in it so, even when the track dried, the sand was left on the surface which makes it still very slippery. Other than that, I am really happy with the race set-up we have made. The bike is very good and team has been working really hard. It’s my second pole position in World Supersport after Misano last year and it’s an important place to start here because overtaking will be difficult in the race.

Katsuaki Fujiwara: grid position, second; time, 2m04.808s
This is a fantastic start to the new season for me. I’m very happy for Sébastien and my new team with the new sponsor, Winston. First and second on the grid could not be much better for everybody. I’m really confident working with the new team and we’ve got the bike working well now. I’m happy with the settings we have for the race but I still haven’t made a final decision on the front tyre. We will try both options in warm-up tomorrow morning and, as long as I get a good start, I’m very confident for the race.

Final qualifying positions:
1 Sébastien Charpentier FRA (Winston Ten Kate Honda) – first session 2m03.841, second session 2m10.025s; 2 Katsuaki Fujiwara JAP (Winston Ten Kate Honda) – first 2:04.808, second 2:08.514; 3 Michel Fabrizio ITA (Honda) – first 2:04.909, second 2:05.933; 4 Fabien Foret FRA (Honda) – first 2:05.006, second 2:09.591; 5 Kevin Curtain AUS (Yamaha) – first 2:05.196, second 2:07.032; 6 Christophe Cogan FRA (Suzuki) – first 2:06.364, second - ; 7 Broc Parkes AUS (Yamaha) – first 2:06.436, second 2:09614; 8 Stephane Chambon FRA (Honda) – first 2:06.597, second - ; 9 Xavi Fores ESP (Suzuki) – first 2:07.586, second 2:06.844; 10 Gianluca Nannelli ITA (Ducati) – first 2:07.438, second 2:09.312.