WSBK Race 1 - Winston Ten Kate Honda’s Chris Vermeulen finished in third place in today’s opening second-round World Superbike encounter at a breezy Phillip Island in Australia. After rain during warm-up this morning, the track was dried by a strong wind, allowing Troy Corser to take his second win of the campaign.

Starting from sixth place on the grid, Vermeulen’s team-mate, Karl Muggeridge, finished the 22-lap race in eighth place after briefly climbing to fourth position on lap seven. The Australian had recovered after a high-speed crash in warm-up.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager: “That was a good effort from Karl to bring the bike home for some more points after his crash in warm-up this morning. Of course, I am delighted for Chris achieving our first podium of the season. It’s just a pity that he had to start from the third row and push so hard early on, otherwise I think he could have been challenging a little earlier. We’ll sit down and study the data now to see if we need to make any changes for race two but, for sure, we have to look at getting a little more drive.”

Chris Vermeulen – third - “I had a real battle with Max Neukirchner on another Honda towards the end of that race. He was going for it and riding really well – so well that I have a big black mark from his front tyre on my leathers! It’s a shame that I had to push so hard in the early stages because I was struggling with front end grip towards the race. But I was in a good rhythm and the bike felt good so I managed to hold on for the podium, which is the important thing.”

Karl Muggeridge – eighth - “I didn’t feel so bad after the crash this morning but I got knocked about a bit and I’ve definitely felt better. The bike definitely didn’t feel as good this morning as it did during Superpole yesterday and warm-up didn’t help because it was wet anyway. I was having real problems getting the power to the ground so hopefully we can make some changes for race two to get that sorted a little better.”

WSBK Race 2 - Chris Vermeulen finished in fourth place in a rain-interrupted second race at Phillip Island this afternoon in round two of the 2005 World Superbike championship. The race was won by fellow-Australian, Troy Corser, but Vermeulen’s Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Karl Muggeridge retired after crashing out on lap six of the 22-lapper.

Starting in dry but very windy conditions, race two was red-flagged on lap 13 as further rain fell on the 4.4km Phillip Island circuit. Vermeulen collected a further 13 points from the restart to follow up his third place in race one and retains fourth place in the championship standings.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager: “It’s a pity about the weather here today because in the first dry part of that second race, Chris’s lap times were improving and he was making another charge towards a podium finish – just like in race one. Unfortunately we couldn’t complete the job in the wet second half but that’s how it goes sometimes. At least he collected another handful of points. I feel sorry for Karl, who has endured a tough day. I feel he deserved a lot more after qualifying so well but we’ll regroup and hope for better things when we return to Europe.”

Chris Vermeulen – fourth - “I had some good starts today but it just span up like crazy in the wet restart so I couldn’t get away as well as I needed to. It was really slippery out there – worse than in warm-up – and the wind didn’t help. I was going fine again in the dry and felt really comfortable but at least I got a few points today. A third and a fourth from ninth on the grid isn’t so bad. Imagine what we could do from pole position; but I haven’t had that pleasure yet. Then again, I’ve never started from the third row either!”

Karl Muggeridge – DNF - “It was getting pretty aggressive in that first part of race two but I was comfortable and the bike was feeling good, even though I hadn’t got a great start. I was battling with James Toseland and we got into a situation at turn 10 where I just had nowhere to go. It’s disappointing because we’d been making steady progress right through the weekend and had a pretty good qualifying and Superpole. After the crash in warm-up this morning I wanted a couple of good results for the team, who have worked really hard, but I guess that’ll have to wait until Valencia.”

WSS Race - Sébastien Charpentier took victory in today’s World Supersport championship second round race at Phillip Island in Australia, crossing the line 3.5 seconds ahead of local rider, Kevin Curtain. His Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Katsuaki Fujiwara, finished in fourth place, just fifteen hundredths of a second behind Honda-mounted third placed man, Fabien Foret.

It was Charpentier’s second win in world championship supersport racing – his first coming seven years ago at Nurburgring in Germany – and gives the Frenchman the championship lead after his second place at the opening round in Qatar.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager: “It was a fantastic race to watch and I’m so happy for Sébastien after being so close to winning here last year. He has been consistently fast since we first started testing and thoroughly deserves this victory. Kats was so close to getting on the podium, which would have been the perfect way to follow-up his win in Qatar. This is the ninth consecutive win for the team and, overall, I’m really pleased to be heading back to racing in Europe with first and second place in the championship.”

Sébastien Charpentier – first - “It’s been a long time since my last win but I am very happy, especially after the mystery with the front that we had in Qatar. I love Phillip Island and its fast corners, and I was very confident coming here after the successful test we had at Valencia. I had a great race with Kevin Curtain but the wind was very difficult for all of us because it would change strength from lap to lap. The team has been great and we made a really good tyre choice today with a hard front and a medium rear – it was the perfect combination.”

Katsuaki Fujiwara – fourth - “It is very disappointing to miss third place by the width of a tyre but I am happy for Sébastien and the rest of the team. The wind was so strong today and it made the bike very difficult to control. I had an amazing battle for third with Fabien Foret and Michel Fabrizio on other Hondas and I tried as hard as I could the whole way through. I’m still learning with the CBR but the team is helping me all the time.”