Superpole
Winston Ten Kate rider Chris Vermeulen will start from the second row of the grid in tomorrow’s World Superbike race at Monza, Italy. A misjudgement in breaking into the first chicane during his flying lap means Chris will start from fifth place after setting a Superpole time of 1m48.128s. Chris and the team worked tirelessly in Friday’s practice session making crucial adjustments to the bikes set up, after being second fastest in the mornings practice sessions Chris will be hoping to repeat this pace in tomorrow’s two races around the 5.8 km Monza circuit.

“I was just so conscious of trying not to mess up the lap that I braked a little too early for the first chicane and that was it. Having said that, the bike is so much better here and it’s been getting better all weekend. I’m happy with the race set-up we have and the tyres we’re going to run with. I think we’ll be up at the front tomorrow but it’s going to be really tough.”

Race 1
Winston Ten Kate Honda rider Chris Vermeulen had a disappointing first race after retiring on the second lap of 18 on the 5.8 km Monza circuit. After a promising start Chris was confident of staying with the front runners but unfortunately his race ended prematurely after the engine in the Honda CBR1000RR failed.

Chris reflected, “I got away pretty good and thought I could certainly stay with the guys in front of me. It’s one of those things I guess and I’ll be giving it my best in race two. We’ve been improving the bike all weekend and I think we deserve a good result.”

Race 2
Chris Vermeulen secured his first win in race 2 of the 2005 World Superbike Championship around the historic 5.8 km Monza circuit. The race which developed into a thrilling battle saw Chris courageously make his way through the field passing Muggeridge, Kagayama and then Corser. Chris topped off a superb performance by passing race leader Laconi on the final lap securing him his first and well deserved win of the season.

A jubilant Chris said, “That feels so good! We’ve all been waiting a very long time for this first win and it’s been hard work. Once I’d got past Troy I just put my head down to try and catch Regis, who’d spent a long time at the front. I caught him just at the right time on that last lap and managed to hang on. It certainly makes up for the disappointment of not finishing the first race and, overall, it’s been a really positive weekend. We’ve moved everything forward and let’s hope that can continue.”

Chris and the team now travel to Silverstone in a fortnight’s time where they will be looking to build on the success of Monza.