Superbike Race 1

Chris Vermeulen finished fourth in the opening race of the World Superbike championship fifth round at Silverstone, GB today. The race was won by French rider Regis Laconi, with Vermeulen’s Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate Karl Muggeridge finishing in tenth place.

Vermeulen spent much of the gruelling 28-lap race around Silverstone’s 3.56km International circuit trying to pass British rider Chris Walker but, by the time he had taken fourth place form his rival, the top three riders had opened a five second lead.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager: “That wasn’t what we were expecting after yesterday’s qualifying and the warm-up this morning. We have one or two problems that we need to solve before race two when I hope there will be some better results. Chris has closed the gap a little to second place in the championship but Troy Corser has still extended his lead.”

Chris Vermeulen - fourth - “My start was OK but I nearly lost the front going into the first turn. As we came out, Kagayama was spinning up right in front of me and I had to shut off a little. Then it took me ages to get by Chris Walker because it’s really hard to make a pass stick here. I tried in about four different places but every time I got by I ran wide. When I finally got there the others had gone and my tyres were pretty much done. It was really hard work doing 28 laps around here but I’m hoping for better in race two.”

Karl Muggeridge - tenth - “I had a pretty good start and made up a few places on the first lap. But after about two thirds of the race the bike developed an ignition problem which meant it didn’t rev as high as it should. I lost some top speed and couldn’t do anything about getting passed by a couple of other riders, which was pretty frustrating. The changes we made this morning improved things a little but we still need to find some more grip in the second race.” 

Superbike Race 2

Winston Ten Kate Honda’s Chris Vermeulen finished fourth in the second race of the World Superbike championship fifth round at Silverstone, GB today, matching his performance in race one. The race was won by British rider James Toseland, with Vermeulen’s fellow Australian and team-mate, Karl Muggeridge, finishing in tenth place.

Starting from fifth place on the grid, Vermeulen spent the early part of the 28-lapper around Silverstone’s International circuit avoiding trouble and trying to pass slower riders. He threatened to close on the three front runners but was unable to bridge the gap and took his second 13-point haul of the weekend, moving to within three points of second place in the championship.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager: “I have to admit that our results today have not met the expectations we had following Monza and after our qualifying performance yesterday. It looks like the handling of the bike in first few laps of the race is causing us some problems but hopefully we can look at that when we go testing at Magny Cours in France next week. We have a lot of new parts to test there and this will be our first real opportunity to try things outside a race weekend. We’re looking to improve the bike in a few areas and hopefully put the two riders into winning positions. We need to change some things quickly to get back to our winning ways but there are still 14 races left and a lot of points up for grabs.”

Chris Vermeulen - fourth - “I was behind James Toseland in the early part of the race but it just seemed to take me longer to get past the other riders than it did for him. I got hit by someone on the infield section on the first lap and then Laconi crashed right in front of me on the second lap. Both those incidents cost me a bit of time and let the others get away. I was pushing really hard though, right to the end of the race, but every time I put in a quick lap, it didn’t seem to close the gap at all. I scored one more point here than I did at Monza, where I won, so at least that’s a positive. We’re going testing next week and I’m sure that’ll put us back in the right direction.”

Karl Muggeridge - tenth - “We made some changes after race one and the bike was definitely feeling better. But around ten laps before the end, the grip at the rear just seemed to drop off – especially at the hairpin and again coming out of the chicane. It made changing direction pretty difficult but the bike was holding a better line through the faster sections. For sure, the results are disappointing after the progress we made at Monza but there’s a long way to go, a lot still to learn and I’m looking forward to testing some new parts in Magny Cours.”

Supersport Race

Winston rider Sébastien Charpentier scorched to his third victory of the season in this afternoon’s fifth round World Supersport championship race at Silverstone, GB. The Frenchman finished almost three seconds ahead of Australian Kevin Curtain after 28 laps of the 3.56km International circuit.

Charpentier’s weekend was complete after starting from pole position, setting the fastest lap of the race to establish a new lap record and taking the win. His team-mate, Katsuaki Fujiwara, was left feeling the effects of a practice crash yesterday, however; the Japanese finishing in ninth place.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager: “I’m really happy for Sébastien after this win. He rode consistently fast laps after taking the lead on the first lap and was able to up the pace enough later in the race to open a gap between him and Kevin Curtain. The win puts him in a very strong championship position. Of course, it’s slightly mixed emotions today because Katsuaki’s result was not what we had hoped. After yesterday and this morning’s warm-up, he was in a good position to challenge but the race was very physically demanding.”

Sébastien Charpentier – first - “What can I say, except that everything is fantastic for me? It was the best weekend possible, with pole position, fastest lap and another win. Kevin rode very well but I always felt very comfortable and in control. Although it was a long, hard race, I am in good physical condition and the bike was also great. I am so happy with the atmosphere in the garage – the whole team makes me laugh and I never feel any pressure from Ronald. On top of that the CBR is just perfect so I think this really is the best situation I have ever raced in.”

Katsuaki Fujiwara – ninth - “I am very disappointed with that result, of course. I hurt my shoulder in the crash yesterday but after a good massage this morning it I didn’t feel too bad until later in the race. My start wasn’t so good from sixth on the grid but then I had a gear shifting problem and found it difficult to select the right gear, which made it very hard. Sébastien rode very well again so it’s another good result for the team – just not so good for me.”