Superbike

Chris Vermeulen set the eighth fastest time in this afternoon’s opening qualifying session for Sunday’s two seventh round World Superbike championship races at Brno in the Czech Republic. Provisional pole position was taken by Britain’s Chris Walker with Vermeulen’s Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Karl Muggeridge, currently lying in 14th place.

It is the first visit for both team and riders to the 5.4km Brno circuit, 220km south-east of Prague and today’s practice and qualifying sessions were used by Vermeulen and Muggeridge to increase their knowledge of circuit layout and search for the ideal set-up for their Honda CBR1000RRs.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager: “Karl has been making good progress here and competing comfortably at the front on race tyres. He was lying in fourth place after this morning’s free practice but, unfortunately, we chose the wrong qualifying tyre from the two that Pirelli have brought here. It was a harder compound and Karl went no more quickly than he had been going on race tyres. Because Chris and Karl don’t know the circuit and we haven’t tested here like most of the other front runners, we knew we’d be playing a bit of catch-up today. But we’ll work through everything this evening and I’m confident that the crew can find some things to put the guys back up there tomorrow.”

Chris Vermeulen – eighth fastest, 2m04.436s: “To be honest, I’m struggling a little with the track here but getting to know it better each time I go out. I like it a lot but it’s very bumpy in places and we’ve been working to get the bike better through those sections. I’ve also been running a bit wide here and there and looking for some more exit grip from certain corners. It all adds up to losing time in specific areas of the track but I’ll sit down with the team later and I’m sure we’ll be able to find ways to improve those areas tomorrow.”

Karl Muggeridge – fourteenth fastest, 2m04.862s: “OK, so fourteenth doesn’t look great but I’m actually pretty happy with the steps we’ve made today. We tried a couple of new chassis components this afternoon and I felt we were making progress. Unfortunately, I ended up pushing the front a little too hard and slid off in the first sector during that session. The qualifier just didn’t work at all but I think we’re going OK on race tyres and during the day we’ve improved in certain areas of the track where we were struggling earlier. I’m happy with the rear of the bike so now we just have to concentrate on the front."

Supersport

Winston Ten Kate Honda rider, Sébastien Charpentier, set the fastest time in this afternoon’s first qualifying session for round seven of the World Supersport championship at Brno, Czech Republic on Sunday. The current series leader out-qualified his four main Supersport rivals despite never having visited the 5.4km undulating Brno circuit.

Charpentier’s new team-mate this weekend, Craig Jones, was sixth fastest in today’s 45-minute qualifying session, impressing his team as he deputises for the injured Katsuaki Fujiwara. Like Charpentier, the young British rider, has never visited Brno before.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager: “That is almost like a dream, having Sébastien on provisional pole even though he is the only one of the top five riders that hasn’t tested here. It just shows what frame of mind he is in at the moment. He’s been focused and worked methodically with his team all day to find a base setting and learn what will work here. His bike is still not 100% so I’m sure there will be even more to come tomorrow. And what a great entry from Craig! He’s starting to find his own direction now and we’ll go through the data with him tonight to help that. He’s fitting into the team really well and it feels like he’s been here for a long time already. He is just a really nice young guy who knows how to ride a bike fast.”

Sébastien Charpentier –fastest, 2m07.489s: “Yes, it’s been a good afternoon for us – a good day. It’s the first time that any of us have been here so I’m very happy to be fastest after so little time on the track. I did maybe 15 laps on a scooter yesterday but riding a CBR600RR is very different to riding a scooter here! We very quickly got the gearing right for the circuit and then just small changes here and there to let us go faster. The bike is not yet perfect so there will be more to come tomorrow, for sure. I will try to go faster and get the right set-up for Sunday’s race.”

Craig Jones – sixth fastest, 2m08.733s: “I got up quite early this morning, just really looking forward to the day. But I didn’t want to rush anything – just take it steady and be organised. Ronald has been keeping my hand-brake on because I’ve been looking forward to this and I didn’t want to make any silly mistakes. I started to push a little harder towards the end of that session because the bike is beginning to feel more and more like it’s mine. There’ll definitely be more tomorrow after I’ve sat down with the team tonight and gone away from the track to think about it all.”