Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

French flavour for Supersport front row

The first two places on the grid for Sunday’s World Supersport Championship race at Brands Hatch. Stephane Chambon took pole on his Alstare Suzuki GSX-R600 ahead of reigning champion Fabien Foret.

Foret, who took his first victory of the season and the debut win for the new ZX-6RR at Misano, probably felt he could have gone a little quicker still, a point he hammered home to Robert Ulm at the end of the session. It seems Foret thought Ulm had interfered with his flying lap and the pair came close to exchanging blows as Foret made his feelings felt!

Behind the French pair sit the two yellow Ten Kate Honda’s of Australian duo Karl Muggeridge and Chris Vermeulen. They also complained of getting caught in traffic while on a qualifying lap but with 27 riders competing for track space, it’s almost inevitable that some riders are going to feel that their best laps have been stinted by traffic.

The rain, which had fallen heavily on Friday, stayed away allowing all the teams to work on their dry settings for the race. The forecast for Sunday at present is for sunshine.



World Supersport Final Qualifying Results:

1. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:28.468
2. Fabien Foret, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:28.692
3. Karl Muggeridge, Honda CBR600RR, 1:28.760
4. Chris Vermeulen, Honda CBR600RR, 1:28.828
5. Jurgen Vd Goorbergh, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.067
6. Sebastien Charpentier, Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.114
7. Katsuwaki Fujiwara, Suzuki GSX-R600, 1:29.146
8. Christian Kellner, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.196
9. Tom Sykes, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.469
10. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.552
11. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.603
12. Werner Daemen, Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.640
13. Jorg Teuchert, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:29.716
14. Dean Thomas, Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.720
15. Iain MacPherson, Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.861
16. Broc Parkes, Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.861
17. Robert Ulm, Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.878
18. Christophe Cogan, Honda CBR600RR, 1:29.884
19. Pere Riba, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:29.918
20. Stefano Cruciani, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 1:30.025
21. Gianluca Nannelli, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.117
22. Simone Sanna, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.134
23. Barry Veneman, Honda CBR600RR, 1:30.183
24. Thierry Vd Bosch, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.294
25. Jamie Robinson, Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:30.482
26. Jan Hanson, Honda CBR600RR, 1:30.665
27. Michael Laverty, Honda CBR600RR, 1:31.087


More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda:

Front row start for Ten Kate Honda

The two Ten Kate Honda World Supersport Championship riders Chris Vermeulen and Karl Muggeridge will start Sunday’s race at Brands hatch from the front row.

The pair secured their positions at the front of the grid after the weather stayed dry for the second qualifying session. Karl Muggeridge looked set for pole as he blasted around the historic English circuit but got caught up in traffic and ended the session third fastest.

“We’ve got the bike going really well now,” commented Muggeridge. “We lost a little time this morning working out gearing and suspension and when it all came together I got a little held up in traffic on my flying lap.”

It was a similar story for Chris Vermeulen who qualified fourth fastest after also getting caught behind a slower rider on his fast lap.

“Traffic seems to be a problem this year,” noted Vermeulen, “but I’m not too worried as fourth on the grid is actually a good position to be in at Brands Hatch – I’ll have the shortest run to the first turn. We have a great race set up so I am confident for Sunday and, as usual, the Pirelli tyres are working really well.”

Having both his riders on the front row for the race is good enough for team manager Ronald ten Kate.

“Of course I enjoy seeing my riders on pole,” he said. “But today, because good weather is forecast for Sunday, we had to concentrate on finding a set up that worked in the dry for the race. We’ve arrived at a good set up for the present conditions and we are also ready for any improvement in the weather.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

CHAMBON STORMS TO POLE!

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra rider Stephane Chambon stormed to his pole position of the season at Brands Hatch today. He posted a lap of 1:28.468, over two tenths of a second quicker then his nearest rival Fabien Foret (Kawasaki). Last year Stephane suffered a heavy fall at Brands, so pole today was a sign that there are no lasting effects from that incident. His team mate Katsuaki Fujiwara finished the day in seventh place after some problems with gear ratios, but is hoping that tomorrow’s warm-up session in the morning will allow him to lap more quickly and confidently. Third quickest today is Aussie Karl Muggeridge (Honda), with team mate and series leader Chris Vermeulen fourth.

STEPHANE CHAMBON – 1st, 1:28.468
I’m very happy to be on pole position today – especially after what happened to me here last year. Yesterday I was a bit nervous in the section of the track where I crashed, but today was no problem for me. I ‘m happy with our set-up for the dry, but not so sure about our set-up for the wet. It’s always important to make a good start and that’s what I will be trying for tomorrow. I’d be happy with a podium, but really I want to win.

KATSUAKI FUJIWARA – 7th, 1:29.146
We improved the bike’s set-up in the morning and then changed the gearbox in the afternoon, but I’m not completely happy with one of the gear ratios. We’ll try to improve it in the warm-up tomorrow morning. I’m happy with my set-up for a dry race, but not 100% sure of our set-up if it is wet. I hope it’ll be dry tomorrow, so that I can really push hard and challenge for a podium. Last year I won here, so I want another podium this year.