Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Vermeulen hot in scorching Misano

By Glenn Le Santo

Chris Vermeulen went into provisional pole for Sunday’s San Marino round of the World Supersport championship.

The young Australian battled with heat and hangers-on to take the provisional pole with a time of 1:36.996. Vermeulen reckoned he could have gone quicker on his Ten Kate Honda but on his last fast lap he found himself towing several other riders around the circuit.

“I had about 20 guys trying to get a tow off me so I rolled around trying to get a bit of clear track,” said Vermeulen, “but by the time they cleared off my tires had gone cold.”

Alessio Corradi took second on the provisional grid on his Yamaha R6, a popular showing from the flamboyant Italian at an Italian circuit. He’s just 0.073-second down on Vermeulen. Fujiwara was beaten down to third by Vermeulen and Corradi, the Japanese rider recorded a best time of 1:37.427 on his Alstare Suzuki. Jurgen VD Goorbergh joins them all on the provisional front row.

World Supersport championship
Round seven, San Marino, June 20 – 21 – 22
First qualifying practice, fastest laps:
1. Chris Vermeulen, AUS, Honda, 1:36.996
2. Alessio Corradi, ITA, Yamaha, 1:37.069
3. Katsuaki Fujiwara, JPN, Suzuki, 1:37.427
4. Jurgen can den Goorbergh, NL, Yamaha, 1:37.459
5. Simone Sanna, ITA, Yamaha, 1:37.615
6. Broc Parkes, AUS, Honda, 1:37.758
7. Stephane Chambon, FRA, Suzuki, 1:37.834
8. Pere Riba, ESP, Kawasaki, 1:37.893
9. Karl Muggeridge, AUS, Honda, 1:37.977
10. Fabien Foret, FRA, Kawasaki, 1:38.044


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

HONDA’S VERMEULEN STRIKES IN MISANO HEAT

Honda CBR600RR rider Chris Vermeulen set the pace with the fastest time in Friday afternoon’s opening qualifying session for round seven of the World Supersport championship at Misano, San Marino ­ almost two seconds inside the lap record.

Championship leader Vermeulen was in dominant mood as he put the new Ten Kate CBR600RR through its paces on its Misano debut and in blistering heat at the 2.52-mile (4.06km) circuit.

“I managed my best lap mid-session but I’m really struggling to get a clear lap ­ there’s a load out there waiting to follow me and it makes it tricky ­ and a bit dangerous,” said Vermeulen.

He continued: “I got faster and faster as the machine set-up got better and better. As we’ve never tested here it’s all credit to the team.”

Alessio Corradi on a Yamaha was second quickest with Suzuki’s Katsuaki Fujiwara third and Dutch Yamaha rider Jurgen van den Goorbergh fourth to
complete the provisional front row for Sunday’s race.

Van den Goorbergh’s team-mate Simone Sanna leads the provisional second row after the Italian took fifth place while BKM Honda¹s Broc Parkes ­ fastest in the morning’s free practice session ­ was sixth.

Parkes said: “My best laps today came on a rear race tyre so I’m looking forward to getting the machine set up a little better for tomorrow then
we’ll try a softer compound rear tyre for the fast lap.”

Stephane Chambon took seventh while Kawasaki¹s Pere Riba bounced back from a morning practice crash to take eighth. Ten Kate Honda’s Karl Muggeridge was a frustrated ninth while Riba¹s team-mate Fabien Foret completes the top 10.

CBR600RR ace Muggeridge commented: “I was in a bit of a rush towards the end of the session and just failed to make it around to start a fast lap but, there’s always tomorrow!”

Iain MacPherson was 14th fastest on his Van Zon Honda, the British rider said: “I didn’t really get a good lap on my soft rear tyre. I was held up on the warm-up lap and my tyre wasn’t hot enough. I had a couple of slides in the first few corners and decided to call it a day.”

Just 0.1s down on MacPherson was his team-mate Werner Daemen, on the second of the Van Zon CBR600RRs. Daemen commented: “Forgetting the lap time, the main achievement is the improvement of the machine. We’ve got rid of a front end problem I had this morning which was a major concern.”

Robert Ulm spent the day chasing a race set-up on his Klaffi Honda and the Austrian rider, who celebrated his 30th birthday yesterday, said: “The machine is really starting to feel good but I made a mess of what should have been my fast, qualifying lap.”

Parkes’ team-mate Christophe Cogan, on the second of the BKM Hondas, ended the opening day in 22nd place, he said: “I was busy testing race tyres and getting dialled into the circuit ­ it’s a difficult track for me. There’s no panic though, I know I can get a much faster time tomorrow.”

A troubled Sebastien Charpentier, on the Klaffi team machine, was 26th, he admitted: “Misano has always been a difficult circuit for me. I struggle for feel on the fast left-handers onto the back straight and they are crucial to a fast lap. We’ll have a good look at everything tonight and work it out for tomorrow.”

Friday’s World Supersport championship qualifying times:
1. Chris Vermeulen, Australia (Honda) 1:36.996
2. Alessio Corradi, Italy (Yamaha) 1:37.069
3. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Japan (Suzuki) 1:37.427
4. Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Holland (Yamaha) 1:37.459
5. Simone Sanna, Italy (Yamaha) 1:37.615
6. Broc Parkes, Australia (Honda) 1:37.758
7. Stephane Chambon, France (Suzuki) 1:37.834
8. Pere Riba, Spain (Kawasaki) 1:37.893
9. Karl Muggeridge, Australia (Honda) 1:37.977
10. Fabien Foret, France (Kawasaki) 1:38.044
14. Iain MacPherson, GB (Honda) 1:38.439
16. Werner Daemen, Belgium (Honda) 1:38.580
19. Robert Ulm, Austria (Honda) 1:38.810
22. Christophe Cogan, France (Honda) 1:39.002
26. Sebastien Charpentier, France (Honda) 1:39.628

Friday qualifying
Superside (Sidecar) World Championship
Misano Adriatico, San Marino:
1. Steve Webster, GB, Suzuki, 1:39.374
2. Jörg Steinhausen, Germany, Suzuki, 1:39.815
3. Steve Abbott, GB, Suzuki, 1:40.310
4. Klaus Klaffenböck, Austria, Yamaha, 1:41.328
5. Tom Hanks, GB, Yamaha, 1:41.363
6. Martien van Gils, Holland, Suzuki, 1:42.160
7. Mike Roscher, Germany, Suzuki, 1:43.873
8. Sepp Doppler, Germany, Yamaha, 1:45.047
9. Bill Philp, GB, Yamaha, 1:45.071
10. Richard Gatt, GB, Yamaha, 1:45.323