Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Victory at home for Vermeulen

Young Australian Chris Vermeulen rode to his first ever World Supersport win at Phillip Island.

Vermeulen mono-wheeled into the lead from the start and shook off a determined challenge from Katsuaki Fujiwara, eventually finishing by the huge (by World Supersport standards) margin of 9,299 seconds.

“I’ve been hanging out for this win for a while now and it couldn’t have come at a better place,” said the young Australian.

“My plan was to get my head down from the start and try to make a break,” he explained. “At first it looked like Fujiwara was going to stick with me, but when I saw he was dropping off I just got my head down and tried to keep a smooth rhythm. I was even able to build enough of a lead to be able to roll it off a little in the closing stages.”

As Fujiwara on the Suzuki and Vermeulen on the new Honda CBR600RR raced into the distance a massive battle with at times as many as eight riders involved was taking place behind them. After a while it seemed that Stephane Chambon had third in his pocket, having managed to put a gap between himself and the main group. But Jurgen vd Goorbergh had other ideas and, once he had broken clear of the mayhem, he egged his Yamaha R6 on and caught and passed Chambon for his first Supersport podium finish.




World Supersport Race Results:

1. Chris Vermeulen, Honda, 21 laps, 34:03.675
2. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki, -9.299 seconds
3. Jurgen Vd Goorbergh, Yamaha, -14.762 seconds
4. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki, -16.008 seconds
5. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha, -16.106 seconds
6. Jorg Teuchert, Yamaha, -18.686 seconds
7. Karl Muggeridge, Honda, -18.834 seconds
8. Pere Riba, Kawasaki, -22.666 seconds
9. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha, -22.685 seconds
10. Robert Ulm, Honda, -22.791 seconds
11. Fabien Foret, Kawasaki, -22.972 seconds
12. Christian Kellner, Yamaha, -23.079 seconds
13. Christophe Cogan, Honda, -23.175 seconds
14. Werner Daemen, Honda, -23.579 seconds
15. Simone Sanna, Yamaha, -24.666 seconds
16. Gianluca Nannelli, Yamaha, -33.429 seconds
17. Shannon Johnson, Honda, -36.988 seconds
18. Thierry Vd Bosch, Yamaha, -54.749 seconds
19. Kai Borre Andersen, Kawasaki, -54.762 seconds
20. Didier Vankeymeulen, Kawasaki, -55.072 seconds
21. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha, -63.161 seconds
22. Stefano Cruciani, Kawasaki, -2 laps, DNF
23. Iain MacPherson, Honda, -5 laps, DNF
24. Gianluigi Scalvini, Honda, -7 laps, DNF
25. Broc Parkes, Honda, -16 laps, DNF

Fastest Lap: Fujiwara, 1:36.642


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

Victory for Ten Kate and Vermeulen

Chris Vermeulen took his maiden World Supersport victory to the delight of his team and the Australian crowd at Phillip Island.

Vermeulen rode an incredible race, scorching into the lead from the start and then piling on a succession of fast laps to shake off a determined challenge from Katsuaki Fujiwara.

“I’ve been hanging out for this win for a while now and it couldn’t have come at a better place,” said the young Australian.

“My plan was to get my head down from the start and try to make a break,” he explained. “At first it looked like Fujiwara was going to stick with me, but when I saw he was dropping off I just got my head down and tried to keep a smooth rhythm. I was even able to build enough of a lead to be able to roll it off a little in the closing stages. Everything was really good, the Pirelli tyres were brilliant and WP Suspension had come up with a great race set-up. I’d like to thank my team for all the hard work they’ve done to provide me with this win.”

Behind Vermeulen team mate Karl Muggeridge got caught up in the massive battle for third.

“I was still a little sore after my crashes on Friday and Saturday so it was a tough race,” said Muggeridge. “I got caught up in the big battle for third and was struggling a little because I’ve not had enough track time to set up my number two bike.” Muggeridge’s number one bike was destroyed when he crashed on Saturday.

Team Manager Ronald ten Kate was almost speechless after the race – he was so happy to see his new young rider win in his home country.

“Chris rode a really mature race and I’m really happy for him. I am also relieved, there was a lot of pressure on our shoulders this weekend. The result not only shows that Chris is very talented rider, but also demonstrated the potential of the new CBR600RR. And we still have work to do on the bike – it will only get better as the season progresses.

“I am also impressed with Karl’s efforts in the race, especially after the problems we had during qualifying. He was in a big group battling for third and I am sure he would have clinched third if we’d had more track time to perfect his race set-up. But I am sure he’ll be back fighting at Sugo.”