Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Weather wins in Supersport race

The weather was the winner in the World Supersport race at Silverstone today. The race started in rain and the weather just got more severe as the race progressed.

On lap 14 Paolo Casoli, who had been battling and swapping the lead with his team mate James Whitham, crashed out. Whitham inherited the lead but then immediately crashed out himself. Luckily for the two Belgarda Yamaha riders the race control decided the conditions had deteriorated too much to continue racing and out came the red flag. The result was taken back to the last completed lap, lap 13, handing the win to Whitham who had been leading at the end of that lap.

Karl Muggeridge on the Honda UK CBR600 had his best finish of the season, coming in third, over 16 seconds back on the Belgarda Yamaha pair. Behind him Jorg Teuchert got the better of a race-long battle with Iain MacPherson to take fourth place. MacPherson’s fifth was his best of the season, a fitting present to himself on his 34th Birthday.

Chris Vermeulen, who qualified second on the grid, was robbed of a possible good result when his tyre warmers were accidentally left switched off before the race. This meant Vermeulen entered turn one with cold tyres, almost crashing as a result. Because of the heavy rain, Vermeulen was unable to get any heat into his tyres and finished back in 14th as a result.

Pole man Fabien Foret rode home in seventh, a good result for a rider not known for his rain skills. It was also a good result for his title challenge because championship leader Stephane Chambon finished eighth. Foret closed up another point leaving the gap at only three points.

Katsuaki Fujiwara, who took the holeshot, dropped back to finish sixth.

The lead pair, and Teuchert were both riding on Dunlop tyres, while Muggeridge and MacPherson were using Pirelli rubber.

Silverstone World Supersport Results:

1. Jamie Whitham, Yamaha, 13 laps, 28:15.649
2. Paolo Casoli, Yamaha, -0.269
3. Karl Muggeridge, Honda, -16.995
4. Jorg Teuchert, Yamaha, -21.654
5. Iain MacPherson, Honda, -21.888
6. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki, -24.160
7. Fabien Foret, Honda, -31.689
8. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki, -39.571
9. Diego Giugovaz, Yamaha, -43.131
10. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha, -48.724
11. Christian Kellner, Yamaha, -58.442
12. Stefano Cruciani, Yamaha, -61.111
13. Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati, -68.372
14. Chris Vermeulen, Honda, -71.619
15. John McGuiness, Honda, -74.037
16. Sebastien Charpentier, Honda, -79.209
17. Werner Daemen, Honda, -79.544
18. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha, -79.868
19. Kyro Verstraeten, Honda, -80.762
20. Christian Zaiser, Yamaha, -90.227
21. Robert Frost, Yamaha, -92.753
22. Antonio Carlacci, Yamaha, -144.526
23. David De Gea, Honda, -149.761
24. Claudio Cipriani, Yamaha, -1 lap
25. Jon Kirkham, Honda, -1 lap
26. Tom Tunstall, Suzuki, -1 lap, DNF
27. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Ducati, -2 laps, DNF
28. Christophe Cogan, Honda, -4 laps, DNF
29. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, -4 laps, DNF
30. Stuart Easton, Ducati, -7 laps, DNF
31. Ben Wilson, Honda, -9 laps, DNF
32. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha, -10 laps, DNF
33. James Ellison, Kawasaki, -11 laps, DNF