From a press release issued by FGSPort:

2004 FIM WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP

11th round Magny Cours, 1-3 October 2004

CORSER TURNS 30 AGAIN AFTER SUPERB SUPERPOLE

CORSER BEST OF ALL: Having been fourth fastest in regulation qualifying, Foggy Petronas FP-1 rider Troy Corser did not seem a likely candidate to secure the Superpole win. A small error on his own behalf led to a peculiar line on the approach to the last series of corners before the final chicane at Magny Cours. This small error proved a stroke of good fortune, allowing Corser to swing through the final section at a higher pace than normal, taking his 30th career pole in SBK with a 1’41.547. It is his second pole of this season, the first coming at Oschersleben.

FOUR SQUARE: Such is the competitive nature of the 2004 championship and the diversity of homologated machinery in SBK in general, that no fewer than four different manufacturers were represented on the post Superpole front row. For the first time since 2001, there was only one Ducati in the first four places.

HONDA HOMING IN: Chris Vermeulen looked to have won Superpole but for Corser’s outstanding lap time. Nonetheless the Aussie rider on the Ten Kate Honda is in good starting position as he goes for the championship win. Fourteen points behind leading rider Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila) Vermeulen was in trouble in the early practice sessions, could only finish seventh fastest in regulation, but took second in Superpole. His Imola injuries are not hampering his performance too much and the Superbike rookie enters the final round with a fighting chance of the overall title.

DUCATIS TO DUKE IT OUT: In the internal battle between series leader Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila 999F04) and his team-mate James Toseland, round one at Magny Cours went to Toseland, who secured third place and a front row start. Laconi’s ragged Superpole lap put him fifth fastest, on the second row, a fact which will make both his races tougher than desired in front of his vociferous home crowd.

LOCAL HERO: The front row was blessed by the presence of a Yamaha privateer, the current World Endurance Champion Sebastien Gimbert, on a Yamaha France R1. Fastest in both regulation qualifying sessions, Gimbert is no stranger to the Pirellis used in World Superbike, running the Italian rubber in domestic and World Endurance competitions. His pace electrified the local crowd, in what was a dry but overcast day.

ROW TWO: Behind the front row hierarchy Laconi leads the charge of three private Ducati runners on the second row after Superpole. Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati) slotted himself into the sixth grid spot, ahead of Steve Martin (DFX Ducati Sterilgarda) and Noriyuki Haga (Renegade Ducati 999RS). The latter still has a mathematical chance of overall victory, but realistically he is racing to add to his 2004 win total of five.

BRITISH BULLDOGS: Leon Haslam (Renegade Ducati 999) and Chris Walker (Foggy Petronas) ended their last Superpole competitions of the season in ninth and tenth places respectively.

ITALIAN FAIR FLAIR: Italian privateer Giovanni Bussei (De Cecco Ducati) could not complete his Superpole lap, but nonetheless he was awarded a momento for gentlemanly conduct at the last Imola race, when he was given a ride-through penalty for giving the stricken Chris Vermeulen a lift back to pitlane, allowing Vermeulen to race on his second bike and keep his championship challenge alive.

WORLD SUPERSPORT: Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Honda) finally secured pole position for his Ten Kate Honda team, after a qualifying session full of accident and incident. A crash from second fastest rider Michel Fabrizio (Team Italia Megabike Honda) halted the session with just over ten minutes remaining, making for some frantic moments as the clock counted down.
Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda) secured third best time and with newly crowned World Champion Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda) fourth fastest, the front was an all-Honda domain. Kevin Curtain, a faller in the session, was fifth fastest for the Yamaha Motor Germany team. Lorenzo Lanzi (Breil Ducati) was the top twin-cylinder rider to qualify for Sunday’s 23-lap race.

EUROPEAN SUPERSTOCK: Lorenzo Alfonsi (Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha R1) took a narrow advantage in qualifying for the European Superstock race. The final event is finely balanced. Injured championship leader Gianluca Vizziello has been ruled out by the broken wrist and arm he picked up pre-race at the preceding round in Imola, and his team-mate Alfonsi can take the title if he finishes second or batter. Any other result will see Vizziello crowned champion, despite being unable to race in the last two rounds.



More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:

2004 World Superbike Championship
Round 11, Magny Cours (France) , Saturday 2nd October, Final Qualifying
Circuit: 4.411kms, Weather: dry, cloudy 19°C

SUPERTROY!
Troy stunned everybody at Magny-Cours today by blasting his Petronas FP1 to a superb Superpole win by an almost comfortable three tenths of a second. It was Troy’s second Superpole win of the season and his thirtieth pole position of his World Superbike career. Troy was down on the first two splits, but recovered magnificently to push fellow countryman Chris Vermeulen (Honda) off the top spot. Third quickest in Superpole today is James Toseland (Ducati), with ‘wild card’ Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha) completing the front row of the grid.

TROY – 1st, 1:41.547
Well, it’s been a bit of a time coming, but I really wanted to get my 30th pole before the end of the season and now I’ve done it. I was down in the first two timed sections, but I got back the time in the final part – though that might have been down to a little mistake really! I braked a bit late, but I still managed to stay on the track and not suffer at all. It wasn’t luck, but it was not far off! I am happy because the team have worked their socks off and it’s thanks to them and our new specification engines that I was able to put the Petronas on pole. In Superpole, you can either gain a little or lose a lot and the key is to not make mistakes or try too hard. This weekend my times on race rubber have been very consistent, so now I need a good start. I am definitely going for a podium, but hopefully a race win.

Final qualifying
1 TROY CORSER (AUS-PETRONAS FP1) 1:41.547, 2 Vermeulen (Aus-Honda) 1:41.845, 3 Toseland (GB-Ducati) 1:41.856, 4 Gimbert (F-Yamaha) 1:412.946, 5 Laconi (I-Ducati) 1:41.969, 6 Chili (I-Ducati) 1:41.977, 7 Martin (Aus-Ducati) 1:42.242, 8 Haga (J-Ducati) 1:42.358, 9 Haslam (GB-Ducati) 1:42.705, 10 Walker (GB-Petronas FP1) 1:42.718



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

Vermeulen Narrowly Misses Superpole Win

Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) looked to have clinched his first Superpole after setting an impressive time of 1’41.845, but a superb final split for the last rider away, Troy Corser (Petronas) secured him his 30th career pole position in Superbike.

Chris nonetheless has an important front row start, in what is destined to be the championship decider. The two races on Sunday will determine which of the three top riders in contention, Chris, plus Ducati factory riders James Toseland and Regis Laconi will be champion, with all three separated by only 14 points at present. Significantly, Laconi could not join Toseland and Vermeulen on the front row after the pressurised Superpole competition.

Four different manufacturers were represented on the front row of the grid, with the Honda, Petronas and Ducati riders joined by the private wild card Yamaha of Sebastien Gimbert.

Vermeulen, returning to the pit box with a seemingly unassailable time to his credit, was surprised to see Corser overtake his position at the head of the time sheets. “I came into my pitbox and looked up at the screen, leading by 0.2 seconds or so. Then I looked down, looked back up again and Troy was pole! I was like, ‘what did he do there?’ Congratulations to Troy and it’s nice to see so many different manufacturers in the front row. We struggled here yesterday and we got faster and faster. It will be close races and we just have to get into the first group and then be first across the line. But I will be giving it my best shot for sure.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate was happy with the improvements the team had wrought in the CBR1000RR since the first qualifying session. “I think the line that Troy took into the last corner before the chicane was the difference. All the other boys are taking it tighter but Troy really took it wide and then threw it in. He was good, and maybe his bike allows such a line. We are not disappointed to not score a pole this year, and after yesterday I can only be satisfied with the result we had today. We are back on track. I think we’ve got the bike dialled in for the race, Chris is getting more and more in his rhythm, and his body is letting him move around more. A lot of people yesterday must have thought we were down and out but here we are on the front row. I think Tory rode very well, congratulations to him on 30 pole positions. It shown how great a rider he is. I hope he can help us by putting himself between us and the opposition.”

World Superbike Championship
Round 11 Magny Cours – France
1 – 3 October 2004
1. T. Corser, AUS, Petronas FP1, 1’41.547
2. C. Vermeulen, AUS, Ten Kae Honda CBR1000RR, 1’41.845
3. J. Toseland, GBR, Ducati 999 F04, 1’41.856
4. S. Gimbert, FRA, Yamaha YZF R1, 1’41.946
5. R. Laconi, FRA, Ducati 999 F04, 1’41.969
6. P. Chili, ITA, Ducati 998 RS, 1’41.977
7. S. Martin, AUS, Ducati 999 RS, 1’42.242
8. N. Haga, JPN, Ducati 999 RS, 1’42.358
9. L. Haslam, GBR, Ducati 999 RS, 1’42.705
10. C. Walker, GBR, Petronas FP1, 1’42.718

Parkes Takes Pole with Muggeridge on Front Row

Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) did what he had threatened to do on many previous occasions and took pole position in World Supersport, his time of 1’43.825s being set in the final session of the pre race qualifying sessions. Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) secured a front row start with a time of 1’43.953s, despite being under the pole time on various first and second split times.

The front row for Sunday’s race was an all Honda affair, with Michel Fabrizio and Sebastien Charpentier going second and third respectively. The first non-Honda proved to be the Yamaha of Kevin Curtain, in fifth.

Parkes, delighted with his first pole for the Ten Kate team, stated, “I’ve come close a few times this year but I don’t know what made the difference this time. It wasn’t exactly the kind of lap that you would expect to have pole from, because I got held up a bit in traffic, especially in the second corner. I thought I had lost too much time, because that’s about the fastest corner here. We were in good shape after Imola and we didn’t make too many changes here. The bike works pretty well round Magny Cours.”

Muggeridge was incensed at the action of some of his fellow riders, feeling that he lost a clean shot at pole on two separate occasions. “I was trying to have a go to make pole but I got held up with traffic. There is just continuous traffic out there and I don’t know what some of them are thinking about. We have tried hard to get the bike working with a race set-up and we still need to get it working a little better for the race.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate said, “We worked out all the issues we had on day one, about how the bike is riding the bumps and so on and we have selected race tyres. Or should I say we have two tyres to choose from, and we will decide after warm up. The boys are well up to speed. That was an excellent pole from Broc and he worked hard all weekend with his bike and crew. Karl could have maybe got pole a couple of times as well, but he got held up by other riders.”

World Supersport Championship
Round 10 / Magny Cours, France
1 – 3 October 2004
1. B. Parkes, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, 1’43.825
2. M. Fabrizio, ITA, Honda CBR600RR, 1’43.840
3. S. Charpentier, FRA, Honda CBR600RR, 1’43.858
4. K. Muggeridge, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, 1’43.953
5. K. Curtain, AUS, Yamaha YZF R 6, 1’44.199
6. J. vd. Goorbergh, NED, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’44.273
7. A. Pitt, AUS, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’44.288
8. F. Foret, FRA, Yamaha YZF R6, 1’44.406
9. L. Lanzi, ITA, Ducati 749 R, 1’44.768
10. M. Baiocco, ITA, Yamaa YZF R6, 1’45.100



More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Italia Racing:

Yamaha Racing
Yamaha Italia World Supersport Team
Date: Friday, 1st October 2004
Circuit: Magny Cours, m. 4.411
Final Qualifying
Weather: dry, mostly cloudy Temperature: air 19° C, track 28° C
Crowd: 15.000

SECOND ROW FOR THE TRIO.
Yamaha Racing Italia’s three riders will line up alongside each on the second row of the grid for the final round of the Supersport World Championship at Magny Cours tomorrow. All three were held up by slower riders on their fast laps, but all are confident of finishing with podiums in the 23-lapper – the last race of the year. Aussie Broc Parkes took pole position today, with fellow Honda riders Michel Fabrizio, Sebastien Charpentier and Karl Muggeridge completing the front row.

JURGEN VAN DEN GOORBERGH – 6th, 1’44.273
I am a little bit angry because I was confident of keeping my front row grid spot. But, on my fast lap, Fabrizio crashed right in front of me and I lost the opportunity to keep that place. I was third last year here at Magny-Cours and I feel sure that I can be on the podium again this time.

ANDREW PITT – 7th, 1’44.288
My set-up is good and I think that this place suits the Yamaha very well. I am confident of a good result tomorrow and the only problems I had today were with slow riders and lots of traffic in the way.

FABIEN FORET – 8th, 1’44.406
I found a really good set-up, but I didn’t pick the right moment to do my quick lap. There was lots of traffic on the track today and I had to overtake two slow riders on my fast lap and that cost me quite a bit of time.

MATTEO BAIOCCO continued his good run of form by posting the tenth fastest time in final qualifying today – very close to the front runners. The Lorenzini by Leoni rider finished tenth in the Supersport World Championship round at Imola last week and is looking for a strong finish in tomorrow’s 23-lapper.

Final qualifying
1 Parkes (Aus-Honda) 1’43.825, 2 Fabrizio (I-Honda) 1’43.840, 3 Charpentier (F-Honda) 1’43.840, 4 Muggeridge (Aus-Honda) 1’43.953, 5 Curtain (Aus-Yamaha) 1’44.199, 6 VD GOORBERGH (NL-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA) 1’44.273, 7 PITT (AUS-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA) 1’44.288, 8 FORET (F-YAMAHA RACING ITALIA) 1’44.406, 9 Lanzi (I-Ducati) 1’44.768, 10 BAIOCCO (I-LORENZINI BY LEONI YAMAHA) 1’45.100



More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

WORLD SUPERBIKE SET FOR FINAL SHOWDOWN AS TOSELAND AND LACONI (DUCATI FILA) QUALIFY 3RD AND 5TH AT MAGNY-COURS

Magny-Cours (France), 2 October 2004: The final round of the World Superbike championship at Magny-Cours is set to be a thriller as all three championship contenders, James Toseland and Regis Laconi (Ducati Fila), together with outsider Chris Vermeulen (Honda), qualified within one tenth of a second of each other for tomorrow’s two races.

B setting third quickest time of 1’41.856 in Superpole behind eventual poleman Corser (Petronas) and Vermeulen, Toseland has a slight advantage over his team-mate Laconi (with a time of 1’41.969) in fifth place on row 2, but both riders are confident that they have the right package for tomorrow’s two 23-lap races.

“Although I didn’t feel my Superpole lap was anything special, we did a really good job today so a big thanks to the team” declared Toseland. “I’ve just been trying to get every problem out of the way, be precise with the changes on the bike and spend as much time out there on the track as possible this weekend.

“We’re third on the grid, which is perfect for me. It’s a front row start, that’s what I wanted because it gives us the best chance tomorrow. We ‘ve been consistently quick on race tyres all through the weekend and I’m looking forward to the challenge” concluded James.

“I’m quite happy to make this time, because the first part of my Superpole lap was not good” explained Laconi. “We have really worked hard for the race, we have found the right choice of tyre and I am confident about the feeling of the bike for the race tomorrow.

“I did a lot of laps in 42.8/9s with the race tyre, I think that will be the pace for the race. You never know, you have to see at the start but for me the second row is not a big problem. It’s just important to make sure everything is right for the race, get off to a good start and ride well tomorrow. There’s not much between me, James and Chris and I feel sure it will be a fantastic battle tomorrow”.