Final World Supersport Qualifying Results: 1. Michel FABRIZIO, Honda, 1:43.835 2. Kevin CURTAIN, Yamaha, 1:43.983 3. Fabien FORET, Honda, 1:44.080 4. Broc PARKES, Yamaha, 1:44.222 5. Katsuaki FUJIWARA, Honda, 1:44.295 6. Gianluca NANNELLI, Ducati, 1:44.545 7. Arie VOS, Honda, 1:44.695 8. Johan STIGEFELT, Honda, 1:44.767 9. Javier FORES, Suzuki, 1:44.905 10. Stephane CHAMBON, Honda, 1:45.263 More, from a press release issued by Winston Ten Kate Honda: BOTH WINSTON MEN ON SECOND ROW IN FRANCE Winston Ten Kate Honda’s Katsuaki Fujiwara will start from the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s final 2005 World Supersport championship race at Magny-Cours in France. Pole position went to fellow-Honda rider Michel Fabrizio in this afternoon’s second qualifying session, with Fujiwara less than half a second off the Italian’s time. Replacement rider for this final round of the championship, Arie Vos, further impressed the Winston Ten Kate Honda team including 2005 world champion, Sébastien Charpentier and his fellow Supersport competitors by setting the seventh fastest time this afternoon. Ronald ten Kate team manager: “We just missed out on the front row with Kats but full marks to him for the way he has ridden through the pain barrier this weekend. When he puts his race face on tomorrow, I’m sure he’ll be up there at the front. I said yesterday that Arie might be the surprise of the weekend and, even though he’s not leading the charge, I think a lot of guys out there must be thinking: ‘Who on earth is that?’. He put in some consistently quick laps today but wasn’t able to put one fast one together for qualifying. A second row start is what we had hoped for and I’m sure he will run a good race tomorrow.” Katsuaki Fujiwara fifth fastest, 1m44.295s “The hand is a little better today but it’s going to be a very difficult race tomorrow. It’s really painful when I try to push hard and the bike is moving around a lot more especially under heavy braking when I’m changing down through the gears and using the clutch a lot. The bike set-up is not so bad but there are a couple of little things we would like to try in warm-up tomorrow. The race is 23 laps, which will be tough, but I’m a professional rider and once I start the race I will ride through the pain to finish it as best I can and, hopefully, stay in third place in the championship. You will see some of the Samurai spirit in me tomorrow!” Arie Vos seventh fastest, 1m44.695s “I’m very happy, especially because I am making progress every time I go out on the bike. It may be small progress but seventh is my best World Supersport qualifying performance. I’m really pleased with the help and motivation that Sébastien (Charpentier) has been able to give me. He has taught me really quickly and I owe a lot to him for my qualifying performance. I like the way he has the bike set-up and we hardly changed anything. With a good start in the race tomorrow, I think I can be up there and I’d just like to thank the Winston Ten Kate Honda team for the honour they’ve given me with this fantastic opportunity.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Double front row for Yamaha Germany duo 8/10/2005 Yamaha Motor Germany riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes will start tomorrow’s final round of the Supersport World Championship from the front row after setting the second and fourth fastest times at Magny Cours today. In a close session that saw Curtain end the day just over a tenth of a second behind pole man Michel Fabrizio (Honda) the Yamaha riders confirmed that they are in good shape for tomorrow’s 23-lap finale. Despite being guaranteed second in the championship regardless of the outcome of tomorrow’s race, Curtain pushed hard throughout the session and posted a 1:43.983 lap time to move to the top of the leader board in the closing minutes of the session, only to be eclipsed by the following Fabrizio’s 1:43.835 seconds later. Parkes ended the day fourth fastest and happy with his set-up for tomorrow’s race. The 23-year-old was leading last weekend’s race in Imola, only to slip back when the rain arrived, and is keen to end his first season with Yamaha on the podium. Tomorrow marks the final appearance for the current model YZF-R6 in world supersport. Next year Curtain and Parkes will ride the all-new R6 unveiled 10 days ago in Paris. Kevin Curtain “We tried a different tactic today but it didn’t quite work! Normally I go out and set a fast lap early on but that seems to just set a target for the other guys to aim at. Today I decided to stay in the pits and see what they could do and 10 minutes from the end I came out. Unfortunately Fabrizio was behind me and although I was in two minds whether to let him go or not I decided just to go for it or else I would be stuck in traffic on the next lap. I did get the pole position but it seems that I towed Fabrizio around as well! Still, the front row is fine and I expect a good race tomorrow. The times are very close and I expect that it will be a good battle between me, Broc, Fabrizio and possibly Foret for the win tomorrow.” Broc Parkes “I’m not much of a qualifier so I’m always happy to be on the front row. I probably could’ve gone quicker today but I made a bit of a mistake by going out too early on the best tyre option. I was slower today than my pole time from last year, but then no-one went any quicker than that, so I am not worried. We’ve got a good race set-up and a front row start, so we’re in good shape for the race.”