Fujiwara on pole at home round

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn Le Santo

Japanese World Supersport rider Katsuaki Fujiwara will start Sunday’s
World Supersport race from pole position.


Fujiwara claimed pole after winning a fierce qualifying battle with Suzuki team mate Stephane Chambon, who finished second fastest. Last year’s race winner Paolo Casoli will start from third on the grid and Honda UK rider Karl Muggeridge claimed his first front row start of the season.

Fabien Foret was pushed back onto the second row after a day spent struggling with chattering problems. Another rider suffering from chatter was Yamaha rider James Whitham who qualified back in ninth. “It feels like I’ve got a square back wheel, I could get off and push it around some corners faster!” grumbled the British rider.

Wild Card rider Tatsuya Yamaguchi collided with Iain MacPherson and won’t start tomorrow’s race. MacPherson was unhurt but after three crashes in one weekend he’s down to one bike for Sunday’s free practice and race. Christian Kellner is also doubtful for the race after a massive crash in qualifying.

World Supersport Final Qualifying Times:

1. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki, 1:32.334
2. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki, 1:32.369
3. Paolo Casoli, Yamaha, 1:32.506
4. Karl Muggeridge, Honda, 1:32.607
5. Fabien Foret, Honda, 1:32.853
6. Chris Vermeulen, Honda, 1:32.890
7. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Ducati, 1:32.989
8. Christian Kellner, Yamaha, 1:33.079
9. Jamie Whitham, Yamaha, 1:33.155
10. Werner Daemen, Honda, 1:33.161
11. Tatsuya Yamaguchi, Honda, 1:33.371
12. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha, 1:33.375
13. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, 1:33.384
14. Iain MacPherson, Honda, 1:33.402
15. Jorg Teuchert, Yamaha, 1:33.437
16. David De Gea, Honda, 1:33.880
17. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha, 1:33.925
18. Stefano Cruciani, Yamaha, 1:34.175
19. Antonio Carlacci, Yamaha, 1:34.460
20. James Ellison, Kawasaki, 1:34.613

More from a Ten Kate Honda press release:

Ten Kate Honda still searching for ideal Sugo set up

Things didn’t go according to plan for the Ten Kate Honda team at Sugo today. After a successful first day’s qualifying the team took a step
backwards as unexpected problems beset the last session of qualifying.

“We all expected a little more from final qualifying,” admitted Team Manager Ronald ten Kate. “Iain MacPherson had bad luck today, he had
only ridden three laps before an unfortunate collision with one of the Wild Card riders wrecked his bike. We had hoped to get him into a rhythm so he could build up to a good qualifying performance but the crash threw those plans out of the window. With only one bike and not a lot of
time left in the session it was a real struggle for Iain.”

MacPherson confirmed Ronald ten Kate’s sentiments, “I’m just not having any luck this weekend,” said MacPherson. “I haven’t been able to
complete as many laps as I needed to all weekend. In final qualifying I only managed three laps before I got tangled up with Yamaguchi and
crashed.” Later, on his spare bike, MacPherson looked set for the front row as he raced through the first three splits only marginally off the
pole pace. Unfortunately a big slide stopped his charge. This time MacPherson’s luck held and he saved the slide without crashing.

Fabien Foret just missed a front row start when fellow Honda rider Karl Muggeridge pushed him off the front row late in the session.

“We took a step backwards on set up today,” observed Foret. “Yesterday things seemed to be going in the right direction but the changes we made today reversed our progress. I would have liked to have got on the front row but the race is the important thing. Now we need to work hard to try to get things right for the race.”

Ronald ten Kate realises there’s plenty of work still to be done before Sunday’s 25 lap race, “We want to give our riders the best possible set
up for the race so they can both show their true potential. We have a great package, the two riders, the Pirelli tyres, the WP Suspension and
the Honda CBR600FS bikes, they are all first class components. But we just need to find the set up that allows them all to work together
properly. You can be sure the whole team will work very hard to achieve that goal.”