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03/30/03
Victory for Ten Kate and Vermeulen

By Worldsbk.com

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.”



Young Australian Chris Vermeulen on the podium after his first World Supersport victory, dedicated his win to memory of former 500cc World Champion Barry Sheene, who had helped him during his early career.

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