World Superbike

Ocschersleben: Ten Kate Honda final qualifying report

Ten Kate Honda shine in Oschersleben storms. Rain storms threatened to ruin the final qualifying of the fifth round of the World Supersport championship in Oschersleben, Germany. But as the Supersport field took to the track for their final ...

Published: Jun 1, 2003, 2:59 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Ten Kate Honda shine in Oschersleben storms.

Rain storms threatened to ruin the final qualifying of the fifth round of the World Supersport championship in Oschersleben, Germany. But as the Supersport field took to the track for their final qualifying session, the rain held off and the circuit dried fast, allowing Chris Vermeulen to move up into second, behind team mate and pole-sitter Karl Muggeridge.

Karl Muggeridge took the third pole for Ten Kate Honda in only five races, relying on the very quick time set in Friday's session.

"Our set up has worked pretty well so far and I'm obviously really happy to put the Honda CBR600RR on pole again," said Muggeridge, "But we still have some work to do to find just that little bit extra."

Chris Vermeulen ignored the pain from his injured thumb to storm into second on the grid as the session came to an end.

"That was easier than yesterday," said Vermeulen, referring to the effort of riding with his badly injured right thumb. "I was just trying to get around the circuit while avoiding mud and water and managed a fast lap! The conditions aren't as quick as Friday but we've worked really hard with WP Suspension and Pirelli Tyres to come up with a great set up. We still have a little more to find so the work isn't over yet."

Team manager Ronald ten Kate confirmed that despite taking the two top grid positions there was still a busy night ahead for the technicians.

"While I am happy to see both my riders at the top again we aren't resting," said ten Kate. "The changing conditions made lots of extra work for us here. This isn't a quick track like Monza, so no one can accuse us of qualifying on top just because of sheer outright speed. This shows that the CBR600RR is a great race bike anywhere, even at a twisting and technical track like Oschersleben."

The forecast for Sunday, race-day, is sunny. While wet racing may produce thrills and spills, nearly all the riders would prefer to race in the dry.

World Supersport Championship
Round Five, Oschersleben
30 -- 31 May, and 1 June 2003

Qualifying -- Combined Times:
1. K. Muggeridge, AUS, Ten Kate Honda, 1m 30.250
2. C. Vermeulen, AUS, Ten Kate Honda, 1m 30.285
3. S Chambon, FRA, Suzuki, 1m 30.314
4. S Charpantier, FRA, Honda, 1m 30.397
5. K. Fujiwara, JAP, Suzuki, 1m 30.506
6. P. Riba, ESP, Kawasaki, 1m 30.599
7. J. VD Goorbergh, NED, Yamaha, 1m 30.620
8. I. MacPherson, GBR, Van Zon Honda TKR, 1m 30.702
9. B. Parkes, AUS, Honda, 1m 30.715
10. R. Ulm, AUT, Honda, 1m 30.769
11. W Daemen, BEL, Van Zon Honda TKR 1m 30.823

-tkh-

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Oschersleben: Michelin race report

Next article Ocschersleben: Team Ducati final qualifying report

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Homestead-Miami

1 h

Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors

Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Homestead-Miami

1 h

Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss

IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing

IndyCar

Indy IndyCar 1 h

IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing

Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Homestead-Miami

1 h

Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts