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JURGEN THIRD IN TOUGH BRANDS BATTLE
01 August 2004 - Yamaha Racing
Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Motor Italia) kept his Supersport World Championship aspirations alive with a third place finish at Brands Hatch today.
The Dutchman took the podium finish on aggregate time in a two-part race that was marred by an injury to his team-mate Fabien Foret. The race had been shaping up to be a classic with the Yamaha pairing involved in a seven-way battle for the lead when Foret crashed out of third place on lap 10. The Frenchman was thrown from his machine into the following pack and, despite their best efforts, two riders were unable to avoid the stricken rider.
That incident caused the race to be stopped while Foret received medical attention on the circuit. He was later taken to Maidstone hospital where doctors confirmed a double break to his left ankle.
Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) has also involved in the Foret crash. He took the restart on his spare machine and looked set for a podium finish, until Van den Goorbergh and Broc Parkes (Honda) forced their way through on the final lap. Christian Kellner (Yamaha Motor Germany) also endured ill luck at the English venue. The German lined up for the restart in ninth place but was unfortunate to be involved in a first lap incident which saw him end the race in the gravel trap. The race was won by Karl Muggeridge (Honda) who passed race-long leader Sebastien Charpentier on the last lap. Muggeridge now leads the championship by 24 points from second-placed Van den Goorbergh. Curtain remains in fourth while Yamaha continues to lead the manufacturer’s championship. Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Motor Italia) – third
“We can take a lot of positives from today. Of course Muggeridge has beaten us and that is not good but we have taken another podium and I feel that we have made big progress. I was not happy with my riding in the last two races or in Friday’s qualifying but on Saturday we made some big changes to the set-up of the bike and I feel that today I rode as well as I was at the start of the season. In both parts of the race I was able to run with Muggeridge but it was not possible to make a pass without taking too big a risk.” Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germay) – fifth
“I was able to run with the leading group today but it was always so difficult to make a pass stick. I was lucky not to hurt myself in the crash with Fabien. He ran over the kerb and got thrown off right in front of me. I had nowhere to go. On the last lap Jurgen made a tough pass on me and I had to back off. That let him and Broc Parkes through and I had to settle for fifth.” Christian Kellner (Yamaha Motor Germany) – DNF
“The first part of the race went ok but in the second part I was off at the first hairpin. I don’t really know what happened. Someone said that another rider hit me but all I know is that I went into the corner and the back end went and I was in the gravel. It’s bad luck but it is all part of racing. I have been to the medical centre as I have pain in my elbow and knee but nothing is broken.” Massimo Meregalli (Yamaha Motor Italia team co-ordinator) ''Fabien has a double fracture to his left ankle and tonight will undergo an operation to insert a metal plate. The good news is that he has not broken his right femur as originally suspected, although this is currently very badly swollen. The initial report is that Fabien will be out of action for between six to eight weeks, although we should be able to give a more accurate report after the operation.''
Race classification WSS
Round: 7 - Brands Hatch
Circuit: BrandsHatch
Circuit Length: 4221
Lap Record: 1'' 29.149 (Stéphane Chambon, 2003)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1'' 29.149 (Stéphane Chambon, 2003)
Race 1: 23 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS 34'' 44.195
2 S. Charpentier Honda FRA +0.098
3 J. van den Goorbergh Yamaha NED +2.194
4 B. Parkes Honda AUS +2.199
5 K. Curtain Yamaha AUS +2.238
6 A. Corradi Honda ITA +8.401
7 K. Fujiwara Suzuki JPN +11.308
8 S. Chambon Suzuki FRA +12.301
9 A. West Honda AUS +19.580
10 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA +28.336
11 M. Neukirchner Honda GER +35.959
12 L. Quigley Suzuki GBR +41.240
13 T. Tunstall Honda GBR +42.366
14 W. Tortoroglio Suzuki ITA +42.952
15 M. Lagrive Suzuki FRA +43.854 Fastest Race Lap:
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 F. Foret Yamaha FRA 1'' 29.638 Championship standings WSS
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 132
2 Jurgen van den Goorbergh Yamaha NED 108
3 Broc Parkes Honda AUS 82
4 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 69
5 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 68
6 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 56
7 Fabien Foret Yamaha FRA 55
8 Stephane Chambon Suzuki FRA 53
9 Katsuaki Fujiwara Suzuki JPN 53
10 Alessio Corradi Honda ITA 44
11 Max Neukirchner Honda GER 41
12 Joshua Brookes Honda AUS 25
13 Vittorio Iannuzzo Suzuki ITA 20
14 Christian Kellner Yamaha GER 19
15 Matthieu Lagrive Suzuki FRA 18 Manufacturers standings WSS 1 Yamaha 138
2 Honda 137
3 Suzuki 82
4 Ducati 69
5 Kawasaki 26
6 Triumph 4
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