round nine - Assen, Holland
Qualifying practice - 2 September 2005

PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW FOR WINSTON MEN AT ASSEN

Winston Ten Kate Honda's Karl Muggeridge and Chris Vermeulen set the third and
fourth fastest times respectively in this afternoon's first qualifying session
for Sunday's ninth round World Superbike championship races at Assen in Holland.

Britain's James Toseland took provisional pole position with series leader, Troy
Corser, second fastest as Winston's Australian pairing of Muggeridge and
Vermeulen searched for the ideal racing set-up for their Honda CBR1000RRs at the
revised 5.9km Assen circuit.

Ronald ten Kate - team manager:

"I think that's a pretty good start to the weekend for us. Both riders were
quickly up to speed after the break following the last round at Brands Hatch. We
still have some improvements to make on both sides of the garage but the
consistent weather and dry weekend that's been forecast will help us to work on
those areas. We're not quite there yet but the guys are up there where it
matters and will be looking to go even better tomorrow."

Karl Muggeridge - third fastest, 2m05.136s

"I put in a qualifier and the lap wasn't bad but it wasn't that good, either. I
walked away knowing it was pretty average but it was on an old front tyre so I
wasn't exactly barrelling in everywhere. I put in a lot of laps on race rubber,
which feels good and the lap times were still pretty good towards the end; so,
with some more things to try tomorrow, we should be there or thereabouts. I'm
looking for a bike that I can still race when grip levels begin to drop off and
that's what we've been concentrating on today. I'm happy with the new section of
the circuit here - it still flows but I see it as another passing opportunity."

Chris Vermeulen - fourth fastest, 2m05.445s

"I'm pretty happy with the way things have gone today. I didn't use a qualifier
in that session and my best lap was done with a race tyre that was nine laps
old. I wasn't happy with the set-up at the start of the session but the guys
worked really well in the right direction to get the bike working better. For
sure, there's still a way to go but I think we'll find it tomorrow when I think
the times are definitely going to get faster. To be honest, I'm not a fan of the
revised circuit - I think it's taken something away from Assen but everyone has
to ride it so it's not a problem."

World Superbike, Assen - provisional qualifying times:

 1 James Toseland GBR (Ducati)                   2m04.742s
 2 Troy Corser AUS (Suzuki)                      2:04.835
 3 Karl Muggeridge AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda)  2:05.136
 4 Chris Vermeulen AUS (Winston Ten Kate Honda)  2:05.445
 5 Lorenzo Lanzi ITA (Ducati)                    2:05.594
 6 Steve Martin AUS (Petronas)                   2:05.793
 7 Max Neukirchner GER (Honda)                   2:05.822
 8 Andrew Pitt AUS (Yamaha)                      2:05.908
 9 Yukio Kagayama JPN (Suzuki)                   2:05.921
10 Gianluca Vizziello ITA (Yamaha)               2:05.968