round eight - Brands Hatch, GB
Final qualifying - 6 August 2005

CHARPENTIER FASTEST EVER AT BRANDS

Winston Ten Kate Honda's Sebastien Charpentier set the fastest ever World
Supersport lap around Brands Hatch, GB this afternoon, taking pole position for
tomorrow's eighth round race at the 4.2km circuit.

With just four minutes of the 45-minute final qualifying session remaining, the
Frenchman crossed the Brands Hatch finishing line in a time of 1m28.376s,
eclipsing the 2003 record of fellow countryman Stephane Chambon by one tenth of
a second. Charpentier's Winston Ten Kate Honda team-mate, Katsuaki Fujiwara, set
the fifth fastest time this afternoon on his return to World Supersport action
for the first time in six weeks.

Ronald ten Kate - team manager:

"I'm so happy with Sebastien's pole position time today, especially as it broke
the existing lap record. It's all the more impressive because the previous
record was established before the one-make tyre rule when qualifying tyres were
allowed in Supersport. I wonder how fast Sebastien could go on a qualifier, but
his race set-up is more important and he's OK with that. We knew this weekend
would be a little more difficult for Kats after riding the HRC Fireblade at
Suzuka on slicks; but he has adapted to the smaller bike and treaded tyres very
easily here. There is one sector of the circuit that we still need to work on
with him but I'm sure he'll put on his race face tomorrow to defend his place in
the championship."

Sebastien Charpentier - fastest, 1m28.376s

"The bike is really, really good now compared to yesterday and everything felt
great out there this afternoon. I thought that sort of time would be possible
after yesterday's sessions so I'm happy to achieve that small objective I set
myself. To beat the lap record here at my favourite circuit is a special thing
and I'm hoping for a similar result in tomorrow's race. I felt smooth like a
snake on the quick lap today and the bike is especially strong out of the left
hander going on to the back straight where speed is so important."

Katsuaki Fujiwara - fifth fastest, 1m29.408s

"I'm much more comfortable on the bike now than I was yesterday and we've been
able to make some important changes to the overall balance of the bike to
improve it today. It's been a long time since I rode the CBR600RR so I guess I'm
happy enough with my position on the grid and grateful for the hard work the
team has put in over the weekend so far. I'm happy with my race set-up so, as
long as I get a good start in the race tomorrow, I'll be fighting for a good
result to close the gap on Sebastien in the championship."

World Supersport, Brands Hatch - final qualifying times:

 1 Sebastien Charpentier FRA (Winston Ten Kate Honda)  1m28.376s
 2 Kevin Curtain AUS (Yamaha)                          1:29.196
 3 Gianluca Nannelli ITA (Ducati)                      1:29.199
 4 Michel Fabrizio ITA (Honda)                         1:29.270
 5 Katsuaki Fujiwara JPN (Winston Ten Kate Honda)      1:29.408
 6 Fabien Foret FRA (Honda)                            1:29.499
 7 Stephane Chambon FRA (Honda)                        1:29.709
 8 Broc Parkes AUS (Yamaha)                            1:29.723
 9 Barry Veneman NED (Suzuki)                          1:30.151
10 Alessandro Corradi ITA (Ducati)                     1:30.165