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World Superblke Championship By GORDON RITCHIE PHOTOS BY GOLD & GOOSE ormer Grand Prix rider and multiple-time British Superbike champion Niall Mackenzie gave an early pre-race clue as to the final outcome of the Assen weekend, after a morning spent training with Vermeulen (who is almost half his age) back in England shortly before the Assen weekend. "He was obviously really up for it and had a great session of training before he left for Assen," said Mackenzie. "I think he's going to be right up there this week- F end. 1t He was right, as Vermeulen worked on race setup for most of qualifying, had a deliberately medium finish in final qualifying, and then won Superpole by more than .7 seconds - and then each 16-lap race. He did not exactly have 'I margin of comfort in race two, but his race-one win looked like a measured and peerless effort, after some early scraps and scrapes. "James [Toseland] and Nori [Haga] made me work for it today, but it's a great weekend for the team, and we took a good double," Vermeulen said. "From half-season onwards, we started to get 34 some results, and there are six races left. Troy still has a big lead, but I will be trying my best to pull it back. That second race was much harder than the first, though - I didn't help myself at the start by nearly running off the track at turn one, but I couldn't fault the bike today, because it just felt great. Nori rode a fantastic race this afternoon, and it's always great fun battling with him - always really close, but we never touch." It was a superb home weekend of work for almost all of the Dutch-based Winston Ten Kate Honda squad, who saw their most experienced Superbike competitor, Chris Vermeulen, take both race wins in some style and had their Supersport team crowned World Champs. Intense battles among Vermeulen, Yamaha Motor ltalia rider Noriyuki Haga, and Ducati Xerox's lone runner, James Toseland, resulted in some breathless entertainment for the claimed 80,000 weekend spectators, who enjoyed a dry and sunny race weekend at the classic superbike venue. Things were busy off track as well as on. For the first time this year, Troy Corser did not score a podium finish, despite running up front for most of the race. Wildcard Rizla Suzuki rider Jurgen van den SEPTEMBER 14, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS Aussie does the Goorbergh collided with Chris Walker, and Walker's subsequent crash meant he received a broken elbow and was out for the rest of the meeting. He broke his arm in two places, one above and one below the joint, and reckoned it was van den Goorbergh's bike, not the subsequent fall, that did it. Corser's immaculate season on the Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki came to an end at Assen, as he failed not once but twice to get onto the podium - something he had done in every previous 2005 race. He blamed a slight engine-response problem for the opening result. In any case, such was the pace of his opposition that he finished fourth on two occasions, with his engine setup just a tad off compared to previous events. "Today was a bit frustrating, really, but I suppose if you had to have an off weekend, this one wasn't too bad," Corser said. ''All weekend we've had problems with wheelspin, and yesterday afternoon we changed an engine, and that affected the setup of the bike. Perhaps we lost our way a little then, but in the morning warmup today, things were pretty good, so we thought we'd be okay. But in both races, I had problems with wheelspin, and I couldn't get on the gas unless the bike was more or less upright. That cost me a At the start of race one it wos Chris Vermeulen (77) leading Troy Corser (11), Noriyuki Hogo (41), Jomes Toselond (partially hidden), Andrew Pitt (88) and Karl Muggeridge (31 ). lot of time each lap - enough for me not to be able to stay with the leaders. I pushed the front as hard as I've ever pushed it - any more and I would've crashed - but at least we got a couple of fourths. I would have liked to have left Assen with a few more points in the bag, but that's the way it goes sometimes." Assen was physical this year, and hot under race two's high temperatures something that told on many of the top riders eventually. Corser's teammate Yukio Kagayama had two differing results, one I Ith place and a first-race sixth. Corser was followed home, after some initially robust action, by Haga's teammate Andrew Pitt, who had his best overall meeting of the year. His two fifths strengthen his ninth place in the title chase, and with newfound confidence in the front tire, he will be podium material before the year is out. Winston Ten Kate Honda rider Karl Muggeridge went ninth and eighth, experiencing cramps and numbness in his right hand due to his Brands Hatch injury and then a lack of rear traction in race two. He was not happy about any of it and had not