broc parkes to ten kate......

[gomick]

rumours going around that chris vermuelen will be on a superbike in 2004 and broc parkes will take over his supersport ride - not sure on karl muggeridge as honda europe may not want 2 aussies riding there bikes

[f1manoz]

Well, this could happen as it's all but confirmed that Vermuelen is on his way to WSB next year.

[bestfit]

From www.mcnews.com.au (8 Sep 2003)

After the recent demise of the BKM Honda Supersport concern, Broc Parkes has been without a ride for the remainder of 2003. He came to Assen to discuss his future with the teams around the paddock in the hope of finding the right deal.

Talks with Ten Kate Honda proved fruitful and it looks like Broc will be in the right place on the right bike next season.

Q: Your ride with BKM ended in a big hurry. It was unexpected and has left you without a ride for Assen.

A: We might not even have a ride at all until the end of the year. I’ve had a meeting with Honda just before and they said that we’d probably have to just look at next year, forget about this year, which is pretty hard. But I know I’ll have a good ride next year which should be alright and everything will be sweet!

Q: But you were testing with BKM at Magny Cours two weeks ago?

A: Well, at Magny Cours I’d seen that the team was starting to run out of money. We didn’t have all of the parts there and they were chasing stuff all of the time and I could tell that something wasn’t quite right and I thought that they were waiting for another payment. I was sort of happy that we didn’t do this race if we didn’t have the money because things were just going wrong. The bike was a little bit down all year. We’ve struggled all year with money and they didn’t change the engines from Valencia – they’ve done all year and we didn’t have any power. We were down fifteen kph at a lot of circuits and it was really hard work.

Q: Despite that, you had some good results like your first podium at Misano?

A: Yeah, I can’t complain about that! On the smaller circuits it wasn’t too bad. We had good tyres, we had good suspension and the bike handled really well. We had no problem on the smaller circuits where I could sort of get out of trouble, horsepower wise. I am really looking forward to getting on a fast bike. I think that I can show a lot, lot more. I’ve shown a bit of potential but I think that there is a lot, lot let.

Q: So, about next year?

A: Yeah, I’ll be on a yellow one. I’ll be with the Ten Kate crew on a Supersport bike at the moment. As soon as we can we’ll be starting to test and hopefully I can get the last or the second to last race in. I hope that Vermeulen wins the championship at Assen, as then I’ll be right to ride the rest of the year out with them.

Q: What about the changes to the regulations for next year that sees one brand of tyre to be used throughout the solo classes?

A: Well, it’s not too bad for me. I’ve got a good relationship with Pirelli. I worked with them last year with Superbike and I still have a great relationship with them. They wanted me in this team for this year so I’m not too worried at all. I think for Supersport that it is going to be good to be on equal tyres. There’s going to be some close racing, that’s for sure.

Q: Have they announced the other riders in Ten Kate for next year?

A: They haven’t announced my team mate, but there’s a good chance that it will be Muggeridge.

Q: Two Aussies again!

A: We’ll see if Honda Europe like that, but I don’t mind being with Karl. We have our battles on the track all the time. I don’t know why but it always seems like me and him neck and neck, but this year he seems to have a lot better equipment than I’ve got. I’d like to get on a bike the same as his and we’re alright off the track, so that’s alright.

Q: You’d be looking forward to the Phillip Island round next year?

A: That’s what I’m looking at. I’d love to win there! I love Phillip Island so I think that with a nice fast bike there I can be really quick. I spent a fair bit of time in Australia this year, but next year I won’t get as much chance to spent as much time there, so I’m hoping to have some good results at Phillip Island. I’ve got sponsors from Australia like Parmalat Australia and I’ve got to try and keep them happy after this year.

Q: The new signing will mean that you go testing almost straight away after the season, but you should get some time off?

A: I’ll get December off, but pretty much from the end of the season, the tests start straight away. The schedule is already planned right through to the first race next year. I’ve got to get on the money straight away.

Q: But with the second year of the CBR600RR, there shouldn’t be so many changes?

A: That’s sort of the reason that I’d like to stay with Honda. I had one year on it and I know that they are a great team and a good bike. It’s not like changing from a Superbike Ducati like this year to the Honda. I know the bike’s good – it handles good, and I’ve seen that they’ve got a lot of power and a good package, so it’s not a gamble. It’s a safe way to go.

Q: So what about the future? What do you want to do after winning the Supersport title next year?

A: Well if I do that then they pretty much said that there would be a Superbike ride there for me so that’s what my aim is. It depends on how the Superbike championship has progressed and at the moment I don’t think that anyone knows what will happen.

Ed's Note: The spot in the Ten Kate squad is believed to have opened up as Vermeulen is moving up to World Superbike in 2004.