Chris Vermeulen
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| Chris Vermeulen | |
|---|---|
| MotoGP Record | |
| Nationality |  Australian |
| Nicknames | Vermin |
| Bike # | 71 |
| Current team | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP |
| World Championships | 0 |
| Race Starts | 20 |
| Race Wins | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 1 |
| Pole positions | 2 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Championship Points | 117 |
| 2007 Championship position | 7th (9 pts) |
Chris Vermeulen (born 19 June 1982) is an Australian Grand Prix motorcycle racer. From the 2006 season he switched permanently from World Superbikes to the elite MotoGP series, and the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Team. He is affectionately nicknamed 'Vermin' on account of his last name.
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[edit] Superbike
In 1999 he raced in the Australian Superbike Championship, despite only having done a handful of professional races beforehand. He took his Yamaha to 8th in the championship, with a best result of 4th, and the privateer championship for non-factory riders. His mentor Barry Sheene then arranged rides for him in Britain in their Supersport and Superstock classes, and success in these gave him his World Supersport break with Castrol Honda.
Initial success in a few late-2000 races did not translate into a successful 2001, as he only managed a single top 5 finish. However, it was for 2002 that he first linked up with Dutch team owner Gerrit Ten Kate, taking his first poles and podiums en route to 7th in the championship. He became the team's lead rider for 2003, and was comfortably series champion with four victories.
[edit] World Superbike
When Ten Kate arranged a deal to run a Honda Fireblade in World Superbikes for 2004, Chris was the natural choice to ride it. The team did their own development on the bike (in its first test they still used a road-bike clutch), but he won four races and briefly lead the championship before finishing 4th, as the only non-Ducati in the top 8.
For 2005 the championship had many Yamaha and Suzuki bikes, as well as 4 more Hondas include a second Ten Kate entry for Karl Muggeridge, but Chris has continued to record victories, and took his first pole at Assen in Holland, the country in which his grandfather was born. Victory in the first race at Imola took him to within 55 points of veteran compatriot Troy Corser's lead, but the cancellation of the second race due to heavy rain meant that only 50 points were still available from the remaining round's 2 races. He still comfortably finished as series runner-up.
[edit] Move to MotoGP
He rode factory bikes for Honda in the Suzuka 8 hour race and, because of sponsorship and manufacturer relationships (Japan Tobacco and Honda, as the Ten Kate Honda team was sponsored by Japan Tobacco), also rode a Camel Pons Honda GP bike at the tail end of the 2005 season.
His progress towards a factory Honda ride seemed assured but Honda were only offering him another year in World Superbike, and Japan Tobacco had switched to Yamaha in MotoGP, so he made the bold decision to quit HRC and go with team Suzuki who has signed for in 2006 alongside fellow youngster John Hopkins.
[edit] 2006 Season
He scored his first MotoGP pole in Turkey after a stunning ride in the wet, coincidentally one round after fellow Australian rookie Casey Stoner scored his maiden pole. After the Sachsenring race he is 14th in the championship on 46 points, 4 places and 18 points behind Hopkins. At the following round at Laguna Seca (a track he knows from his WSBK days) he took pole position, one of only 2 non-Americans in the first 2 rows of the grid. He had a technical; problem while running 3rd. In his home race at Philip Island he was the fastest man once the field had changed ot wet tyres, and charged through the field to finish 2nd.
[edit] Trivia
He has a penchant for collecting old American Hot Rod cars and has a few in his collection.
