Vermeulen Ready To Pounce In San Marino

[MadKaw]

Vermeulen Ready To Pounce In San Marino

From IRPR
Sunshine Coast motorcycle racing star Chris Vermeulen can finally see light at the end of the tunnel.

After an injury-ravaged world superbike campaign, Vermeulen has earmarked round eight of this year’s championship in San Marino for a massive turnaround in fortunes.

The Yandina resident, who turns 28 on June 19, injured his right knee in a high-speed crash at the Phillip Island season opener, which eventually required surgery and a short period of convalescence before he returned to action at round four in the Netherlands.

But he’s been in an strange place ever since, safe in the knowledge that he can’t do any more structural damage to the recuperating knee – but with the sobering fact that he will probably require a full reconstruction once he retires from racing.

“Everyday life hasn’t been such a hassle for me (since getting the injury), and if I was a builder or house painter I would be fine,” said Vermeulen, back in Queensland while the WSBK title takes a month off.

“But on a bike there is a lot of bend and push going through the knee, and that’s where I’ve had problems. Early on I had to lift my seat about 20mm and lower the footpegs on the Kawasaki, and that had a big impact on the bike’s handling.

“But I didn’t really have a choice, as a full reconstruction would have kept me off the bike for a minimum of six months, and that just wasn’t possible with lots of important stuff starting soon, such as testing the all-new Kawasaki.”

With his right knee gradually regaining strength, Vermeulen reverted to a normal seating position at the last round in Salt Lake City, and he was encouraged by his performance.

“Race one was difficult because I made the wrong tyre choice, but in the second I really went up a gear and rode away from (my team-mate) Tom (Sykes), which was really great.

“But I was still slow at changing direction compared to a lot of the other riders, as the longer corners didn’t suit the Kawasaki – that’s what the biggest problem was.”

Despite the Kawasaki struggling to match the pace of its Japanese and European rivals, Vermeulen believes he will still be a powerful force at the next round in Misano (San Marino) on June 27.

“It was always my goal to be strong there, and the big inroads I made in America have given me even more confidence,” said Vermeulen.

“I finished second behind Casey (Stoner) in the 2007 MotoGP race there, and it’s a circuit I know really well. I am working my butt off while I’m back in Australia, and I hope to hit the ground running in Misano.”

But as much as pride will play a part for Vermeulen the last six rounds of this year’s title, he’s also made no secret that riding the all-new 2011 model Kawasaki is what he’s really hanging out for.

“The first test is planned in early August in Japan, followed up by plenty of miles in October and November.

“I am really looking forward to it, as the goal is to get Kawasaki back up the front of the world superbike pack, where it belongs.”

Italian Max Biaggi leads this year’s world superbike title from Suzuki’s Leon Haslam and Honda’s Jonathan Rea. Wollongong’s Troy Corser (BMW) is seventh.

[Daz9R]

“The first test is planned in early August in Japan, followed up by plenty of miles in October and November.

“I am really looking forward to it, as the goal is to get Kawasaki back up the front of the world superbike pack, where it belongs.”

I like his attitude.

[dilligaf]

little teaser video of the new bike

http://link.brightcove.com/services/pla ... 7521410001

[MadKaw]

Wss...

Kawasaki Riders Aiming High in Return to Europe
WSS, Misano, Republic of San Marino, 22 June 2010
After two long haul races in a row the official Kawasaki Supersport team returns to European operations with Joan Lascorz and Katsuaki Fujiwara ready to post strong finishes at Misano. The often-tricky layout of Misano holds no fears for Lascorz and Fujiwara, who have returned from their unofficial summer break fit and more motivated than ever to go for podium places. Thus far Joan has only been off the podium once in seven races, while Katsuaki is searching only for that missing spark of good fortune to put him back into the top three.

The team had planned a test between Miller and Misano, in Spain, but rain washed out their plans and the technicians spent their time working on suspension and electronic advances to take to Italy. The team will now test after the Misano round, in the official IMS tests at Imola, on 29 and 30 June.

Currently Joan is a fine third in the overall rankings, 14 points from the lead, with Katsuaki ninth and only ten points from a top five ranking - meaning there is everything to play for at Misano and beyond.

Joan Lascorz: “We got a top three finish in America last time out, and that was not so bad, but we want even more at Misano. It would have been good to get a test in before this weekend, but it was not to be because of the weather. I know the track at Misano, I know the competition and I know our team, so I am expecting the usual tough race - but I also expect to be competitive.”

Katsuaki Fujiwara: “I was sixth at Miller last time out and we are making constant improvements to our machine, so I am confident we can have a good weekend in Misano. Our bike was very consistent in America and that made me really happy. Our aim is to get the bike working just as well in Italy because I want to finish the season in the top four or five places.”

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Misano Welcome Awaits Kawasaki Racing Team Riders
WSBK, Misano, Republic of San Marino, 22 June 2010
The Kawasaki Racing Team duo of Chris Vermeulen and Tom Sykes are now well rested after a three-weekend break and the talented rider pairing are more than ready to race again at the San Marino round. Both riders have good knowledge of the current layout of the 4.226km circuit located close to the seaside resort town of Misano Adriatico; Tom from last year in WSB racing and Chris from his MotoGP experiences. Chris also raced at Misano in his early WSB career, but the circuit has been heavily modified since then, not least as races are now run in the opposite direction to the original design.

Misano is a tight and busy circuit for the most part, but there are some high-speed sections to test every aspect of man and machine in Sunday’s 24-lap races. Most notable perhaps are the multiple fast right-handers starting at the Curvone and ending at the Curva del Carro, with each corner taken at a slower pace than the one before it. A unique and challenging section of tarmac, at what is a popular venue to go racing at, particularly in the summer months.

Normally weather conditions at Misano this time of year are intensely hot, making good tyre choice on the sizzling tarmac an essential part of pre-race preparation - but only time will tell if race conditions conform to expectations and previous experience. Last year, rain arrived in race one at Misano, causing a flag-to-flag contest.

Vermeulen has spent some time in his native Australia recently, and is recovering well from his early season right knee injury. He has been glad of the time off between the last race in America and Misano to allow him to work hard in physiotherapy.

Sykes is the top placed rider of the two official Kawasaki competitors in the championship, 15th in the standings, with Vermeulen now 19th, having missed out on a few race starts due to his injury.

Tom Sykes: “Coming away from the Miller race wasn’t so good for us as the results we were expecting just didn’t happen, but we continue to make progress with the Ninja ZX-10R machine and we are learning all the time. I’m happy with the team and the way we work together as we know when we find a good direction we make the most of it. Coming to Misano, it’s a really nice track and I enjoy racing here. I will start fresh and will look forward to seeing what we can achieve. I have high expectations of myself and the team so it’s just about finding the combination to make the package strong and seeing what we can achieve out of the bike. Hopefully we can make another step forward.”

Chris Vermeulen: “I’ve had some decent results at the Misano circuit over the years with a mix of podiums in both WSB, WSS and MotoGP, but never the top step. Unfortunately I don’t think this year we’ll have the package to reach the top step of the podium but I do hope that I will be able to make a significant leap up as the long break has done me good. My injured knee is coming along and I’ve been working hard on my training and physio treatments in Australia since Miller, so I’m looking forward to seeing what Misano brings to us. The Misano event is always a favourite amongst motorsport fans, with the sunshine and Italian passion for racing, so I hope we can put on a good show and improve on our current form.”

[Six Addict]

who is he going to pounce on? second last place?

[MadKaw]

Hot Work for Kawasaki Pairing at San Marino Round
WSBK, Misano, Republic of San Marino, 27 June 2010
Tom Sykes and Chris Vermeulen took turns to finish ahead of each other at Misano, with Tom scoring a point in race one and Chris securing a point in race two after some hot and intense track action. Tom was 15th in race one, then 16th in the second leg, while Chris’s results were a mirror image of Tom’s; 16th in the opener then 15th in the second.

In race two Tom had the additional difficulty of being dropped to last place after colliding with another rider, recovering with real aggression and focus to get up to 16th place.

Chris, starting from row six in each race, implemented changes to his set-up for race two, including a change of tyre choice for the slightly hotter track temperatures, and found them all a benefit. He improved both his race time and his result and was confident of even more had he started further up the grid.

The team now undergoes two days of testing at Imola on 29 and 30 June, in readiness for that round of the series in September - but before that race there is the ninth round of this busy season to contest, at Brno on July 11th.

Tom Sykes: “We tried a big list of things on the bike this weekend but unfortunately we really struggled to get a good set-up in the high track temperatures. We also started on the back foot having not tested here like the majority of teams last week, but that’s no excuse as we just had to try and get down to business. Unfortunately our qualifying position didn’t help us a lot and it was difficult to play catch up in the races, Misano is a hard track to pass. In race two I got away to a good start but got caught up in the first corner with a few riders and ended up in the back. My bike suffered in the front due to a clash with another rider but I fought back to 16th from last.”

Chris Vermeulen: “It’s been a challenging weekend and we were disappointed to have missed out Superpole for the first time this year. We made small improvements over the weekend and took a different direction for race two, which was a big improvement. I ran 12 seconds closer to the front than in race one and we went for a softer tyre on the rear, which gave much better grip from the start. We still have a lot of work to do on making progress with the bike but I’m looking forward to the two day test this week in Imola, my first test since the start of the season, so we can make further progress and be more competitive in the races.”
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Lascorz Second and Closer To The Top
WSS, Misano, Republic of San Marino, 27 June 2010
Joan Lascorz rode with heart and skill at Misano to finish second on his Ninja ZX-6R, gaining some ground in the championship fight after eight of 13 rounds have been completed. With Pere Riba taking over crew chief duties this weekend Joan worked hard through practice and in today’s 22-lap race, overcoming all challengers except eventual winner Eugene Laverty. Joan led over the line for the first two laps, but despite riding close behind Laverty for some time he could not stay with the fleeing Irish rider.

Having qualified fourth Joan expected to maybe have more company in the race, but three attempts by Kenan Sofuoglu to pass Joan finally came to nothing as the Kawasaki rider defended his position well and Sofuoglu ran wide, losing ground each time.

In the championship fight, Laverty has 161 points, Sofuoglu 158 and Lascorz 148, only 13 points from the lead with five rounds left to race. Motocard.com Kawasaki team regular Katsuaki Fujiwara missed this race due to a bout of severe appendicitis.

Fabien Foret (Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki) was eighth today, and is now 11th overall.

Joan Lascorz: “We did a lot of work on set-up this weekend and I am quite happy to get second place. There is still quite a battle going on in the championship between Laverty, Sofuoglu and us. We had good pace in the race but just not enough to catch Laverty. Maybe we could have chosen a different tyre to use but second is not so bad, and we are now only 13 points behind the lead in the championship.”