Breakthrough for Vermeulen

A breakthrough in front-end set-up has left Chris Vermeulen upbeat after a difficult Qatar test this week for Chris Vermeulen.

The Suzuki star found a set-up that allowed him to move away from usually running Bridgestone’s hardest compound front tyre in Qatar – which bodes well for the race there in March.

He said: “Normally we have to run a different shape and the hardest compound to help with durability but I didn’t use it. We have changed the bike a lot so I could get away with a front I used in Malaysia. It was still the hardest compound they do for that particular tyre. 

“The other shape front its very good for durability but the bike doesn’t turn very well. On the one I used we are getting to 22 laps and it’s the limit of the tyre, but we are getting a race distance out of it.”