Vermeulen: MotoGP young guns have no fear of Valentino Rossi

Factory Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen believes top young talent like fellow Aussie Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa have no fear of tackling seven-times world champion Valentino Rossi.   

Casey Stoner currently leads Fiat Yamaha’s Rossi in the 2007 MotoGP world championship by 21-points at the halfway stage, with the Ducati rider claiming five wins in the opening nine races.

Valentino Rossi has won three races this season, including his brilliant Assen MotoGP success when he came through from 11th on the grid.

Chris Vermeulen is the only other rider in MotoGP to win a race in 2007, with his maiden victory coming in wet conditions at the French MotoGP in Le Mans.

And the former World Superbike championship runner-up says the younger generation riders are not fazed by the challenge of fighting with Valentino Rossi.

“Valentino is very tough. He is a great rider and not easy to beat. I think that when he first came into MotoGP he had a mental toughness that gave him an advantage over his rivals. But now there are some young guys here who don’t worry about that stuff.

“I don’t think Casey and Dani are the same. Young blokes don’t care about that. I’m the same. 

“It doesn’t matter to me if it’s Valentino Rossi or Kurtis Roberts that I’ve got to pass, I’m going to try and do it and not worry about who it is,” said Chris Vermeulen, who is currently negotiating with Suzuki over extending his two-year deal which expires at the end of the season.

Chris Vermeulen said the title battle is an intriguing one between Valentino Rossi and Ducati’s Casey Stoner. But he added it was impossible to rule Rossi out of contention despite Stoner winning two more races so far than the Fiat Yamaha rider has.

“If you rule out Valentino based on this year so far, that would be silly. He’s capable of coming back and I’m sure Casey realises that also,” said Vermeulen.