Vermeulen gambles with front qualifier

Chris Vermeulen has gambled by selecting a front Bridgestone qualifying tyre in his allocation for this weekend’s Italian GP in Mugello.

The Aussie hasn’t even tested the new soft front but has chosen it as part of the 14 front tyres that riders are allocated under the new tyre restriction rule.

Michelin has used a front qualifying tyre in 2007 but Bridgestone has been reluctant to push its riders into using their own version until more development has been carried out.

But Vermeulen has got one in his Mugello selection in a bid to help him secure a better grid position for Sunday’s race. 

He has only qualified his Rizla Suzuki once in the top ten in the opening five races and he said: “Front tyre wise Bridgestone have been good and very consistent and they last the race very well.

“But the main thing over the whole weekend is for the qualifiers to be improved so we can compete with Michelin. We are running the same qualifiers that we did last year and the race tyres have taken a big step.

“Now there’s not much difference between a race tyre and a qualifier. John (Hopkins) tested a new front qualifier and a new rear qualifier in Le Mans and he seemed to like them both. I’ll gamble with a front in Mugello.

“If it doesn’t work I can tell them the bike is parked in Turn 3. We don’t seem to have a problem with quantity of tyres. I only use eight out of my allocated 14 per weekend because I only use one front per session so I’ll give it a go.”

Although he did test the qualifying front in Le Mans, Hopkins has resisted temptation to stick one in his allocation.

The American said: “We test in Barcelona soon and I think that track will be more suited to a front qualifier. Le Mans is just braking, you can’t get a full feel for it and we need to do the times to see how many laps we can get on it before it runs off.

“We just need more experience but with the allocation as it is now we can’t afford to put it in our allocation at he moment – it’s not ready.”

While Bridgestone has taken a huge leap forward in 2007, claiming four wins in the opening five races, Vermeulen is still looking for improvements and added:

“My biggest thing now, whether it’s a bike thing, a tyre thing or a combination is the entry grip which we are helping with this new spec engine. But it’s the edge grip of the rear tyre on the initial part of drive off the corner.

“I’ve been struggling a lot this year, more than last year to get that bit of drive grip. You need it especially against the Ducati to try and make up something to catch them so you don’t lose so much on the straight.”