British MotoGP: Chris Vermeulen confident for Donington Park showdown

Aussie Chris Vermeulen is confident he will be able to mount a more serious threat at the front of the field in this weekend’s British MotoGP.

The Aussie heads to Donington Park level on points with Rizla Suzuki team-mate John Hopkins in fifth place in the standings.

And he’s confident track knowledge and a much-improved factory GSV-R machine will help him join the fight at the front with the likes of compatriots Casey Stoner (Ducati) and Valentino Rossi (Yamaha).

Although Chris Vermeulen claimed a stunning debut victory in a rain-soaked French GP, his hopes of a repeat performance in the dry have been seriously hampered by his performance in qualifying.

Chris Vermeulen has often found himself outside the top 10 on the grid, but he said: “There’s no doubt that my qualifying results have got to improve.”

Vermeulen though reckons his Rizla Suzuki will be much more of a threat on tighter tracks coming up on the calendar in the next few weeks.
Assen, Sachsenring and Laguna Seca follow Sunday’s Donington Park clash, and the American track saw Chris Vermeulen claim pole position in 2006.

“At Donington and Assen maybe Ducati won’t have the speed advantage and we might be in with a chance,” said Vermeulen.

“The Suzuki is really stable on the brakes and we can roll into the turns fast, which helps with all the braking points at Donington.”

Eyeing the championship after seven races, Vermeulen reckons it will be crucial with four races in the next six weeks to keep in the hunt for a top six world championship finish.

“Casey, Valentino and Dani (Pedrosa) are in a group by themselves. But then there is a group of us fighting for fourth. 

“John and I are equal on points and just three behind Marco (Melandri) for fourth but for sure we have got work to do,” said Vermeulen, who heads to Donington Park’s MotoGP hoping to stop his poor run of qualifying results.

He qualified second at the 2006 British MotoGP and Chris Vermeulen added: “It will feel like a second home race to me. I raced there for the first time in 2000 so its one of the tracks I really know and I enjoy it.

“I qualified second there last year and then had a battle with (Colin) Edwards in the race. My pace is good there and I get a lot of support there.”