Foot injury no concern for Vermeulen

Aussie Chris Vermeulen says the right foot injury he suffered in a Shanghai qualifying collision with Loris Capirossi earlier this month won’t be a problem in this weekend’s French GP at Le Mans.

Vermeulen lost the top part of his fourth and fifth toes when his right foot got trapped under his factory Suzuki GSV-R in China.

The fourth toe on Vermuelen’s foot is still heavily bandaged and the little toe is scar damaged, but the Rizla rider is confident he won’t be troubled this weekend.

“I’ve had it checked out by the doctors at home in Australia after Shanghai and they are really happy with progress. It shouldn’t be a problem at all on the bike but its restricted some of the training I’ve been to do,” said the former World Superbike championship runner-up.

“The doctor said toes and fingers and like lizards tails, they just grow back, so that’s good enough for me.”

Vermeulen will get to try a new V4 engine spec when free practice gets underway tomorrow. Designed for more mid-range power and off corner acceleration, Vermeulen has two different spec engines and revealed to MCN that he has a further updated motor try in testing on Monday.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing what the new engine is like. I’ve got one the same as John tried at the Istanbul test and one a newer spec.

“And we’ve got another spec for the test so it shows that Suzuki is working really hard, “added Vermeulen.

Team-mate John Hopkins reiterated his desire to claim another podium in Le Mans following his maiden top three finish in Shanghai.

Hopkins’ mechanics and crew got a surprise yesterday in the Le Mans paddock when the American handed each of them a Breitling Emergency watch.

He handed out seven of the watches which feature a distress transmitter, with the watch initially designed for pilots and aircrew.

One of Hopkins’ crew said: “It’s brilliant. We were all blown away. He’s said a while back that when he got his first podium he’d do something but we’d all forgotten about it. It’s an unbelievable gesture and it shows it appreciates the work that goes into helping him.”