Chris Vermeulen expecting early engine upgrades

Aussie Chris Vermeulen has told MCN he expects Suzuki to roll out new engine upgrades in the early part of the season to help bridge the horsepower deficit to rivals Ducati, Honda and Yamaha.

Suzuki has taken massive strides with development of the 2009 GSV-R with Vermeulen and veteran Italian team-mate Loris Capirossi posting competitive times during tests in Malaysia and Qatar.

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Capirossi was third fastest in Sepang at the beginning of February and Vermeulen was in the top four at the Qatar night test earlier this month as the GSV-R has benefited from significant engine, chassis and electronic upgrades.

One on-going complaint voiced by both Vermeulen and triple GP world champion Capirossi during the pre-season has been a lack of outright top speed from the GSV-R.

And former World Supersport champion Vermeulen reckons Suzuki will be rolling out new engine parts during the early part of the season.

“We have some engine updates due in the early part of the season to give us some horsepower. It doesn’t help for the lap time but helps us to race and stay with guys down the straight to be in a position to pass.

“I can do a lap time now and more power won’t help a lot for the lap time but when you are behind a Ducati or Honda and they are flying, but going slower, you can’t get in a position to pass them.

“I’ve been behind a couple of guys and we are closer but we are not quite able to stay with them and it makes the pass from a long way back a bit more dangerous and more often than not you will miss the corner,“ Vermeulen told MCN.