Aussies aim for podium repeat
Added on Thursday, July 17th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Aussies aim for podium repeat
Aussie duo Casey Stoner and Chris Vermeulen hope to repeat their 2007 podium finishes as MotoGP comes to California this weekend.
Stoner stormed to victory at Laguna Seca in last year’s US Grand Prix and after three successive race wins the world champion now harbours real hopes of retaining his title.
Now just 20 points behind current series leader Valentino Rossi, the Ducati rider hopes to cut the lead further with a strong showing in America.
Fellow Australian Chris Vermeulen produced a brilliant ride in wet conditions to finish third in last week’s German Grand Prix and the factory Suzuki rider knows what it takes to get on the podium at Laguna Seca.
He took pole position in 2006 and was second behind Stoner in last year’s race.
Vermeulen said, “I really like Laguna and I’ve never won here either so I’ll try. It’s been a good track for me in the past. I was pole position in 2006, finished second to Casey last year and I’d love to go one step better.
“It’s never easy, but it’s a track I enjoy. It is very different to a lot of the European circuits so we’ll see how we’ll go.”
Despite Stoner’s blistering form, there are reports of unrest in the Ducati camp. His Italian teammate, Marco Melandri, has struggled on the GP8 all season and looks set to leave the team after the weekend’s race.
Retired Spanish star Sete Gibernau could be in line to make a shock return to MotoGP as Melandri’s replacement, but for now, Stoner is focusing all of his energy on Laguna Seca.
“My side of the garage is the one to worry about and it is not a big worry who is my teammate,” Stoner said.
“If he’s faster than me I need to figure out how to go faster and improve our package.”
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