Vermeulen frustrated as weather disrupts Kawasaki test
Added on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Vermeulen frustrated as weather disrupts Kawasaki test
Former MotoGP rider Chris Vermeulen was left frustrated as he attempted to get better acquainted with his new Kawasaki ZX-10R after poor weather hampered his debut testing session.
Vermeulen will ride with the Kawasaki World Superbike team in 2010 and, with the team having high ambitions for next season’s World Superbike championship, the Australian was keen to get to grips with his new ride.
But poor weather at the Autopolis circuit in Japan limited the former Suzuki man to only limit stints over the two-day test. Vermeulen also revealed that he was suffering from flu, which further set-back his preparations.
“The weather was so cold on the first day that we didn’t do any laps,” he said. “Nobody went out to do a lap on day one because it got a maximum of one degree and it was freezing cold! The second day was a bit better. I got out about 1pm and at least it was sunny. The air temperature got up to about six or seven, the track temperature got up to about 14 degrees.”
“I was just riding to get the bars, footpegs and seat in the right place. Just general things like that, all the early stuff you try to get done. We played around with some small set-up things as well. On the chassis side the bike felt well balanced and did everything fairly well for a first ride in the conditions we had. It was pretty much just a basic test. I guess I did somewhere between 30 and 40 laps, between one and four o’clock.”
Vermeulen will return to Europe for another test, due to take place next week at the Cartagena circuit in Spain.
