Vermeulen happy with Suzuki plan
Added on Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Vermeulen happy with pre-season testing.
Chris Vermeulen believes that Suzuki is taking the right steps towards closing the gap between them and Honda, Yamaha and Ducati in 2009 and is prepared to go through even more testing in a bid to turn around the manufacturer’s fortunes.
Suzuki fell some way behind the so-called “big three” in 2008, finishing fourth in the constructor’s championship - 221 points behind first placed Yamaha and 134 points behind third placed Honda whilst highest ranked rider Vermeulen - eighth in the rider’s championship managed just two podium finishes last season.
Despite Suzuki, like most Japanese manufacturers, being hit particularly hard by the global recession, the team have left no stone unturned in their 2009 preparations, having performed wind-tunnel testing in Japan before a comprehensive test at Phillip Island.
And the Australian believes that the thorough approach is what the team needs if it is to unlock the full potential of the new GSV-R.
“It was me on the bike - they have been testing with technicians during the year, but they really needed me to test the aerodynamics of the bike,” Vermeulen told the Sunshine Daily Coast newspaper about experiments conducted in Japan.
“I’ve felt pretty weird, but hopefully that and the testing we’ve done down at Phillip Island will make us really competitive in the coming season.
“We done a lot of exhaustive testing - it’s involved putting on a new chassis and then added other parts one at a time and seeing what works. A motorbike is made up of a million parts, but it just takes a few not to be functioning at optimum to slow you down.”
“I’ve always enjoyed giving them (the Suzuki team) as much feedback as I can. It’s going to benefit me in the long run and Suzuki.”
