Vermeulen set to return at Donington
Added on Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor
Vermeulen set to return at Donington
Chris Vermeulen will return to World Superbikes action this weekend as he looks to end a nightmare 12 months with injury.
The Kawasaki rider has finished just 10 races since moving to World Superbikes from MotoGP last season after sustaining a knee injury in Australia in February last year.
The Australian MotoGP race winner had an operation to rebuild his knee last July but, despite taking part in some testing sessions in the winter, missed the season opener at Phillip Island last month as he continues his rehabilitation.
However this weekend, he aims to be back in action aboard the Paul Bird Motorsport-prepared Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R at the team’s home round and at the circuit he knows well due to his British Championship experience.
Meanwhile team-mates Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz will be determined to do well for their very own reasons going into Donington. Yorkshireman Sykes has fond memories of the Leicestershire track having nearly won a WSB race as a wild card in 2008 whereas the last time Spaniard Lascorz raced in the UK, he suffered a huge accident at Silverstone which ended his World Championship aspirations last year.
Both riders are hoping to improve on their performances in Australia a month ago with Sykes bringing the new bike home to a best result of eighth and coupled with the addition of Vermeulen, the team are hoping for a string of solid results.
Paul Bird, Team Owner: “It’s great to welcome Chris back into the team and hopefully he can give a good account of himself now he’s back to somewhere near full fitness. This is an important race for the team and I’m expecting all three riders to be strong this weekend, there should be no excuses. We all have good memories of Donington Park over the years and this is our best shot in ages so we’re looking to be at the cutting edge as we know this bike is good enough.”
