The Standpoint

Vermeulen discarded

by

Abhishek Mukherjee

It is payback time for Chris Vermeulen.

Rizla Suzuki, taking cue from Formula One team Renault, has dumped the Australian for next year’s championships. Tired of its pedestrian performances, the team has signed present 250cc title contender Alvaro Bautista to partner Capirossi.

The axing has, in its part, given the 27-year old renewed motivation and spirit. Vowing to stay in top-flight championships, he plans to ride his best to make his struggling team realise the worth of his loss.

“MotoGP has been my life for the past four years and I still have unfinished business here. I am a fighter and I know that with the right technical package I am capable of battling with and beating the best in this sport,” he said.

He has been Suzuki’s most successful rider since 2005, delivering the outfit’s only victory at the Le Mans circuit in the four-stroke MotoGP era.

“I am confident that I can carry the momentum from Sunday’s race at Indianapolis into Misano which is a shorter track that helps the Suzuki and I have had good results there,” he said. On August 30, he finished in 11^th place in a race that saw Spaniard Lorenzo close the gap between him and his partner and champion rider Valentino Rossi to 25 points.

Apart from his win in the French GP in 2007, Vermeulen has scored six other podiums for the team, including a stunning second place on a wet track at the Australian Grand Prix in 2006. Next month's round at Phillip Island will be Vermeulen's final home race appearance on a Suzuki at the Island.

Vermeulen's best result this season is fifth in Assen a couple of months ago.

The Queenslander is targeting a place with either a satellite Yamaha or Honda team for 2010 and knows a strong result at Misano will keep his name under consideration. “If I can challenge for the top five again at Misano, that would be the icing on the cake,” he says.

The non-renewal of his contract was just weeks after the discarding of Nelson Piquet Jr. by Renault F1, which provided startling revelations from the hurt and insulted Brazilian.