International Road Race Legend from Yesteryear: Chris Vermeulen

The international road racing legend of yesteryear, where has he gone, what is he up to now, and how does he view today's road racing sport? In this section, we ask these former heroes a series of (the same) questions. This week: Chris Vermeulen

Who is Chris Vermeulen?

Name : Chris Vermeulen
Nickname : CV
Date of Birth : 19-06-1982
Nationality : Australian
Current Residence: Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane
Start of road racing career : Started dirt bike racing in 1992 and road racing in 1998 at the age of 16.
Race Classes Active in : Australian 250GP & Supersport, British Supersport & Superstock, World Supersport, WorldSBK & MotoGP.
Championship Titles: 2003 World Supersport Champion. Championship, 1994 AMA Superbike Championship, 1996 & 2005 World Superbike Championship.
End of road racing career : 2012 (last race at Le Mans on the Forward Racing Suter MMX1)
Current profession : Manager of commercial properties & commentator in the Australian Superike Championship alongside Steve Martin & Phil Harlum. Also does some work media work for the Australian Grand Prix Corporation & Network 10 on MotoGP related topics.

How did you first get involved in road racing?

I loved the speed of dirt track and I wanted to have a go at road racing when I was old enough. Back then in Australia we had to be 16 to go road racing. Once I had a go at road racing and felt the speed, I never looked back.

Which rider did you have the best battles with on the track?

It was different in every category. In World Supersport I had some big battles with Fabien Foret, Karl Muggeridg, Jurgen van den Goorbergh. In World Superbikes, it was James Toseland, Noriyuki Haga, we had some great battles there over the years. Also, Troy Corser as well in 2005. Then when I went to MotoGP I had a lot of battles with my teammate, John Hopkins. John was a naturally fast racer and kept me honest in MotoGP.

Best motorcycle you've ridden and why?

Best bike I’ve raced for sure would have been the Honda RC211V, the 990. I got to race for the Honda Pons team at Phillip Island and Istanbul, replacing Troy Bayliss. I was meant to race at the final round at Valencia, however I signed for suzuki after the Turkish Grand Prix, so they didn’t give me the bike for another ride. The bike itself the chassis wasn’t spectacular, the tyres I was getting from Michelin at the time weren’t quite what Valentino Rossi was on, or even Marco Melandri. However, the engine was something amazing. I have never felt anything quite like it at the time. It was so smooth, so linear, so powerful. It was easy to control. It still stands out in my mind just how fast and easy it was to ride.

Favorite Circuit you have raced?

I like Phillip Island, because it was home. In saying that, my favourite circuit would have to be Laguna Seca. I was fast there every time we went there. In 2004, while I missed out on pole position to a certain Steve Martin, I got the double race win there, my first double race win in WorldSBK. In my first year of MotoGP in 2006 I got pole position, should have won the race, but I had a mechanical problem resulting me in finishing in fifth. The following year I was second to Casey [Stoner], then in 2008 I was third Stoner and Rossi. So, I have had some good success at Laguna Seca.

What is the strangest or most hilarious experience you've had in racing?

I guess from my point of view, an incident which involved me was Imola in 2004, race two. I was leading the World Superbike Championship by one point. The bike had an oil leak on the warm up lap. When I went into Turn one the bike threw me over the top. Giovanni Bussei gave me a lift back to the pits. I had to jump the wall and get on my spare bike and pass the safety car. I had a broken scaphoid and chipped a bone in my hip as well fracturing my ankle. I still managed to finish the race in sixth place. However, Giovanni rode a Ducati, and because I was battling James Toseland for the Championship, Davide Tardozzi was furious and was trying to get me disqualified. In the end he got Bussei disqualified, who was riding a Ducati. Because he was the one who did something wrong by giving me a lift back. So that was a unique story.

Do you have a special memory of racing in the Netherlands?

CMSNL is based in the Netherlands
I loved racing in the Netherlands. I raced for Van Zon Honda for one year and then Ten Kate for three years. From a Belgium then to a Dutch team. Obviously, my surname, Vermeulen, my grandparents were Dutch. I had a lot of support from the Dutch crowd, I guess you can say I was the honorary Dutch rider if you like, especially when I went to MotoGP as they didn’t have anyone at that stage. In WorldSBK I raced the ‘old’ Assen. I finished second at Assen in 2003 in the World Supersport to Karl [Muggeridge], I got a fifth and a first in 2004 and did double in 2005. So, I got some good results at the old Assen layout. It was a great track with the camber in the middle of the circuit. It was very difficult to get right. I just loved going there and racing at the track. It was without a doubt one of the coolest tracks in the world. It was shame that they had to change it to what it is now. There is a lot of great memories there. That’s for sure.

The best thing you've gained from racing

I lived out my dream. As a young kid I enjoyed motorbikes and got to turn that into a career and a job. I travelled the world and had some success. More importantly, I was being paid to do something which I loved doing which was to ride motorbikes fast. I loved every minute of it.

What did you do after your active road racing career ended?

I retired from a bad injury. The timing went on to start a family and I wanted to come back home. I have two young daughters now. I live on a farm and manage those commercial properties. I got into some tv commentary with Fox Motorsport calling the WorldSBK and MotoGP alongside Kevin Magee for many years. This year I have been doing the commentary at the Australian Superbike Championship.

Chris Vermeulen in the paddock

Are you still involved in the sport in any way?

As said above, yes, I am. Doing the pit lane reporting in the ASBK Championship and media work for the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, so still very much involved.

Which current or past motorcycle would you like to ride?

I would love to have a go on an old NSR500cc V4, like what Mick Doohan used to race. I’ve ridden an RGV500 and a YZR500. I’ve never ridden a NSR500. I would love to throw a leg over one. They are not fantastic, if you compare them to today’s bikes as everything has involved so much. However, for me that was a very cool era of motorcycle racing. I would love to be able to understand more what those riders went through in terms of riding those bikes back then.

For which current rider do you have a lot of respect and why?

I have a lot of respect for Marc Márquez. He is unbelievably talented. The success he had with Honda, the injuries he’s gone through and to come back from. I’ve been quite injured where I had to take quite a lot of time off. To have the ‘want’ after so much success to want to come back and still be driven, change manufacturers and to be competitive again on a different bike. I have a lot of respect for Marc for that side of things

Who do you see as the greatest upcoming road racing talent and why?

From an Australian point of view, we are very lucky that we have a couple of Aussies in the World Championship that are doing a great job in Jacob Roulstone in Moto3 and Senna Agius in Moto2. Its not easy being an Australian and putting your whole life on hold at such a young age and moving to Europe. The sacrifice they are making as well as their families as well. These kids are doing it because they love it and they want to do it more than anything else. It is more difficult if you don’t live in Europe to make a go at this career. They are both doing really well at the moment. If I spoke about Europeans who are impressing me, it would have to be Sergio García this year in Moto2. He has been really impressive with his speed and consistency. I believe there will be a MotoGP career for that young fella for sure.

Who will be the 2024 MotoGP & WorldSBK world champions?

Francesco Bagnaia for MotoGP, and I really hope Toprak Razgatlıoğlu can do it on the BMW. It’s not going to be easy for him. There will be tracks where he will be strong at for the rest of the year and there will be some tracks where there will be some work to do., that sort of strength. So, we will wait and see about that.

With your experience, how do you view the current developments within international road racing?

To start with MotoGP, it’s a difficult one. The whole landscape is changing, technology is evolving and its not an easy job. I don’t like where a lot of the rules are. However, I understand the situation that Dorna are in to try and make the best out of these rules. They have to work with the manufacturers, they have to try and make a sport that they can sell. I think they are going the right way about it. Formula 1 has obviously had a lot of success with the new ownership in Liberty Media. The way the world has gone with the likes of Netflix, the sport has become massive. That is what we want out of these. The riders which race MotoGP are warriors and they deserve a lot more than what they get. Moving forward, hopefully Dorna and Liberty Media can do the right job.
In terms of WorldSBK, the racing is fantastic right now. In saying that, I believe it could be marketed a little bit better and not pushed back. For me, WorldSBK is a great championship to watch. As a ‘purest’, its better because of how the rules are. Maybe even they need to bring the championship back more to ‘production’ wise and keep the racing close.

MotoGP is going away from the purest sort of racing and becoming a mainline sport. I agree that is what they need to do.

Do you have anything to add?

I enjoyed my time working with the Dutch people over there in my career, especially with the Ten Kate team. There were a lot of great times with the likes of Ronald and Gerrit in WorldSBK, which I’m very grateful for. As said, I really enjoyed racing at Assen. Looking towards the future for motorcycle racing for the Netherlands its great to see there are some up and coming young riders such as Zonta van den Goorbergh in the Moto2 World Championship and young Collin Veijer who is doing great in the Moto3. It’s fantastic to see there are some fast young Dutch riders on the up, that’s for sure.

This blog was written in collaboration with Racesport.nl

source: https://www.racesport.nl/de...
issued: Thursday, August 15, 2024
updated: Thursday, August 15, 2024

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