Chris Vermeulen turned his first laps aboard the Kawasaki World Superbike during a two-day test in Cartagena, Spain. Under favorable weather conditions the former MotoGP
Suzuki rider made his debut on the 2010-spec
Kawasaki ZX-10R and got to work.
Former Rizla Suzuki pilot Chris Vermeulen will attempt to turn around the Kawasaki SBK program during 2010.
“It was all good and our first real time on the bike to get familiar with it,” said Vermeulen in a statement issued by the Kawasaki race team. “It was also the first time working with the mechanics and engineers from the team. That side also went well; the team seemed to gel and they are all excited about the future. They are all good guys and that side worked well too.”
Vermeulen’s first outing on the
Kawasaki allowed him to get to know a bike that hasn’t fared well in the SBK world: “Lap time wise, according to most people, we did reasonably well, but we were not trying to go fast. We were just making changes on the bike and understanding how it was going to react to those changes. Electronics, suspension, chassis and engine, all that kind of stuff.”
Opting not to visit one of the scheduled 2010 stops, it was the Aussie’s first run at the Cartagena circuit: “I had never been there before, not even in my BSB days, so it was another new thing to learn. There were only three bikes going around so we maybe didn’t get the track surface at its peak. But we got a real understanding for how the bike feels - and it feels good.”
Vermeulen is tasked with reversing Kawasaki’s dismal fortunes in the SBK series. Team Green placed dead last in the 2009 Manufacturers Standings, behind the inaugural efforts of the BMW S1000RR and Aprilia RSV4. In fact, Kawasaki hasn’t cracked the top three in the Manufacturers Standings since 2003, where it was still woefully behind the dominating Ducati and Suzuki programs.
Now with a top-tier talent in Vermeulen, a former World Supersport champion and the lead rival to Troy Corser back in the 2005 SBK campaign, Kawasaki has perhaps its best opportunity at gaining some ground. The Japanese marque can also focus its roadracing might entirely on the SBK series, with its MotoGP effort dead.
