June 29 : Vermeulen battles to seventh at Dutch TT

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen was involved in a thrilling race
at the Dutch TT today, eventually crossing the line in seventh place after many race-long battles.
 

Vermeulen got a good start and was up into sixth by the end of the first
lap - from eighth on the grid. He narrowly avoided a crash that forced him wide in
the early part of the first lap, but was able to keep control of his Suzuki GSV-R
and set about chasing riders in front of him. Vermeulen made a couple of superb
overtaking manoeuvres as he made his way up into fourth place. He held on to that
position for a few laps although he was under constant pressure from the group of
riders around him. As the race progressed front grip became an issue and the 26-year-old
Australian had to fight for every place. Vermeulen dropped down to eighth,
but immediately fought back to bring his machine home for a hard earned seventh.


Vermeulen was Rizla Suzuki's sole rider at today's Grand Prix following the
withdrawal of Loris Capirossi after a crash on Thursday during practice
when he injured his arm. Capirossi was present at the circuit for most of the day
and has now returned home to continue with his recuperation in readiness for the
next event.


Today's race was held in overcast conditions with the threat of rain never
far away. It did stay dry throughout the 26 laps and the 94,978 fans at trackside
saw Casey Stoner comprehensively win the race by over 11 seconds, as he led from
start to finish on his Bridgestone shod Ducati.


Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will next be in action at Sachsenring for the German
Grand Prix on Sunday 13th July, where it is planned that Vermeulen will be joined
back in the team by Capirossi.


Chris Vermeulen:

"I got a good start and moved into a good position through the first two
corners, but I was nearly involved in the crash and had to run wide causing me to
almost lose the front. The bike worked really well in the beginning part of the race
and I had a lot of grip from the Bridgestones. I felt like my pace was better than the
guys in front and I could see them and thought I could get up to them, but once I
got past and up into fourth the grip went off a bit and it became quite slippery
out there. Unfortunately I lost a bit of time and dropped back a few positions, but I
was still quite strong at the end of the race and managed to get back to seventh.
Considering the problems we have had this weekend and losing a couple of sessions –
one to problems on the first day and another to the rain – it is a decent result
and we have managed to salvage something from it. Full congratulations to the
team they did a great job again, and I'd like to say get well soon to Loris, I hope he
is back at Sachsenring so he can give me a run for my money!"


Paul Denning – Team Manager:

"To qualify eighth and finish seventh in dry conditions today - with Chris
as our sole representative - was not too bad. Sure, both Chris and the whole team
want more and he pushed hard to get up to fourth with some great passes, but we
couldn't maintain the required speed in the middle of the race to battle for the
top-five. In the end when Chris re-grouped and pushed to the absolute limit he was able to
improve again, but in general we need to break this mould and maintain our
speed over full race distance - this is Suzuki's focus over the coming weeks.

"I'd like to thank Loris for staying with the team over the weekend to
support us, and for meeting all the local Rizla and Suzuki guests that came to visit
the team – it really showed his true dedication considering the amount of pain he was
in. It is such a shame he wasn't out there on one of his favorite racetracks this
weekend. I wish him a speedy recovery and I am sure all the fans will want him back
on the bike as much as we do at Sachsenring next month!"

A-Style TT Assen Race Classification:

1. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 42'12.337:
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) +11.310:
3. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +17.125:
4. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 20.477:
5. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +27.346:
7. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +32.330: DNS. LORIS
CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP):


World Championship Classification:

1. Pedrosa 171:
2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 167:
3. Stoner 142:
4. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 114:
5. Edwards 98:
9 CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 57:
11. LORIS CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 51: