Kawasaki’s Chris Vermuelen return to fitness has suffered still another setback, and the Australian will not be racing in this weekend’s World Superbike round at Imola.

Vermeulen took part in the Superbike test at Misano last week, but was only able to ride for one of the two testing days, as one of screws in his right knee come loose therefore had to undergo more surgery (in Barcelona) to remove it.

At the moment it’s unknown whether Vermeulen will recover in time to take part in next week’s Magny Cours round or if his goal will be the season finale at Portimao, October 16th.

Between his knee and elbow injuries, the Australian has been able to compete in only six races this season.

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Things are not looking good for Kawasaki rider Chris Vermeulen, the affable Aussie has been ruled out of this weekend’s WSBK round at Nurburgring after doctors refused to give him a clean bill of health on his lingering elbow injury.

Vermeulen injured his elbow in May in a highspeed crash at Monza during The Kawasaki rider expects to be in shape for the Imola round that takes place September 25th.

“Kawasaki want the doctor to give me 100% on my arm before I race,” said Vermeulen. “I will start testing next week for Imola.”

Source | foxsports.com.au

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Chris Vermeulen has had two horrible seasons so far in World Superbikes due to ongoing and continuing injuries and his contract with Kawasaki Racing is up at the end of the season and very unlikely to be renewed, however the likable Australian has revealed that he’s not even thinking of retiring and that he’s actually in talks with several MotoGP teams.

Speaking to Coff Coast Advocate.com Vermeulen said, “A lot of the riders in World Superbike and MotoGP are off contract. There are different teams in the championships I’m talking to. I have options in both championships. It’s just weighing up my best options for the future.”

It would be interesting to know which MotoGP teams Vermeulen is in talks with, because it seems that there are more riders available than exsisting squads.

Vermeulen debuted in MotoGP in 2005 as a replacement rider for injured Troy Bayliss with Pons’ Camel Honda and in his four full seasons in the top class all with Rizla Suzuki, he managed one win and seven podiums.

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If Chris Vermeulen’s 2010 WSBK season was interrupted due to his knee injury, this season isn’t going any better, because the Kawasaki rider will be sidelined for the upcoming WSBK Silverstone round due to ongoing injury.

The Australian was able to take part at the last round at Brno, but managed only to finish race 1, and sat out race 2 with nagging problems to his back and to the elbow injury that he picked up in a highspeed crash during practice at the Ascari corner at Monza in May.

Now he has been advised by his doctors to sit out Silverstone to come back fully fit for Nurburgring in September. Vermeulen has been able to compete in only seven races so far this season.

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Kawaski will be back to three riders this weekend at the World Superbike round at Misano Adriatico, as Chris Vermeulen will be returning to his team after missing the Miller Motorsports Park races.

The Australian rider who has missed the better part of last season, and several rounds of this one, has been battling a very long rehabilitation period after last year’s knee surgery and then took another blow when he crashed out during practice at Monza hurting his elbow, but now it looks like he’s back to full fitness after recently carrying out a two day test at the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain.

“We tested recently at Aragon, at the full Superbike track and it was good because I had never been there, which means I have learned the layout for that race which happens right after Misano,” said Vermeulen. “The first day I did 60 laps and the second day 72, so it wasn’t too bad. We got a lot of work done and tried a lot of parts and settings. My previously injured knee is a lot better than it has been. I am feeling more and more back to my old self on the bike. The elbow I injured recently will also be a lot better when we get to Misano. Now I am just looking forward to getting to a racetrack I know well, on a bike I have tested and ridden a lot more now.”

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Chris Vermeulen’s rocky road to recovery isn’t over yet. The Kawasaki rider will not ride in this weekend’s fifth round of the World Superbike championship round at Miller Motorsports Park.

Vermeulen who has only been able to complete one race (Race 1 - Assen) so far this season, will remain in Europe and continue rehabilitation on his knee, but will also check out his arm fitness after his recent left elbow injury, picked up during practice at Monza. The former World Supersport champion will be testing at Aragon in early June to get to learn the track and try to get some consistent lap times on his Kawasaki.

“It is disappointing to not race in America but my injuries are still healing,” said Vermeulen. “The good thing is they are improving. The decision was taken with the team and Kawasaki to miss the race and concentrate on testing. That’s not only for myself to get some time under my belt away from the racing, but also to get more information about the bike. That means I should hopefully come back strong at Misano which is a track I know quite well. I have never ridden at Aragon before so it will be good to get some track time in and learn the track before we go there after Misano.”

The Misano Adriatico round is scheduled for June 12th.

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Kawasaki Paul Bird Motorsport and BMW Motorrad Italia will be holding a two day private test at the Spanish circuit of Motorland Aragon tomorrow and Friday.

This new test, ahead of the second round of the WSBK season at Donington Park, will allow the privateer BMW team with James Toseland and Ayrton Badovini, to get more testing time on their S 1000 RR’s after several sessions were cut short by bad weather.

While the Kawasaki team will continue its development on the Ninja ZX-10R, Chris Vermeulen is also expected to be present at Aragon track, in order to catch up on his team mates after skipping all the pre-season testing and the first round at Phillip Island due to the long road to recovery following his knee surgery.

Source | bikeracing.it

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Chris Vermeulen decided to skip not only testing but the first World Superbike round of the season at Phillip Island, which would have been not only his home race, but his first race after the very long post-op rehabilitation because he wasn’t fit enough, but now the Aussie rider is ready to return to action for the upcoming Donington round.

Vermeulen has been nominated Motorcycling Australia’s new ambassador to promote the sport and writing his first of a series of exclusive blogs for them said: “I had my heart set on racing at Phillip Island in front of a big home crowd and all of my friends and family. Unfortunately my knee wasn’t quite right, but to know that I will be closer to 100 per cent fit for the round at Donington gives me great confidence, so when I get back on my Kawasaki I will be competitive from the first lap.”

The Kawasaki rider will certainly have his work cut for him because he’s had only one day of pre-season testing at Sepang to get to know his all new ZX-10R.

Source | bikeracing.it

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Chris Vermeulen has decided not to take part in the opening WSBK round at Phillip Island and will be replaced by 39-year old Akira Yanagawa, Kawasaki’s test rider.

Vermeulen has been struggling for year to recover from his knee injury and the subsequent two surgeries after his crash during race two at Phillip Island.

The Aussie tried to take part in the massive Kawasaki test at Sepang, in the middle of January, but managed to ride for only a few laps of the first day before pain and swelling in his knee forced him to pull out of the test and further concentrate on his physical rehab. Vermeulen and his doctors are hoping that with another four weeks of treatment and training he’ll be 100% fit for the Donington Park round.

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As we reported yesterday Chris Vermeulen cut short his debut test on the 2011 Kawasaki due to pain and swelling in his knee and has also decided to skip the official Portimao test that takes place later this month to continue his rehabilitation, and try to get back in shape for the Phillip Island test on February 21 and 22, before the WSBK season opener on February 27th.

“Chris rode on day one of the Sepang tests and was very impressed with the performance of the new bike,” said team manager Paul Risbridger. “He has made great progress with his knee recently, and his recovery is well on schedule. After day one we all decided that he did not need to run on track any more at this stage and it was better for him to go home and carry on with his rehabilitation. We also came to a consensus that there was no point in him coming all the way back to Europe for the Portimao tests, as it would just interrupt his overall recovery. Riding the bike is not assisting his recuperation at this stage, so Chris will carry on with his very effective programme of physiotherapy and exercise so that he is ready when it matters most, at the start of the new season.”

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Chris Vermeulen has decided to cut short his testing the ZX-10R in Sepang. The Austrialian rider who finally returned to his Kawasaki team on Monday to take part in the four day testing session in Malaysia was getting his first taste of his new 2011 Ninja, but today twittered “Just got back from Malaysia a bit early. My knee reacted a bit after riding just a few laps, was fun back on a bike though!!”

Vermeulen is still recuperating from an extensive knee reconstruction surgery that took place more than five months ago and will probably need a little more time before he’ll be back to full fitness, and we think that Paul Bird must definitely have a crystal ball as he already had Stuart Easton in loco to sub for Vermeulen in the test.

Source | motoblog.it

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Chris Vermeulen has made it and is finally back on his Kawasaki superbike. The Australian after being out of action following his knee reconstruction surgery six months ago, had his first taste of the Ninja ZX-10R that he’ll be using this 2011 season

Kawasaki brought a platoon of riders to Sepang for the four day test, and while team mates Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz, were learning the track and finding base set-ups, Vermeulen who already knows the Malaysian circuit from his MotoGP days, just concentrated riding and getting rid of the rust. Here’s what he had to say:

“I eased into it today and only did a limited number of laps, over three separate runs. I stopped before lunch today and then the rains came later in the afternoon, but we will go out again tomorrow. The new bike feels really good. The last bike I rode around Sepang was a GP machine, so to be impressed with this motorbike already shows it is a very good start. All the guys have done a great job in developing it. I was happy to come away with that positive impression, even after a relatively short number of laps so far. Right now I cannot quite bend my knee enough when going round right hand corners, but my knee has improved a lot over the last couple of weeks. Everything in the recovery of my knee is going to plan, and in fact I am quite a bit ahead of what the doctors expected. My muscle growth is good, particularly considering I have only been walking for three weeks.”

Kawasaki testing continues on Tuesday with a break on Wednesday, to resume Thursday and Friday.

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