.gpc - chris vermeulen interview
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Chris Vermeulen - SS / W-SBK / MotoGP
Chris Vermeulen - Ten Kate Honda - CVR 100RR - WSBK 2004
I must say from the outset that the young man I met in the Team Ten Kate Honda pit at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit during practice day ahead of round 2 of the World Superbike 2004 World Championship left a lasting impression.
His youth, enthusiasm, and the positive radience he presented was more fitting a young executive than a ride em hard supersport world champion recently promoted to Superbikes. If WSBK suddenly became NASCAR and its stars were featured on cereal boxes and toilet rolls, then young Master Vermeulen would be an instant choice for poster child.
Of course he had every reason to beam. His star is on the rise and he was at his home race where he'd been crowned champion and where the media would be most intent on finding out if success had changed him. Success had changed him. The young speed demon now had an even faster bike!
He'd visited, raced on, and conquered many of the tracks on the WSBK tour on his way to this point so he was ready to talk about his journeys. Are you lucky, I asked him, to have seen so much of the world in your work?
"Lucky and ecstatic!" he replied.
And where did you like the most?
"Racing in Italy is a whole different world, to here (Phillip Island, Australia). Visiting any Italian track on a race weekend is spectacular. On a Sunday you'll get 100,000 fans going crazy. It's unreal! So I've always liked to visit the italian tracks, especially misano , which is up next, and Monza, and I'm looking to it even more this year on a Superbike!"
So Italians are the craziest motorcycle racing fans?
"Not so fast. The craziest fans are at Brands Hatch, no question! The fans just pack it in there. And they are obsessed with bikes!
Where else do you like to visit on the road?
"Well, of course, Phillip Island and not just because it's my home track but because it's a real challenge to ride here. It's great here too if you're a motorcycle enthusiast for the views of the track, the viewout over the track at the water, and the long history of the place. So may racing legends have won here at this Island. It's living history. One of the best places.
What about Assen?
Well, I live and work just 40 minutes from the track there, which is handy, so it's not really a "travel" experience. Ten Kate is a Honda Dealership and bychical Store in Holland. There a showroom/museum there that people can come to visit.
Chris Vermeulen currently rides in the MotoGP Series.
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