Vermeulen out of WSBK opener
The Australian's injured left knee just hasn't come up, and he'll now sit out the opening round with a view to returning to racing in the UK on March 27Kawasaki’s Chris Vermeulen has been ruled out of the opening round of the Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island on February 25-27 after failing to pass a fitness test on his injured left knee, according to a report by Fox Sports.
Vermeulen was to begin official testing at Phillip Island tomorrow in the final countdown ahead of the opening round next weekend, but his knee hasn’t come up in a vigorous test session.
It’s a real body blow for the Queenslander, in a season where expectations are high as Kawasaki debuts its all-new ZX-10R. But his no-show at Phillip Island isn’t a massive shock, as only last week he admitted to ongoing issues with his knee.
Vermeulen’s absence will now leave only four Australia riders on the world Superbike grid at Phillip Island -- Troy Corser, Mark Aitchison, Bryan Staring and Joshua Waters.
Vermeulen is expected to be replaced by Japan’s Akira Yanagawa, who is a three-time WSBK winner. Yanagawa will compete alongside Kawasaki regulars Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz.
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