Written by:
SPEED Staff
SPEEDtv.com
Chris Vermeulen brought his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R home in fifth place at today's Dutch TT in Assen to record his best result of the season so far.
Vermeulen got a great start from the fourth row of the grid and was in touch with the top-three at the end of lap one. He was forced back to sixth place on lap six, but with a rider falling just in front of Vermeulen on the 11th lap it left the Australian racer in a lonely and comfortable fifth. He kept up a consistent rhythm and Vermeulen was pleased with his result, he believes it will be a stepping stone to better performances as he now heads to a run of circuits that he really enjoys.
Loris Capirossi was heavily involved in what was the battle of the race. Suzuki's experienced Italian got a poor start by his usual high standards and was relegated down to 11th - from sixth on the grid - at the end of the first lap. From there Capirossi was in a huge fight that featured up to seven riders at any one time. He battled through the field and made his way up to ninth, before being pushed wide, forcing him to run off the track. After re-joining in 12th he set about getting back in touch with the group and as the high-speed formation reached the last chicane Capirossi had used all his experience to muscle into sixth, but a move from Toni Elias pushed Capirossi into the gravel and although he stayed onboard his machine he had lost all momentum and brought his GSV-R home in 10th.
Following a post-race investigation into the incident with Capirossi and Elias, the latter was awarded with a 20-second penalty, which relegated him down the classification and moved Capirossi up into ninth place.
Today's race was held in front of packed grandstands and the big crowd of 96,152 were treated to a bit of history as Valentino Rossi rode his Yamaha to victory - the 100th Grand Prix win in the Italian's illustrious career.
Rizla Suzuki now embarks on a hectic trans-Atlantic dash as it heads to Laguna Seca in America for the eighth round of the MotoGP World Championship next Sunday.
