Apparently Paul Bird of PBM Kawasaki doesn’t believe that Chris Vermeulen will still not be fit enough to test the new 2011 Ninja in next month’s four day test in Sepang, because he’s already arranged to have Stuart Easton to replace the still ailing Aussi.
Vermeulen has been out of racing action since July, when he pulled out of the WSBK championship to undergo extensive knee surgery, but had expected to be in shape to get his first taste of the ZX-10R at Sepang.
“Chris has been off his feet for 20 weeks and there is no point in having a rider who is only 80 per cent when it comes to testing.
Stuart will ride with Tom (Sykes) and Joan (Lascorz) so we will have a full three-man team out there.
Plus it’s also a thank you to Stuart for his Macau win with the team.
”Easton won the Macau GP last month for the third consecutive time.