Chris Vermeulen: 'Barry did a lot to make sure I became a success when I arrived in the UK'

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP is set to ‘go retro’ with Chris Vermeulen at his home Grand Prix in
Australia, as the hometown hero pays tribute to his hero and mentor, Suzuki’s
legendary 1976 and 1977 World Champion Barry Sheene.

The 25-year-old Queenslander will be riding a one-off Rizla Suzuki GSV-R inspired by
Barry Sheene’s Suzuki XR-14 Grand Prix bike of the mid-seventies. The 2007 800cc
GSV-R will have an individually designed Rizla blue and white paint-scheme that will
also feature a tribute to Sheene’s famous crossed seven, set within Vermeulen’s 71.

Suzuki’s Grand Prix winning Australian will also be sporting a retro style race-suit to
match the bike and a helmet inspired by Sheene’s iconic style.

Vermeulen was singled out as a remarkable talent by Sheene in the nineties and he
persuaded the young Aussie to go to Britain and pursue his racing dream. Vermeulen
took Sheene’s advice and has never looked back since then, winning a World
Championship on his way to becoming a full-time MotoGP racer with Rizla Suzuki.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP and Vermeulen will unveil the bike at Phillip Island on Thursday
11th October, in the Team’s pit-box at 16.45hrs local time.

Team-mate John Hopkins will be racing in his usual, instantly recognisable Rizla Blue
colour scheme at Phillip Island as he lines up alongside Vermeulen for round 16 of the
MotoGP World Championship on Sunday 14th October.

Chris Vermeulen
“This is a great honour for me to ride the latest generation of Suzuki GP bike in a colour
scheme inspired by my hero, Barry Sheene. Barry did a lot to make sure I became a
success when I arrived in the UK and I miss him a lot. I rode one of his XR-14 Grand
Prix bikes at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last year and that was certainly a
privilege, but to ride my bike in the same livery is just awesome. Thanks to Suzuki and
the team for letting this happen, I just hope that we can do credit to it! read the full
story on autoracingdaily.com - pic from barrysheenetribute.com