Australia MotoGP: Chris Vermeulen aims for strong finish

Aussie Chris Vermeulen hopes to bow out of MotoGP with a strong finish as he prepares to return to World Superbikes in 2010.

Vermeulen will leave Suzuki’s factory squad at the end of the season having signed a two-year deal to move to Kawasaki’s WSB squad.

And he hopes to leave MotoGP on a high, starting with his final appearance in his home premier class clash at Phillip Island this weekend.

Vermeulen, who remains Suzuki’s only four-stroke MotoGP winner, said: “It has been a tough season but slowly but surely we have been improving the bike.

“Estoril was a good step for us because it has always been a difficult track and fingers crossed it will help us here.

“I’d love to leave Suzuki on a high but it hasn’t been easy. I’m challenging for seventh place in the world championship and Loris (Capirossi) is only six or seven points in front of me.

“It is quite close and my target at the moment is to get that seventh. If I could step on the podium here it would be pretty special.”

Vermeulen said his Kawasaki WSB switch would not distract him from trying to end his MotoGP career in style as he prepares to ride for Paul Bird next season.

He added: “I’m really excited about the future but we’ve got three more races here yet with a lot of work to do. It is a new challenge and something new for me.

“Obviously I’ve been there before and I’m looking forward to it.

“My focus right now though is the last three races and there’s plenty of work to do before I throw my leg over a completely different beast.”