Another new force-10 gale has blown into MotoGP this year, Rizla Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen. He’s already taken two stunning pole positions and put on a superb display of front running at Laguna in his rookie full MotoGP season. He now downloads his thoughts and expresses his feelings about what it was like to run up front for so long, in the biggest motorcycle competition there is. “I knew it was going to be a long old race and it’s quite a difficult track to pass on, so I knew how important the pole position slot and a good launch would be. I got off quite well and thought I was leading it up the hill because I didn’t see anyone else – until Kenny Roberts Junior came past on the inside”¦ pretty fast. Towards the end of the lap, as we went round the last right-hander I got good drive out just as Kenny spun a little, and I thought, “Why not? I’ve started pole so I might as well lead it over the first lap”¦” I was fast into the last hairpin, outbraked him – and then just got my head down. From there on I realised I would have to try hard, but not ride at 110% – not be loose everywhere, looking after my tyres.” In the early stages, the plan was perfect with Vermeulen pushing on and on. “The first full lap in the lead my board read +0.5, then out to +0.8, then I thought to myself, “Jeez, either they’re all making mistakes, or we’re going too fast for them!” It kind of felt like a couple of years ago when I was racing in the lead on a Superbike at Laguna. It was smooth, my lead just kept going up and up and eventually it was two seconds.” In the broiling California heat, with the Laguna track surface deteriorating, even from what had started out as a difficult patchwork of bumpy asphalt, the laws of thermodynamics finally had an influence. “My lap times started to slow a few tenths as the tyre just got very hot, because the track temperature was so high. Even when I had +2 on the board I never knew that I was guaranteed to have a podium, I just wasn’t thinking about it, I was just concentrating on going as fast as I could.” Vermeulen’s cool head and necessary emotional detachment were much in evidence at this difficult stage, despite the imminent prospect of losing out on his first MotoGP class win – surely yet another degree of separation that the best racers enjoy over the rest of the human race? “Nicky was pulling me back a few tenths of a second a lap. I wasn’t too worried. I knew that even if he – or they – did catch me then they would still have to pass. With my board at +0 at half distance, coming into turn three I braked slightly later and I lost the front – while the bike was straight-up-and down! That’s the first time I knew I had a problem. I let go of the brake a little, had to let the bike run wide, and that is when Nicky came past. Even then I didn’t worry too much because I know he is fast there, so I just wanted to tag onto the back of him and then try to re-pass him later.” Even after eventual winner Hayden had run away to a clear lead, Vermeulen only started thinking about a possibility of a podium with eight laps left. “The point of the race where I thought I was going to be in for a podium at least was when Pedrosa had been behind for four or five laps, and my board still said +0. He either couldn’t or wouldn’t pass me. I knew there wasn’t much to go in the race, and I figured I could fight my way to the podium. I knew that after him there was a gap back to Valentino at that stage, somewhere around three seconds. I realised there was a chance for a second place, not just a podium of third. And if Nicky had made a mistake, then we could still be in for a win.” It didn’t work out that way, as technical issues pushed their way to the fore, losing Vermeulen his ultimate podium chances. Heartbreaking for him to deal with? Apparently, for Vermeulen anyway, just a fact of racing life, even after a week or two had elapsed since his Laguna experiences. “At Laguna there was no difference in my head about the prospect of winning or setting pole position, even now that I am in MotoGP. It’s obviously harder to win races in MotoGP, of course. Ever since I had my first experience of leading and then winning other World Championship races, I realised that when you’re on the track – while you are racing – it’s no different.”