21 Facts About Chris Vermeulen

Christopher Vermeulen was born on 19 June 1982 and is a retired Australian motorcycle racer.

Chris Vermeulen competed in the Supersport World Championship and the Superbike World Championship before racing in the premier MotoGP class between 2005 and 2009, most prominently as a member of the Suzuki MotoGP team, winning the 2007 French Grand Prix.

Chris Vermeulen then raced in the Superbike class in 2004 and 2005 for the Ten Kate Honda team, finishing as series runner-up in 2005.

Chris Vermeulen was born in Brisbane, Australia on June 19,1982.

Chris Vermeulen took his Yamaha to 8th in the championship, with a best result of 4th, and the privateer championship for non-factory riders.

Chris Vermeulen became the team's lead rider for 2003, and became series champion comfortably with four victories, becoming the youngest ever winner.

When Ten Kate arranged a deal to run a Honda Fireblade in World Superbikes for 2004, Chris Vermeulen was the natural choice to ride it.

Chris Vermeulen continued to record victories, and took his first pole at Assen in the Netherlands, the country in which his grandfather was born.

Chris Vermeulen rode factory bikes for Honda in the Suzuka 8 Hours race and, because of sponsorship and manufacturer relationships, rode a Camel Pons Honda GP bike at the tail end of the 2005 season.

Chris Vermeulen scored his first MotoGP pole in Turkey after a stunning ride in the wet, coincidentally one round after fellow Australian rookie Casey Stoner scored his maiden pole.

At the following round at Laguna Seca, Chris Vermeulen took pole position, one of only two non-Americans in the first two rows of the grid.

Chris Vermeulen was one of the few riders to have experience of the circuit, due to it being a former circuit of World Superbikes, and was holding its first Grand Prix race since 1993.

Chris Vermeulen made the transition well, achieving a modestly competitive start to his 2007 campaign, with two 7th places, a 9th and an 11th place in the first 4 GPs of the season, consistently racking up points which saw him place inside the top 10 riders for the season.

Chris Vermeulen's season came alive on 20 May 2007 at the Bugatti Circuit Le Mans, where, in a wet race, Vermuelen rode from 12th on the grid to take his maiden victory in MotoGP.

Chris Vermeulen followed the victory up with an impressive 3rd place at the British GP, again from 12th on the grid in the wet behind winner and fellow countryman Casey Stoner, and pole position in the wet at Assen.

Chris Vermeulen shone in the dry by starting third and finishing second at the US GP, again behind Stoner.

Chris Vermeulen did however secure back-to-back podiums in the German Grand Prix and US Grand Prix before finishing the season in eighth place in the rider's standings.

Chris Vermeulen injured his knee in a crash at the season-opening round at Phillip Island, forcing him to miss the next two races.

Chris Vermeulen continued to struggle throughout the season, and reinjured the knee in a first-lap pile-up at Brno.

In 2011, Chris Vermeulen married his longtime girlfriend, the English model turned photographer Toni Pinion.

Chris Vermeulen has a penchant for collecting old American Hot Rod cars and has a few in his collection.