Vermeulen hoping to continue form

Australian rider Chris Vermeulen is looking to continue his excellent recent form at this weekend's San Marino MotoGP.

Vermeulen followed up two consecutive podium finishes in Germany and America with a sixth placed finish at the Czech Republic MotoGP last week.

And as racing heads to San Marino for the 13th race of the year, Vermeulen is keen for another strong showing as he strives for a top-five finish at the end of the MotoGP season.

"We found quite a few things at Brno both during the race weekend and certainly during the test," Vermeulen said after testing his Rizla Suzuki at the San Marino circuit on the weekend.

"We were really pleased with the results from the test and now we must translate them to a race."

Vermeulen finished second behind fellow Australian Casey Stoner in last year's race at San Marino and the 26-year-old believes he has a good affinity with the European track.

"I really like the Misano circuit and know that I can go well there - as I showed last year with a second place," Vermeulen said.

"I still need to keep pushing as I know I can be competitive and my crew and Suzuki are doing everything they can to make sure we are challenging the front guys from the start of every weekend."

Loris Capirossi, Vermeulen's Rizla Suzuki team-mate, bounced back to form last week with a third-placed finish behind Valentino Rossi at the Czech Republic race and is determined to press for even better results this weekend.

"It was great for me to get a podium, but I know we can start pushing for more and that must be the next step," Capirossi said.

"I am really looking forward to racing for Suzuki so close to my home town, and I know we will see many people in the Rizla Suzuki blue around the circuit cheering the team on."