Chris Vermeulen (born June 19, 1982 in Brisbane, Australia) is a Grand Prix motorcycle racer. From the 2006 season he switched permanently from the Superbike World Championship to the elite MotoGP series, and the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Team. He is regarded as a wet-weather expert, and is affectionately nicknamed 'Vermin' on account of his last name.
World Superbike
When Ten Kate arranged a deal to run a Honda Fireblade in World Superbikes for 2004, Chris was the natural choice to ride it. The team did their own development on the bike (in its first test they still used a road-bike clutch), but he still won four races and briefly lead the championship before finishing 4th, as the only non-Ducati in the top 8.
For 2005 the championship had many Yamaha and Suzuki bikes, as well as 4 more Hondas including a second Ten Kate entry for Karl Muggeridge. Chris continued to record victories, and took his first pole at Assen in Holland, the country in which his grandfather was born. Victory in the first race at Imola took him to within 55 points of veteran compatriot Troy Corser's lead, but the cancellation of the second race due to heavy rain meant that only 50 points were still available from the remaining round's 2 races. He still comfortably finished as series runner-up.