james1300

04/03/2006 18:29:58
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP continues to improve at Catalunya

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen both improved their lap times during today’s Official MotoGP Test at Catalunya in Spain.


Hopkins (P7, 1’43.970) was again amongst the fastest riders all day and set the third quickest time on race tyres, before other riders started to use qualifiers later in the day. The hard-charging Anglo-American completed 85 laps on his all-new Rizla Suzuki GSV-R, including a simulated race distance of 25 laps.


Vermeulen knocked a second off his best time from Friday to record a quickest lap of 1’45.001, giving him 14th place overall. He tested more new Bridgestone tyres and Ohlins suspension components and was pleased with the improvements of both. He was only able to complete 52 laps today, in order to avoid aggravation of a recent shoulder injury.


Today’s testing was held in cloudy, windy conditions and temperatures never rose above 18°C. The fastest time was set by reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi. The final day of the Official MotoGP Test is tomorrow – Sunday 5th March – when every rider will be going all out during a timed televised 40 minute session at 14.00hrsCET to win a BMW Z4 for the fastest overall time in the session.


John Hopkins:


“We continued improving from where we left off yesterday. We worked really hard with Bridgestone to get the right compounds and put a lot of distance on the tyres. We had already done enough laps to make a race distance on one set of tyres and then we did a full race simulation on another set, maintaining our pace all the way through. I am still very happy with the way the Rizla Suzuki is improving, we still have a lot to do but it is certainly looking good at the moment. I am also extremely happy with my fitness, because after a decent amount of laps I was still feeling really good. It is all solid preparation for the first race and everything is going well.”


Chris Vermeulen:


“My second day at the track felt a lot better, I was able to go out and feel more comfortable with the circuit. It was a lot colder this morning but the team worked really hard and we were able to make some changes to the bike – which seems to be in the right direction. I tried another new tyre from Bridgestone which was another step forward and I was able to go a second faster. If we can be another second quicker tomorrow I’ll be up there with the fast guys – so we’ll have to wait and see.”


Paul Denning – Team Manager:


“Another very, very productive day - in fact our best day since the November test when we began with the new XRE4. Chris stopped a little early today as his shoulder injury was causing him some discomfort. Nonetheless he is getting more and more comfortable with the bike and was able to improve his knowledge of the circuit and of the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R over the course of the day. His best lap-time was a full second better than yesterday and he is moving consistently in the right direction.


“John has given another superb performance today and was the third quickest rider out there on race tyres. He completed 85 laps but every one of them was with full commitment. Neither rider used a qualifying tyre today and our best laps were generally set on the eighth to tenth lap of a run. John completed a full race simulation at the end of the day, his best lap of 1’44.2 being only slightly quicker than his 25th and final lap of 1’44.6. The Rizla Suzuki GSV-R is still only at the start of its development, but as I said yesterday we are definitely moving in the right direction.”



MotoGP Official Test Second Day Classification:


1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’42.477: 2. Carlos Checa (Yamaha) +0.665: 3. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) +0.768: 4. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +0.911: 5. Sete Gibernau (Ducati) .307: 6. Randy De Puniet (Kawasaki) .370: 7. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) .493: 8. Nicky Hayden (Honda) .552: 9. Makoto Tamada (Honda) .769: 10. Daniel Pedrosa (Honda) .892: 14. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +2.524:

james1300

03/03/2006 18:22:31
Hopkins flies to top four position on encouraging first day for Rizla Suzuki MotoGP


Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins recorded the fourth fastest time on the first day of the Official MotoGP Test at Catalunya in Spain today.


Riding his all-new 2006 Suzuki GSV-R, the Anglo-American’s time of 1’44.197 was only just over half a second off of the fastest time of the day – set by World Champion Valentino Rossi – and reinforced Hopkins’ strong start to 2006. He spent most of the day testing further new Bridgestone tyre developments and never once changed the base settings of his bike during the 74 laps that he completed.


Team-mate Chris Vermeulen was riding at the Catalan circuit for the first ever time and used the day to its full potential to learn the correct lines. He recorded a quickest time of 1’45.968 during his 68 laps. Vermeulen was pleased with his first day’s endeavours and was confident enough to conduct a tyre test of his own towards the end of the day.


Today’s test was held in sunny spring-like conditions with a highest air temperature of 18°c. A constant chilly breeze kept the track temperature down and made the chance of very fast lap times unlikely.


Rizla Suzuki MotoGP have two more days of testing at Catalunya, ending with a timed 40 minute session on Sunday afternoon where the rider with the overall fastest time will win a brand new BMW Z4.


John Hopkins:


“It ended up being a really, really good day. We put in a lot of work and we did the equivalent of three full race distances so that’s pretty good. We have not made a single adjustment on the bike all day, no clicks to suspension, nothing. All we did was test tyres for Bridgestone and we kept the times consistent during the 10-lap runs that we were going out and doing. We have had no problems with bike whatsoever, we have some new stuff here at this test and it all seems to be working really well. I’m very happy with the way things went today and I really want to carry that on throughout the next two days.”


Chris Vermeulen:


“I am quite happy with today because this is my first time at the track. The bike worked really well and we made some steps forward with it. I didn’t have much of a chance to try many different things today as I was learning the track but Bridgestone gave me a couple of new tyres to test and they were certainly a step forward. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep and come back tomorrow and improve even further.


Paul Denning – Team Manager:


“It’s been an extremely positive first day for the new Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team. John has continued with his awesome winter performances by bringing his form back to Europe. The new Suzuki GSV-R XRE4 has worked very well in the cooler conditions here at Catalunya. Also for these conditions it appears that Bridgestone has made some sensible steps from last year and we are finding better grip and consistency from the latest generation of tyres.


“It was Chris’ first ever day at the track and it is a difficult circuit to get to the top level of confidence, so for him to get into the one minute 45 bracket on his first time at the track really augers well for the next couple of days.


“We are still not quite fast enough at this point but we are moving forward. The tyres, chassis, and engine are all improving and if we can keep going in this direction then we have every chance to be far more competitive than in 2005.”


MotoGP Official Test First Day Classification:

1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’43.608: 2. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +0.455: 3. Carlos Checa (Yamaha) +0.462: 4. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.589: 5. Nicky Hayden (Honda) +0.601: 6. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) +0.791: 7. Sete Gibernau (Ducati) +0.948: 8. Marco Melandri (Honda) .064: 9. Toni Elias (Honda) .094: 10. Makoto Tamada (Honda) .113: 15. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +2.360: