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) +1.064: 9. Toni
Elias (Honda) +1.094: 10. Makoto Tamada (Honda) +1.113: 15.
CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +2.360:
|
