Hopkins on podium pace in the Shanghai showers
 Rizla
Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins secured the third fastest
time during today’s free practice for the Polini Grand
Prix of China in Shanghai.
The Anglo-American star improved on his times throughout
the day and was on top of the time-sheets until the final
seconds of the afternoon session. Hopkins’ time was
only bettered by World Champion Valentino Rossi and fellow
Bridgestone rider Loris Capirossi.
As heavy rain fell continuously during the day Hopkins and
his crew worked hard to get the best bike settings and tyre
choice for his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R. The fact that he set his
fastest time on the final lap of the day emphasises the continuing
improvement of the GSV-R’s performance during the two
sessions.
Chris Vermeulen is racing at the Shanghai circuit for the
first time ever and had the added pressure of having to learn
a new circuit in the rain. But the rookie Australian showed
why he is fast becoming a rider to be recognised, as he produced
the eleventh fastest time and was on for an ever higher finish
until a small mistake on his last lap cost valuable tenths
of a second.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will have one more practice session tomorrow
morning before an hour-long qualifying session in the afternoon.
The race - which is round four of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship
- will get underway at 15.00hrs local time (07.00hrs GMT).
John Hopkins:
“It’s been a really good day. This morning we
tried a particular spec of wet tyre and it just wasn’t
the option to go for, so we put on a different set this afternoon
and the Bridgestone’s were really good. I stayed out
for nearly all the afternoon session – I only came in
the once and that was just for a couple of minutes. It was
a very positive session, we have a good set-up, some good
new tyres and my confidence is also very high at the moment.
I think that all in all it was an excellent day and I can’t
wait for tomorrow – rain or shine.”
Chris Vermeulen:
“Today was my first ever time at Shanghai and I must
say that I really enjoyed the track - even with the rain.
I wasn’t ideal weather for learning the circuit but
I feel quite comfortable and I did a lot of laps today. The
bike is working very well and we will be making a few more
changes tomorrow to suspension and the engine management side
and see how things progress from there.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“It seems like we are chasing the bad weather around
the world at the moment. If we had wanted this sort of weather
we could have stayed at home in the UK!
“It’s been a strong performance today from both
the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R and the riders. Chris obviously had
a bit more to do as he needed to learn the circuit - he managed
to get a good rhythm early on and was able to stay with the
other riders all day. This afternoon’s session will
undoubtedly have given John a boost in terms of his wet weather
confidence. After running second for a third of the dry race
in Turkey and then to come here and be in the top three in
these difficult conditions clearly shows his all-round talent.
“John’s GPS data showed a top-speed of 333km/h
in torrential rain! It’s days like these that the guys
really earn their money, and it’s good to see the bike’s
top-speed improving so much since 2005.
“I think everybody would prefer it if the weather cleared
up and the sun came out, but for now we are very happy with
the bike, the riders and the tyres in these conditions.”
Polini Grand Prix of China Free Practice Classification:
Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2’09.393: 2. Loris Capirossi
(Ducati) +0.355: 3. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTGP) +0.614:
11. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +2.045
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