First lap incident costs Vermeulen podium challenge
 Rizla
Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen was involved in a first
lap crash at today’s Turkish Grand Prix, almost definitely
costing him a place on the podium - his race pace after he
and rejoined the race was as good as any other rider on the
track.
Vermeulen was caught up in a four rider crash, caused by
Kawasaki’s Olivier Jacque and also involving Dani Pedrosa
and Colin Edwards. Vermeulen’s bike was lying on top
of Pedrosa’s and the determined Australian dragged it
off, got back on and re-joined the race. The Rizla Suzuki
GSV-R sustained some damage in the accident but Vermeulen
battled back to secure 11th place at the end of the race,
setting the fastest time on the penultimate lap. The accident
cost Vermeulen over 22 seconds from start to finish and his
final race time was only 20 seconds off second place.
John Hopkins was involved in an equally exciting race. The
23-year old Anglo-American battled all race long for the podium,
but the highly competitive 800cc championship meant he had
to fight for every place and eventually brought his GSV-R
home in sixth place, just ahead of World Champion Nicky Hayden.
Over 40,000 people watched Casey Stoner on the Bridgestone-shod
Ducati take victory at a sunny Istanbul circuit, and also
witness Bridgestone have the first six bikes across the line
for the first time ever in GP history.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now travels to the Far East for round
four of the MotoGP World Championship at Shanghai in China
on Sunday 6th May.
Chris Vermeulen:
“I got a bit boxed in on the first lap and immediately
got involved in a battle, but we soon straightened things
out. I had just passed Alex Barros when another rider took
out Edwards and Pedrosa right in front of me and I had nowhere
to go but down. That was the worst part of the race, but luckily
my bike was still running and lying on top of Pedrosa’s.
I grabbed the clutch, pulled my bike off his and re-joined
the race. My handlebar was bent and the fairing was broken
but everything else seemed to be fine. I gave it a lap or
two to see if everything was ok and then just got my head
down and went for it. I started to chase after the other guys
and do some fast, consistent laps. I kept it as smooth as
I could and managed to get up to 11th. I know I set the fastest
lap near the end so who knows what might have happened if
I hadn’t have crashed. We now need to take this forward
to China, qualify well and make sure we don’t get knocked
off again!”
John Hopkins:
“It was certainly a dogfight out there! I would firstly
like to thank – and congratulate – Bridgestone.
They have done a great job here especially on my behalf. Last
year I had to pit for a new tyre and this year they had the
top six places, so well done to them. I got a decent enough
start and made some early passes, and I got my head down and
really got stuck into the race. At about half distance I got
involved in a hell of a fight where everything just kept turning
upside down. One minute I was in seventh then up to fourth
or third and then back to sixth. I had to work for every bit
today and would definitely like to have gone for that podium
place, but we got some good points. Now it’s time to
go to China, I got a fourth there last year and I’m
really looking forward to going back. It’s a nice flowing
track and I think the Suzuki GSV-R and the Bridgestone tyres
will work well!”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“Rizla Suzuki MotoGP had high hopes yesterday of a
great result here. We did see a good performance, but unfortunately
it was not a great result. For me the ride of the GP came
from Chris Vermeulen, he had enough pace to win the race!
To pick himself up and achieve such fast lap-times immediately,
and with a damaged bike, was just incredible. It also culminated
in him setting the fastest time on the penultimate lap of
the race. It just shows what a true racer he is and if everything
goes his way he certainly has the ability to challenge MotoGP’s
established stars on a regular basis.
“John rode a brilliant first lap to get to third position,
and was involved in a frenetic battle throughout the race
and we are all a bit disappointed that we couldn’t quite
get that podium we are after. Nonetheless the Suzuki GSV-R
has worked really well here in Turkey, Bridgestone has dominated
all weekend, now let’s go to China and carry on the
good work!”
Grand Prix of Turkey Race Classification:
1. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 42’02.850: 2. Toni Elias (Honda)
+6.207: 3. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) +8.102: 4. Alex Barros
(Ducati) +8.135: 5. Marco Melandri (Honda) +8.289: 6. JOHN
HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +10.186: 11. CHRIS VERMEULEN
(RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +26.249:
World Championship Classification:
1. Stoner 61: 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 51: 3. Dani Pedrosa
(Honda) 36: 4. Elias 35: 5. Melandri 30: 9. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA
SUZUKI MOTOGP) 23: 10. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP)
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