Constructive test for Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
 Rizla
Suzuki MotoGP has completed the second test of the 2007 season
at Phillip Island in Australia, having accumulated large volumes
of important data for the forthcoming season.
Chris Vermeulen shaved nearly two seconds off his lap-times
over the three days and completed his fastest ever lap of
the circuit, with a 1’30.30, during his 79 laps today.
The Australian star was returning to Phillip Island for the
first time since last year’s wet race and set about
the task of improving the new GSV-R800 to make it competitive
in dry conditions at the 4.4km track.
Vermeulen worked tirelessly with his crew throughout the
test and completed a total of 207 laps. They tested many new
chassis settings and refined the engine mapping to make the
bike more rideable for the difficult and demanding Australian
circuit. By the end of the third day Vermeulen and his Crew
Chief Tom O’Kane were only making detailed changes to
the bike and they are sure they will be in a much stronger
position when the team return for round 16 of the MotoGP World
Championship in October.
The ever-improving Australian star also tested a brand new
heart-rate monitor system supplied to the team by Garmin.
This enables Team Physio Dean Miller to track Vermeulen by
GPS and record his physical performance while out on circuit.
John Hopkins was pleased with the test but frustrated with
his end result, and believes he can find more from the GSV-R
when the team return to race. He clocked up 55 laps today
and recorded his quickest ever lap of the circuit with a time
of 1’30.60. His team worked thoroughly throughout the
test and managed to make many improvements that will assist
the GSV-R to also perform at a higher level elsewhere. He
conducted similar tests to Vermeulen, as he too set about
the job of making the new bike fully competitive at all circuits.
The Anglo-American racer completed 191 laps in total as he
worked on getting the consistency and durability of both machine
and Bridgestone tyres right for the track. His comprehensive
testing schedule highlighted many issues that Hopkins and
his team were able to work on and find solutions for.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now travels to the Middle East for the
first Official MotoGP Test at Doha in Qatar, between the 13th
and 15th February. The first round of the 2007 MotoGP World
Championship is also at Qatar on Saturday 10th March.
Chris Vermeulen:
“When we first got here on Tuesday we struggled quite
a bit, but we did expect to really. We had a similar problem
to that which we had at last year’s race weekend here
and the bike was quite hard to ride without spinning the tyre
– that obviously affected the durability. We worked
a lot on that, both with chassis settings and engine mapping
over the week and it got a lot better as time went on. I improved
my average lap time by about one and a half seconds over the
three days and that is quite a big step! I also did my fastest
ever lap around Phillip Island. I also tested a new heart
monitor while I was out riding the bike, this will help me
to see how I can improve on my fitness over a race and show
me how my body is reacting to various situations on track.
So all-in-all it was a pretty good test. We have still got
quite a long way to go around here but the progress we have
made at Phillip Island will hopefully help us at other circuits
and make the bike work even better."
John Hopkins:
“Basically we have done a lot of laps, and although
we found a lot of positives we didn’t end up getting
exactly what we wanted from here. We sorted out some of the
engine mapping and power delivery issues, but this test has
been a bit of a reality check. We did struggle over the three
days and it showed we still have a bit of work to do on the
bike before we come back here for the race in October. I still
have some things to sort out with my own riding round here
as well, and they can’t be fixed overnight – I
also have to improve at Phillip Island, not just the bike.
I am now really looking forward to getting out in the desert
in Qatar, we had a good 990 set-up for there and the bike
usually feels good. I’m certainly looking forward to
riding the new 800 there and getting back to the sharp end
of the timesheets!”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“This test was always going to be an interesting one
for the team, with a clear objective of further developing
and improving the new Rizla Suzuki GSV-R800. We have achieved
a lot and gathered good information about the bike that we
can work on over the coming months, to make us competitive
for when we return here later in the year.
“Chris and John have both worked extremely hard over
the past three days and the team has certainly taken big steps
forward in certain areas of chassis set-up and engine mapping
to cope with this difficult circuit. Bridgestone has also
collected a huge amount of data and I am sure that they will
be able to give us a tyre that has the durability we are looking
for to match the character of the bike.
“Overall this has been a very important test –
much more so than Sepang – because it has shown us where
we need to concentrate our efforts and what has to be done
to get the best out of the GSV-R800.”
|
