Vermeulen storms to stunning second place at Laguna Seca
 Rizla
Suzuki MotoGP’s Chris Vermeulen raced his Suzuki GSV-R
to a fantastic second place in today’s American Grand
Prix.
Starting from third on the grid, Vermeulen settled into that
position for the first three laps and then passed Dani Pedrosa
and set about chasing race leader Casey Stoner. Vermeulen
and Stoner quickly pulled away from the rest of the field
and as hard as Vermeulen tried he couldn’t quite catch
the current World Championship leader.
Vermeulen’s second place is his third podium of the
season following a win in France and third in the UK, and
it is the first one he has achieved on a dry track.
John Hopkins had the worst possible start to his home GP.
He got off the line well from the third row and was up at
the front going into the second turn, but a collision with
another rider left Hopkins on the floor with significant damage
to his bike.
The gutsy Anglo-American picked himself and his bike up and
made it back to the pits. Hectic running repairs from his
mechanics got him back on track and Hopkins continued in the
race. His lap-times for the rest of the race were well on
podium pace and but for the crash a top-three position would
certainly have been within his grasp. His efforts were rewarded
at the end as he crossed the line in 15th place to claim a
vital championship point.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now goes into the season break in fourth
place in the team’s championship, with Vermeulen also
in fourth and Hopkins in sixth in the riders’ classification.
The next round of the MotoGP World Championship will be at
Brno in the Czech Republic on Sunday 19th August.
Chris Vermeulen:
“I am absolutely over the moon to be on the podium
here at Laguna! Last year we had a lot of pace as well, but
it didn’t quite work out in the race. Suzuki has overcome
that and we have had a trouble free weekend. The Bridgestone
tyres worked great and only myself and Casey had the pace
to do the lap-times at the beginning. Unfortunately I couldn’t
quite hang with him all race but I am very happy to be second
and now let’s go forward and get a few more of these.”
John Hopkins:
“What can I say? It definitely sucks and I’m
really disappointed. It was especially disappointing that
it was my home Grand Prix and I was out of it so early on.
Up until the crash everything was going well. I got a good
start and went into the turn right up there. Somehow Nicky
came wide and I went up the inside of him, but as I did that
I guess he didn’t see me and as he cut back in we came
together. He hit my front brake lever and I went down. I got
back to the pits and the crew did an awesome job changing
the parts so quickly so that I could get back in the race.
I wanted to carry on and use the race as a simulation, but
now that I have come in and seen my times compared to others
I’m a bit more disappointed – but hey that’s
racing! The Suzuki and the Bridgestone tyres worked really
well today, and thanks to Stuart and all the guys for a great
job all weekend. I’d like to congratulate Chris on his
podium, he should have had one last year so he deserved that
today, I’m pretty sure I’d have been there with
him as well if other things hadn’t have happened!”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“It’s been a great event here in California.
The Rizla Suzuki GSV-R and the Bridgestone tyres have been
a competitive package all weekend long. The guys have ridden
hard and today Chris got the dry podium that he obviously
deserved.
“The only negative point was the bad luck for John
at the start of the race. I am really grateful to him for
showing the commitment to get back to the pits and then to
re-join the race. I am equally grateful to the crew for making
it rideable, and a point at the end of the race was the very
least that he should have achieved!
“We could have had two Rizla Suzukis on the podium
today. We didn’t have an answer for Casey, but there
is no question that Chris and John were able to run with anybody
else in terms of pace here at Laguna.”
Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Race Classification:
1. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 44’20.325: 2. CHRIS VERMEULEN
(RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +9.865: 3. Marco Melandri (Honda) +25.641:
4. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) +30.664: 5. Dani Pedrosa (Honda)
+35.622: 15. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 2 LAPS:
World Championship Classification:
1. Stoner 221: 2. Rossi 177: 3. Pedrosa 155: 4. CHRIS VERMEULEN
(RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 113: 5. Melandri 113: 6. JOHN HOPKINS
(RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 104:
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