Big improvements for Rizla Suzuki MotoGP in close qualification
 John
Hopkins will start tomorrow’s German Grand Prix from
the middle of the second row after powering his Rizla Suzuki
GSV-R to the fifth fastest time during this afternoon’s
hot and sunny qualifying session.
Hopkins (1’22.561, 31 laps) was only 0.177 seconds
off pole position in an incredibly close grid that saw the
top-16 riders separated by less than a second! The Anglo-American’s
starting place could have been even better, as on his last
lap on the qualifying tyres he was well inside the fastest
time, but a couple of small mistakes on the final two corners
cost him the valuable tenths-of-a-second that would have seen
him on at least the front row.
Chris Vermeulen was only 0.655 seconds off the pole time,
set by world championship leader Casey Stoner, but the sheer
competitiveness of the MotoGP field means he will start the
race from the middle of the fourth row.
Vermeulen (P11, 1’23.039, 26 laps) did show big improvements
on his race pace again today and was consistently recording
times in-touch with the fastest riders, as the Bridgestone
race - and qualifying – tyres did a great job coping
with track temperatures of 50°C.
Hopkins and Vermeulen are both confident for tomorrow’s
30-lap race and are convinced they have the set-up of their
GSV-Rs correct and the durability in their Bridgestone tyres
to be pushing for high-placed finishes when the race gets
underway at 14.00hrs (12.00hrs GMT).
John Hopkins:
“The whole of today has gone pretty well! We had to
get the bike and tyres dialled in to the hot track. We are
expecting these sorts of temperatures in the race tomorrow,
so it was all vital practice. We have got a strong race set-up
and a really good set of tyres in our allocation that we are
looking forward to using in the race. Right now the crew is
working hard and I am working hard to get everything right
for tomorrow. I still have a few things to improve on overnight,
so that I can come out as prepared as possible! In qualifying
I made a bit of a mistake on the first lap and then got held
up by some other riders on the second one. That meant the
pressure was on with my final lap, and I made a couple of
mistakes on the last two corners and didn’t get round
them as quick as I would have liked, or I’m sure I would
have been on the front row, if not on pole! A couple of guys
are running a really high race pace so I will have to try
and match them and then better them at the end tomorrow!”
Chris Vermeulen:
“We made some more improvements to the bike this afternoon
and we have found a combination of race tyres that we are
really happy with. I felt good with my race pace and went
the quickest I’ve gone all weekend. With the extra heat
on the track, grip was always an issue, and I did lose the
front on the last qualifying lap, but managed to stay on!
It’s not great being in 11th, but we are only 0.6-of-a-second
off pole. This is close racing so if I can get off the start
well, my race pace is there – it’s a lot better
than where we qualified! I just need to get my passing mind
in and my elbows out and get going from the off!”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“We have made the improvements today that we wanted
to make and we have taken further steps forward in terms of
set-up and lap-times. John did a great job to rescue his qualifying
situation and go from 15th to fifth at the end, and by the
look of things the position could have been even better!
“Chris’ race pace looks very promising and very
consistent. We possibly lack something to the very fastest
guys on ultimate lap-time, but our consistency looks great,
and 30-laps in this heat will be real test for everything
technically and physically.
“It is incredibly close racing - as it has been on
many weekends recently. It looks like whoever it was that
decided to change to the 800cc bikes for 2007 clearly knew
something we didn’t in terms of the excitement of the
show!”
Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland Qualifying
Practice Classification:
1. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1’22.384: Dani Pedrosa (Honda)
+0.004: 3. Marco Melandri (Honda) +0.013: 4. Randy de Puniet
(Kawasaki) +0.155: 5. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.177:
11. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.655:
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