Vermeulen splashes to fifth at a soaking Donington
 Chris
Vermeulen recorded the fifth fastest time of the day onboard
his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R at a near flooded Donington Park circuit
on the first day of practice for the British Grand Prix.
Vermeulen (1’44.371, 43 laps) again showed his wet
weather class, as he consistently posted competitive times
around the 4km-long English track. It was not all easy going
for the Australian as he did have a small crash on only his
second lap of the day, as he tried to become accustomed to
the slippery surface.
John Hopkins (P8, 1’44.716, 48 laps) had a productive
day as he used both sessions to test the wet weather capabilities
of his bike to the limit. He tried a new compound Bridgestone
rain tyre today and was very pleased with the durability results,
so much so that he – like team-mate Vermeulen –
only used one set of tyres to cover both practice sessions!
Today’s torrential downpour is similar to what is forecast
for the rest of the weekend at Donington and both riders will
be looking to get a good position in tomorrow’s qualifying
session, in readiness for the race, to avoid getting lost
in the poor visibility further down the field when the 30-lap
event gets underway at 13.00 local time (12.00GMT) on Sunday.
Today’s fastest time was set by championship leader
Casey Stoner on his Bridgestone-shod Ducati.
Chris Vermeulen:
“It’s great to be back here at Donington –
but not in these conditions! I spent a few years in Britain
doing the British Championship and I used to live here, so
this is really like a second home GP for me. Today’s
conditions weren’t the greatest as it’s been raining
all day and the water was at different levels all over the
surface - so it was difficult to get a consistent lap out
there. My team have worked really hard on the chassis and
we have made some improvements there, but we now have to see
what the weather is going to do for the rest of the weekend.”
John Hopkins:
“Well the whole day has gone well considering the rain.
We just wanted to put some laps together and try a new tyre
from Bridgestone. We managed to do both of those and more.
I didn’t want to push that hard today as you can so
easily make a mistake in the rain and Sunday’s race
is more important than a fast time in a wet practice session
– and we know we can be in a better position whether
it is wet or dry! We have a few things to try tomorrow, but
I am eager to get out there on a dry track and see what the
GSV-R800 can do around here!”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“Last year at Donington the track temperature reached
50°C and above – this year the more typical British
summer has arrived! Having said that we managed to get some
valuable wet weather testing done and come Sunday, if it is
raining, we will certainly be prepared. Today must have been
one of the least expensive days Bridgestone has ever experienced
with Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, as both Chris and John used the
same set of tyres for both sessions! This shows that front
and rear tyres will have plenty of durability if the weather
stays the same. We are hoping that the weather will break
tomorrow and we will finally get some dry track time, because
if we do I am sure that the new generation 800cc GSV-R will
lap this circuit a fair bit quicker than the old 990!”
Nickel & Dime British Grand Prix Free Practice
Classification:
1. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1’43.749: 2. Nicky Hayden
(Honda) +0.032: 3. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) +0.121: 4. Randy De
Puniet (Kawasaki) +0.553: 5. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI
MOTOGP) +0.622: 8. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.967:
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