Front row start for Vermeulen at the Italian GP
 Rizla
Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen will start tomorrow’s
Italian Grand Prix from second place on the grid, as he showed
his wet weather skills once more at a damp Mugello circuit.
Vermeulen (2’01.381, 16 laps) got to grips with the
treacherous conditions early on and topped the leaderboard
for large parts of the hour-long session. The Italian track
again looked more like the canals of Venice as heavy rain
started to fall just before the riders went out to start qualifying.
The conditions were made even more difficult as the rain gave
way to bright sunshine and strong winds that dried the surface
very quickly. Vermeulen will be making his first front row
start of the season as he continues with the good form he
showed in the rain at Le Mans. His time was only bettered
by Casey Stoner on the Bridgestone-shod Ducati.
John Hopkins was again very fast in this morning’s
dry final free practice session, as he posted the seventh
quickest time and looked very consistent throughout. In the
difficult afternoon conditions he couldn’t quite reproduce
his fantastic wet weather performance of yesterday. Suzuki’s
Anglo-American star will start from the third row as he recorded
the ninth fastest time of the session during his 18 laps.
Sunday’s race is round six of the MotoGP World Championship
and the 23-lap race gets underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs
GMT), where Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will be joined on the grid
by the Rizla ‘Paper Control’ girls who will also
be on patrol in the paddock all day!
Chris Vermeulen:
“The session started out in pouring rain, but with
the wind it dried up quite quick. I came in with 25 minutes
to go and said I needed to put on a slick tyre as there was
a lot of grip, and then it started raining again! I thought
it would dry out a bit more than it did at the end, but it
didn’t. I tried to go a bit quicker for the last few
laps, but my timing wasn’t right and I missed out on
another full lap. The Bridgestone wet tyres worked well again
and being on the front row gives me a good chance in the race,
whatever the conditions may be.”
John Hopkins:
“We made a great start to our programme yesterday and
followed that up this morning - we had a clear idea of where
we needed to be for this afternoon. Unfortunately we didn’t
get the chance to make the improvements as the rain came down
again. I am not happy to be ninth, but considering what a
lottery it was at the end I am quite satisfied to be on the
third row as it was easy to crash out there! I am confident
I can get a good start tomorrow and be running near the front
come rain or shine!”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“Not an easy qualifying session for everybody concerned.
It was difficult to get the timing exactly right and to have
the best tyres in the bike for the conditions. The track was
constantly changing from flooded, to a clear dry line, and
it made it almost a guessing game.
“Chris was flying and made sure that he used his wet
weather skills to the full. It was another great result for
him. It gives him a fantastic opportunity to capitalise in
the race whatever the conditions.
“John is disappointed with ninth, but he dug in and
he gets away from the line as well as anyone. I’m sure
he will be looking to take big steps forward in the race tomorrow,
he has the ability to get a good result here.”
Gran Premio D’Italia Qualifying Classification:
1. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 2’00.359: 2. CHRIS VERMEULEN
(RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +1.022: 3. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)
+1.336: 4. Olivier Jacque (Kawasaki) +1.350: 5. Loris Capirossi
(Ducati) +1.438: 9. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +2.573:
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