Rizla Suzuki MotoGP aims for more silverware in Le Mans
 Rizla
Suzuki MotoGP travels back to Europe for the French Grand
Prix, determined to build on the strong team performance in
China last weekend.
John Hopkins scored his maiden podium at the Chinese circuit
and will be pushing to continue with his early season form
that sees the Anglo-American in fifth place in the MotoGP
World Championship. He qualified on the front row at the 4,180m
long Le Mans track last year, and then led the race early
on before crashing out when in a podium position. Hopkins
will certainly be resolute in his quest to follow up his last
race performance with one of an equal or better position.
Team-mate Chris Vermeulen is still carrying a slight injury
from his crash during qualification in China, but is fit to
race in France. He damaged a couple of toes in the incident
but the tough Australian still showed his true racer spirit
in Shanghai by finishing seventh – from 15th on the
grid. Vermeulen finished 10th at last season’s French
GP – his first ever race there – and will certainly
be looking to improve on that when the 28-lap race gets underway
on Sunday 20th May at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).
Le Mans is the ultimate ‘stop-and-go’ circuit
on the MotoGP calendar and an optimum set-up for the many
hard braking corners - that are such a feature at this physically
demanding track - will be extremely important. The circuit
also features one of the fastest corners in the world where
riders will be seen going through the first turn almost flat
out in sixth gear.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP takes to the track on Friday for two
hour-long free practice sessions and that will be followed
by another hour on Saturday morning. Grid positions for Sunday’s
race will be decided in the all-important qualifying hour
on Saturday afternoon. Sunday’s race is round five of
the MotoGP World Championship and signals the start of the
busiest period in the calendar with seven races taking place
over the next 10 weeks.
John Hopkins:
“I really like the Le Mans circuit and it suits both
the Suzuki and my riding style so I am hoping that I can follow
up last week’s podium with another. The Bridgestone
tyres are working so well this year and they should give us
the grip we need to be as competitive as we have been so far
this season. The result in China took a huge weight off my
shoulders and I’m looking forward to France –
I really like the track and I think we can have “Le
Monster” race!"
Chris Vermeulen:
“My toes are still a bit sore from China, but that
won’t hold me back. I liked Le Mans last year –
even though I didn’t get much dry time there. I still
need to get my qualifying right so I can give myself a chance
of getting on that podium. The bike and tyres have been awesome
this season and I am sure that they will be a big feature
this weekend. The whole team are on a high and we need to
keep that up as we embark on this long run of races over the
next couple of months. There are a few tracks in there that
should suit the Suzuki so we are hoping for some good results.”
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