Rizla Suzuki MotoGP is ready to go at Estoril
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP travels to Estoril in Portugal next week
for the second and final part of its double-headed Iberian
trip following last month’s Spanish Grand Prix, with
both riders in a positive mood ahead of the race.
Loris Capirossi raced to an excellent fifth place at Jerez
recently, whilst team-mate Chris Vermeulen battled his way
to 10th after starting 12th on the grid. Both riders stayed
on in Spain for a further two days of testing and were pleased
with the progress made and the data the team collected to
assist them at other race-tracks throughout the coming season.
Capirossi will be looking to add to his two premier class
podiums at the 4,182m long Portuguese circuit, as he makes
his debut at Estoril on a Suzuki. Vermeulen is also in a confident
mood and is planning on improving on his highest finish of
ninth from his previous two visits to Estoril.
The Estoril circuit is a track of contrasts, where ultra-fast
corners and an almost kilometre-long straight mix with one
of the slowest sections on any track on the MotoGP calendar.
Situated high above the towns of Estoril and Cascais just
to the west of the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, the circuit
is only four miles from the Atlantic Ocean and high-winds
are often a problem that riders, bikes and crews have to overcome.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will be in action on Friday 11th April
as Capirossi and Vermeulen take to the track for two free-practice
sessions. Saturday will see a final practice in the morning
followed by an hour-long qualifying session in the afternoon
when both riders will be going all-out for the best grid positions
they can obtain. Sunday’s race is round three of the
2008 MotoGP World Championship and the 28-lap race gets underway
at 13.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).
Loris Capirossi:
“I am looking forward to going to Estoril. I really
enjoy the track and I am sure it will suit the GSV-R quite
well. We had a good race at Jerez and then in the test afterwards
we found a couple of things, but we are still not where we
want to be and we know it’s going to be tough in Portugal.
The crew are all very focussed and know what is needed and
the more we ride the bike the more we are learning about it.”
Chris Vermeulen:
“We certainly made some progress at the test after
the race at Jerez. We worked hard on tyres and we learned
a lot from the test that will help us in the future. I cannot
wait to get back on the bike and start getting the results
that I expect of myself this year. We had a tough time at
Estoril last year so we will be looking on putting that right
straight away and working on making our way back up the leader-board!”
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