Capirossi ready for Rizla Suzuki home debut
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP star Loris Capirossi will make his Suzuki
debut in his home country of Italy next weekend, as the MotoGP
circus begins an exhausting run of six Grands Prix in eight
weeks.
Capirossi has enjoyed huge success on his home circuit at
Mugello since his debut at the Tuscan circuit in 1991. The
experienced Italian has recorded nine podium finishes, including
victory there in the premier class in 2000. Capirossi has
never finished lower than 9th position – in a completed
race – and will be looking to add to his tally of podiums
next Sunday.
Chris Vermeulen will be visiting the Italian circuit for
only the third time in his career and will be looking to build
on his performance last year, when he qualified on the front
row of the grid in wet conditions and then raced to a strong
eighth place finish in the dry.
Mugello is situated in the stunning Tuscan countryside just
north of Florence, in one of the most perfect settings for
any race-track on the MotoGP calendar, and witnessing the
locomotion of the Grand Prix bikes as they stream around the
5,245m long circuit is one of the ‘must-see’ events
of any race in motorsport.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP takes to the track on Friday for two
hour-long free practice sessions, plus a further practice
on Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon will then stage the
all-important qualifying session where riders will determine
their grid positions for Sunday’s 23 lap race that gets
underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT) on the 1st
of June.
Loris Capirossi:
“I am really looking forward to racing a Suzuki in
Italy for the first time, it is a big moment for me and I
know that there will be many fans there. The bike is getting
better all the time, but still we must make improvements.
I love Mugello and hopefully we can make big steps there and
give the Italians and Suzuki fans something to cheer about.
I am very determined to do well at my home Grand Prix and
will be doing all I can to make it happen!”
Chris Vermeulen:
“We made some important steps at Le Mans both in the
race and the test afterwards that put us in a much better
position for Mugello. The potential we showed in France was
a boost for the whole team but we still have quite a bit of
work to do to bridge the gap to the front guys. Mugello is
quite a tough track to ride at the maximum level, but I got
the hang of it in the race last year and I’m sure having
Loris in the team with his ‘home’ advantage will
be a big help!”
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