Promising race pace and third row start for Vermeulen at
Le Mans
 Rizla
Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen equalled his best qualifying
position of the season so far, achieving eighth place at Le
Mans in France.
Vermeulen (1’33.440, 28 laps) will start from middle
of the third row for tomorrow’s 28-lap race, giving
him a great chance of getting away with the lead group and
making an attack on the podium positions. The Australian’s
race pace during this morning’s final practice session
and the early part of this afternoon’s qualifying was
consistently up with the front runners and Vermeulen is confident
that he will be able to run with them tomorrow.
Loris Capirossi (P11, 1’33.707, 28 laps) will start
immediately behind his team-mate from the middle of the fourth
row. The experienced Italian made big changes to his Rizla
Suzuki GSV-R this afternoon and was pleased with the feeling
he found from his machine. Capirossi would probably have been
further up the grid but was obstructed on his final qualifying
lap by two other riders. He is confident that he will improve
in the race tomorrow and will be looking for a higher placed
finish than the grid position he earned today.
Today’s qualifying was again held in dry but overcast
conditions with track temperatures reaching 37ºC. Championship
leader Dani Pedrosa on his factory Honda will start from pole
position for tomorrow’s race that gets underway at 14.00hrs
local time (12.00hrs GMT).
Chris Vermeulen:
“As a whole the weekend has gone very well and I am
happy with the progress we have made, but I’m a bit
disappointed with the qualifying position as it has been our
worst session of the weekend. The bike and tyres are both
working well and I am pleased with the way I am riding around
Le Mans. We have a good race pace and set-up, and we did quite
a few laps on the Bridgestone race tyres and are happy with
the choice of rubber for tomorrow for both consistency and
durability. I honestly think we are in good stead to fight
for a podium and I will be trying my best to achieve that
– that’s certainly my goal!”
Loris Capirossi:
“The whole weekend hasn’t been very easy, but
I really want to say a big thank-you to all my team because
we decided to modify the whole bike for this afternoon, and
it worked because my feeling was much better. We improved
the rhythm and now I think we are not in too bad a position
for the race. I lost out on my last qualifying lap –
which was my quickest so far – because of two riders
having a chat on the track, and I missed out on my best lap.
For tomorrow I think we can improve further and if we get
a good start I think I can stay with the top guys.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“The result today isn’t what we were looking
for in terms of positions, but as ever the pace has been really
hot and the competition is immense. Chris has got to a high
level on race tyres, and he has been consistently amongst
the first four or five. If he can get away well from the third
row, and be in the front group in the early laps, the team
has every confidence that he has the bike, the tyres and the
ability to challenge for the podium.
“For Loris we are still looking for a little more speed
from the whole package, he improved significantly and dropped
into the 34s this afternoon, but we still need to find a bit
more and allow him to run with the front group. His qualifying
position was compromised by two riders having a discussion
in the middle of the racetrack, but this happens and Loris
has seen enough of this over the years not to be too worried
about it!”
Alice Grand Prix de France Qualifying Classification:
1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’32.647: 2. Colin Edwards
(Yamaha) +0.127: 3. Casey Stoner (Ducati) +0.347: 4. Valentino
Rossi (Yamaha) +0.510: 5. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +0.622: 8.
CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.793: 11. LORIS CAPIROSSI
(RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +1.060:
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