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MotoGP
2002 - Round 15 - Phillip Island - (Suzuki) October 20th, 2002 - Sent to us by Suzuki |
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MotoGP
2002 - Round 15 - Phillip Island - (Suzuki) October 20th, 2002 - Sent to us by Suzuki |
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Team Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki rider Kenny Roberts finished ninth in
today's Australian GP, after a steadfast ride holding eighth position in
a close fight between the new 990cc four-strokes and the defending 500cc
two-strokes, only to lose one place by inches over the line. Team-mate
Sete Gibernau finished 12th, after running with Roberts in the early
stages. The race was run in windy but sunny conditions, round 27 laps of the scenic seaside Phillip Island circuit, where a crowd of 40,000 watched new MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi claim his 11th win of the season. There is just one more race, in two weeks, in the first ever MotoGP season, with the premier motorcycle racing class opened to 990cc four-strokes as well as the traditional 500cc two-strokes. Suzuki joined the four-stroke brigade from the start of the year with the all-new V4 GSV-R prototype racer, now nearing the end of its first year of on-track race development. Kenny Roberts - 9th - "It was the same old thing, really. We started the race not so bad, but straight away I was suffering - At this stage of the development our engine has too much torque, so that the power is not so usable when it is on its side, then we get beaten down the straight. The bike stayed consistent throughout the race, but consistently too aggressive. I was spinning the wheel so badly from maximum lean until the bike was completely upright. Nothing I did made any difference - moving body position or trying different things. I was just murdering the tyre, and I'm pretty surprised it lasted full race distance. I have to hand it to Michelin for that. As I said, the team carried me this weekend, because with the wind I wasn't able to give them much feedback. Next year's bike is already on the drawing board, and I hope we'll be able to give it the opposite power characteristics" Sete Gibernau - 12th - "The bike went better this morning, and better again in the race. My start was not so bad, and I felt comfortable lapping in the mid-1:33s, which was the race pace. But after eight laps something went wrong and I lost engine performance. My team are checking now to try to find the problem, but I lost seven km/h top speed on the straight, and after that my lap times got slower. I was also suffering some wheelspin, but if I had been able to keep at my earlier pace I know I could have got a much better finish." |
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