MotoGP 2004 - Round 15 - Phillip Island

The Australian GP, second-last round of a classic 2004 MotoGP season, is set for a climatic finish to a gruelling trio of flyaway GPs. The fast and sweeping Phillip Island circuit is once again expecting an epic.

While defending champion Valentino Rossi attempts to gain his fourth consecutive World Championship, the race is also important for the rival teams. In particular, for Suzuki, approaching the climax of a highly fruitful campaign of fast-forward development for the V4 GSV-R MotoGP prototype racer.

For the factory team, it is another trial in combat for the fast-developing racer, which has found ever-improving form throughout the now almost completed race-development phase.

For rider John Hopkins, it is a chance to avenge his bad luck.

The 21-year-old Anglo-American was injured in the same accident that sidelined team-mate Kenny Roberts Jr. five weekends ago at the Japanese GP. The Suzuki riders were among five innocent victims of a first-corner pile-up, when Loris Capirossi lost control within sight of the start line.

Roberts suffered a dislocated left elbow an injury requiring careful recuperation, and hopes to make his racing return for the final GP in Valencia. Hopkins suffered the painful, but less troublesome injuries of fractured ribs and a gashed buttock. Riding through the pain barrier, he was able to take part in the next two races.

In the desert heat of Qatar, Hopkins finished a strong eighth; but his bad luck returned at Sepang in Malaysia. Riding hard in the top ten in the first lap, Hopkins' machine suffered a rare race failure on the second, and he was forced into the pits.

In both those races, Japanese rider and star of British Superbike racing, Yukio Kagayama, took the place of the recuperating Roberts, and twice finished in the points. Roberts had returned home to the USA from Japan, where he was diagnosed with minor fractures and ligament damage as a result of the elbow dislocation. He hopes to be fit to take part at Valencia, in the final race of 2004.

In Australia, Kenny's bikes will be ridden by Gregorio Lavilla, former Suzuki World Superbike rider and in 2004 the full-time tester for the MotoGP project. The Spanish rider not only has the benefit of machine familiarity, but also a good acquaintance of the picturesque and technically challenging seaside circuit at Phillip Island.

John will have plenty to prove at Phillip Island, said team manager Garry Taylor. "With the machine improvements over recent races, as well as the constant development of the Bridgestone tyres, he has been qualifying and racing exceptionally well, but too often luck has been against him. I know he'll give it everything at this race, and the team will be doing everything to give him the best possible machine for the job."

Taylor continued: "Gregorio has experience both of the bike and of the track, and has been testing tyres and machine parts during the season, giving valuable feedback to the racing team. I'm sure he'll make the most of another GP outing, and give yet more impetus to the closing stages of development of this generation of Suzuki's MotoGP bike," said Taylor.

The Suzuki has improved both in qualifying lap times and race results , not only from last year to this, but also during the 2004 season. One important step earlier in the season was a revised firing order for the V4. More recently, a new set of exhausts has liberated significantly more mid-range power.

Phillip Island is a real rider's circuit, where the challenging high-speed corners give the Suzuki pair a chance to exploit the machine's strengths. Together with the latest tyres, the Suzuki's handling allows high corner speeds. This makes up for a relative lack of top speed, enabling the rider to achieve faster exit speeds to be in a good position to slipstream rivals down the circuit's fast straight.

The Australian GP follows a wearying routine: four races in five weekends, from Japan to Phillip Island via Qatar and Malaysia. There is one weekend's respite before the final round at Valencia on October 31.

John Hopkins - "I was so disappointed at Sepang. I'd been good in qualifying, got the bike better in the morning, had a relaxing swim back at the hotel, and had my head together for the race. Then the bike stopped. For Australia, it's a great track and we have the basic bike set-up good for everywhere. As I've said for the latter part of this year, I'll be disappointed if I'm not in the top five."

Gregorio Lavilla - "This is my first race since Brno in August, so I'm looking forward to get back in among other riders, after testing mainly by myself. I love this circuit. I think all the riders do. It's difficult, but a fast lap feels really satisfying."