Team SUZUKI MotoGP new signing Chris Vermeulen has completed his first tests on the Suzuki GSV-R at Valencia in Spain.

Vermeulen has joined the Suzuki team following a successful season in World Superbikes – where he finished runner-up in the Championship. The immensely talented 23-year-old Australian first took to the track on Monday afternoon to get himself acquainted with his new bike and crew. He immediately developed a rapport with his Crew Chief Tom O’Kane and the pair quickly made some adjustments to the bike to enable Vermeulen to clock some very impressive times during the 90 minute session.

The test was scheduled to continue for the whole of today but a lengthy break due to a rain shower and colder track temperatures brought the test to a premature end.

John Hopkins and Nobuatsu Aoki also stayed at Valencia to test the latest development parts for the Suzuki prototype MotoGP machine. Hopkins was impressed with the newest generation Ohlins forks and reported that they were a significant improvement on anything he had used before, as they gave him far more feel and controllability.

Team SUZUKI MotoGP has one more day at Valencia where all three riders will continue to put themselves and the bikes through yet more laps of testing.

Chris Vermeulen: “I really enjoyed my first go on the bike. It made a lot of difference getting on the bike on Monday - with the bad weather conditions as they are today. My first impressions are that the bike is very easy to ride and very comfortable. I really enjoyed working with the mechanics, they all have a lot of experience and they’re very methodical and really know what they are doing. We have a lot of work still to do but I am sure we can move in the right direction. I’m having fun, despite the weather!”

John Hopkins: “Not the greatest day for the start of the testing season – the weather has definitely held us back. Fortunately we were able to get out on time and get through a few things. We found some stuff on suspension that worked really well – it was certainly a positive. Unfortunately soon after we found this the weather quickly turned to a negative so we didn’t get the full use of what we found. We’re looking forward to tomorrow being warmer, drier and less windy so we can get the best out of the new stuff.

“It’s great to have Chris as a team-mate, I’ve already been over on his side of the garage and he’s been over on mine talking and chatting. If he needs any help whatsoever over these next couple of tests to get up to speed I’m more than happy to help him. The sooner he can get up to speed and get to the full limit of the Suzuki GSV-R, the sooner we can start developing it together and get it to where it needs to be.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager: “Chris has already shown what great potential he has over this week. From the first time that he climbed onboard the bike on Monday you could feel a mutual bond forming between Chris, Tom and all his team. This is something that is very important to a rider’s belief and confidence and I know that Chris will benefit greatly from the experienced crew he now has at his disposal.

“John and Nobu have again worked very hard and it is extremely important to the future success of the team as a whole for these tests to take place. It is only through the dedication of the riders and mechanics that we can hope to get Suzuki back challenging for honours. John’s attitude seems clear – this is the first day of the 2006 season, let’s get on with it!”