2006 Australian Superbike Championship (YMF Loan) - Round Four - Queensland Raceway

Suzuki Day 1 Report

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins both produced promising performances on the first day of practice for the Red Bull US Grand Prix at a warm and sunny Laguna Seca today.

Vermeulen put his previous knowledge of the Laguna track to good use to record the fifth fastest time on the newly surfaced Californian circuit. He used the 59 laps that he completed to their full extent to try many different set-ups and Bridgestone tyres in readiness for Sunday’s race. His time of 1’24.253 was only 0.394 seconds off the day’s fastest time set by Kenny Roberts Jr.

Hopkins (P10, 1’24.608, 57 laps) made many changes to his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R to help combat the extra reverberations in the chassis due to the bumpy nature of the newly laid surface. He found a set-up to combat the shakes and is looking to make more changes and improvements tomorrow.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will have one more practice session tomorrow morning before the all important hour long qualifying session in the afternoon. The Red Bull US Grand Prix is round 11 of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship and the flag drops to start the 32 lap race at 14.00 hrs local time (21.00 hrs GMT) on Sunday 23rd July.

Chris Vermeulen:
“We’ve had quite an eventful day. I knew the Laguna Seca circuit but it is quite a bit different to when I rode here a couple of years ago. It has been resurfaced which is new for everyone and it seems quite a bit bumpier that I remember. It’s made it quite difficult to find the best set-up but my crew have worked hard on getting it right. It is quite aggressive on the front end and we learned a lot today about how to cope with that. Everything seemed to work better and better as the day wore on and hopefully we can continue in that direction tomorrow.”

John Hopkins:
“Today we were a bit like track sweepers early on as it was so dusty out there! It’s great to be in front of family and the American fans and getting all their support. We still have a few changes to do to the bike because it is a really bumpy circuit. It will be crucial to get a good set-up for the race, we have some base settings but there are a lot of things we need to work on tomorrow. We will work hard tonight with the data we have got and find some better settings tomorrow and then be ready to go on Sunday”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“We hoped that Laguna might suit the GSV-R reasonably well and we have been pleased with the competitiveness that it has shown so far. The circuit is incredibly bumpy which is amazing considering it has only just been resurfaced. It is testing the rider’s abilities and the chassis settings to the limit. Chris in particular has found a good rhythm and has done a lot of miles on the same Bridgestone rear tyre and seems to be able to do good times at the end of a long run – which is encouraging for the race.

“John is struggling for a bit of feeling from the front of the bike and that is making it difficult for him to get into and out of the turns like he needs to. I am sure his guys will be looking for solutions tonight and John will have a range of options to try tomorrow morning. As it is he’s not far away so things are looking positive. A lot of riders are covered by a small amount of time and it will be the fine details that will determine a good result from a great one!”