Team SUZUKI MotoGP looking for good race result

[totalmotorcycle]

Team SUZUKI MotoGP looking for good race result

PRESS RELEASE


Team SUZUKI MotoGP will start Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril hopeful that both its riders can advance through the field to fight at the front of the pack.

John Hopkins and Kenny Roberts Jr battled against strong winds on their Suzuki GSV-R prototype race bikes and qualified on rows four and five respectively. Both riders will be looking to improve on those positions when the race gets underway tomorrow.

Hopkins (1'38.412, P11) should have qualified higher up the grid but suffered a crash in the final sector of his fastest lap. He said: "I was on a good lap and pushed the bike past the limit and lost the rear. I feel it's a bit unfortunate to be down in 11th place but having said that we are in a better position than we were at Jerez last week, as we have been able to run consistently fast times through the life of a race tyre.

"I really wanted to be towards, or even on, the front row of the grid, but the crash made that impossible. I now want to make a good start in tomorrow's race and see where I can go from there."

Roberts Jr (1'39.628, P14) used the final practice session this morning to its full extent by testing the different set-ups of his GSV-R's. After a disappointing Friday, Roberts Jr was able to make back to back comparisons of the two bikes. He said: "We have been trying to find the best way forward for the bike and losing so much time yesterday really held us up. By the end of the practice session we had found a setting and gearing that were in the right direction.

"Unfortunately the lost time meant we were never able to get the best from the bike and this reflected in the lap times. I know we have a tyre that will give good durability for the race so I am hoping for a better result tomorrow."

Team Manager Paul Denning is looking toward the race with guarded optimism, and commented: "John was unlucky on his best lap, he was showing that he could post a time comparable with anybody out there, but possibly the cold conditions caused the tyre to lose traction on the left side and he crashed.

"He has shown over these last two days that he can put in consistently fast laps on a race tyre so we are hoping for better things in the race. As ever, it won't be easy but John will always give it 100 per cent, of that we can be sure!

"Kenny and his team worked hard on making up the time they lost yesterday and they have made considerable gains in finding the solutions they were looking for. Qualifying was nothing short of a disaster for Kenny, he went quicker in the final practice session on a worn race tyre.

"I am now looking forward to the race and hope that the wind which has again been a difficult factor for us will drop so that we can compete on a level playing field."

Honda's Alex Barros set the fastest time and will be in pole position when the race starts at 14.00CET (13.00 local time) tomorrow.

Portuguese Grand Prix Qualifying Practice Classification
1. Alex Barros (Honda) 1'37.202: 2. Sete Gibernau (Honda) +0.127: 3. Carlos Checa (Ducati) +0.254: 4. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) +0.441: 5. Marco Melandri (Honda) +0.633: 6. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) +0.798: 7. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +0.801: 8. Max Biaggi (Honda) +0.807: 9. Nicky Hayden (Honda) +0.921: 10. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) +1.081: 11. JOHN HOPKINS (TEAM SUZUKI MOTOGP) +1.210: 14. KENNY ROBERTS JR (TEAM SUZUKI MOTOGP) +2.426: