Rizla Suzuki MotoGP concluded its first ever test on the new Suzuki 800cc MotoGP machine at Valencia in Spain, with yet more encouraging results. John Hopkins, Chris Vermeulen and Factory Test Rider Nobuatsu Aoki all took to the track to put the new engine through its paces. Hopkins and Aoki also trialled the first generation of a brand new prototype chassis that next year’s bike may feature. Both riders noticed a difference in performance from this year’s chassis and the Factory will now work on the data to make further enhancements.
The three riders completed a total of 161 laps between them with Vermeulen leading the way by clocking a quickest time of 1’32.69. Hopkins was only just behind with a fastest lap of 1.32.69 and Aoki recording a best time of 1’37.30.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will continue its testing schedule at Sepang in Malaysia, during mid November and then a third and final test in 2006 at Jerez in Spain at the end of this month. The 2007 MotoGP season gets underway at Qatar in March.
Chris Vermeulen:“The second day on the 800, but the weather wasn’t as good today. Fortunately there was enough track temperature for us to test some tyres for Bridgestone, and all the tyres seemed to work as well as they did on the 990. We tried a lot of different chassis set-ups and engine mappings – which made the bike a lot easier to ride and faster! For a first test it’s not a bad starting point and I am looking forward to seeing how it goes in Sepang.”
John Hopkins:“All in it’s definitely been a great test, it has been really successful. I can honestly say that it has been better than we could have hoped for over these last two days. We still need to work on a few things to clear everything up, but we have a lot of testing to do that. We need to be competitive next year, that’s the main thing, and we have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but Suzuki has definitely made the job a lot easier so far!”
Nobuatsu Aoki:“I have done a lot of miles already on the new 800 in the tests in Japan. But I am very pleased to be here at the first official test of the bike to see how it performs with John and Chris. They have both done very well and I am happy that I have been involved in getting the bike to this position.”
Related Linkswww.rizla-suzuki-motogp.co.uk
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