With the anniversary of the Spanish Constitution (“Carta Magna”) of 1978 coming up, the Spanish Congress has planned several festivities to celebrate the occasion. This includes a big event this Friday during which young students from 16 Spanish schools will read from the Constitution together with several stars from television, music and sports.
A complete list of celebrities attending the event will be published tomorrow, but among the people who have already confirmed their attendance are famous athletes like Alvaro Bautista, Iker Casillas and Alberto Contador.

The event on Friday is one of the main acts of the weeklong celebration of the Constitution.

News from several MotoGP sources suggest that Rizla and Suzuki have come to an agreement for a continuing sponsorship deal for the next two seasons.
The new sponsor contract would mean the necessary financial backup to keep the Suzuki Team in the MotoGP class and lay persistent rumours to rest which suggested that Suzuki might not be able to honour their contract with MotoGP rights holder Dorna to field at least two bikes in the class until the end of 2011 due to financial reasons and poor results in the last two seasons.

Since Alvaro signed a two-year contract with the Rizla MotoGP Team this is also good news for him as a secured financial backup for the team means the best situation for him to spend his first years in the MotoGP class.

Rizla Suzuki team manager and Alvaro’s new boss Paul Denning analyses the 2009 season and looks forward to the new Bautista-Capirossi pairing for next year.

By Paul Denning’s own admission 2009 was an inconsistent year for Rizla Suzuki, and the team manager is determined to make next season more successful with a vastly improved display.
A quartet of fifth-placed finishes for Loris Capirossi was accompanied by a series of mixed results for the Italian and his team-mate Chris Vermeulen, with the pair ending the campaign in ninth and 12th places respectively and without any podiums.

“We were not consistent,” began Denning’s honest assessment. “In some races we were super strong and Loris was able to do a great job with the bike, but the bike was not consistent in all conditions. In the end that was reflected in Loris’ finish of ninth in the championship and Chris who came 12th, and we didn’t deserve so much more.”
Denning continued, “We have to improve the bike and the consistency a lot and nobody within the team is satisfied with this year’s result. Suzuki did a great job with the engine performance, now it’s not too bad and is quite competitive with the other guys, but we have to improve the chassis performance and this is the big priority for this winter.”

Teaming up with Capirossi next season will be MotoGP rookie Álvaro Bautista, who has impressed the Rizla Suzuki structure in tests at Valencia and Estoril. Denning believes the Spaniard is the perfect accompaniment alongside veteran Capirossi.
“The 2010 season is a new start with Bautista, which we’re very excited about. He has shown that he’s a racer and this spirit should really help push the team forward,” Denning enthused. “For us the balance in the team for next year is correct, because we have to improve the machine a lot and we need an experienced rider to do that. I think Loris’ job will be to develop the bike, and to push hard like he always does and to help Álvaro. I think this is a good combination for us.”

Source: motogp.com