Like at the first preseason test in Sepang earlier this month, there were again only the test riders out on track on the first day of the second test in Malaysia. But in contrast to the last test there were only two manufacturers sending their test riders out this time. Yamaha worked again with two riders – Norihiko Fujiwara and Wataru Yoshikawa – while Nobuatsu Aoki continued the development work for Suzuki today. Suzuki is finally presenting the new engine for the season, so there will still be a lot of setup work left for Alvaro Bautista and Loris Capirossi who will get out on track tomorrow with the test starting at 9AM local time.

But the weather conditions could hamper their work over the next two days. While the air and track temperatures in Sepang are high as usual – with felt air temperatures predicted to reach up to 40°C – various weather forecasts predict scattered thunderstorms in the region for Thursday and Friday.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP riders Loris Capirossi and Alvaro Bautista visited the Suzuki Factory at Hamamatsu in Japan earlier this week, en-route to the second test of the year at Sepang in Malaysia.

Capirossi and Bautista were joined on the trip to Suzuki’s headquarters by Team Manager Paul Denning and were given a tour of the base for Suzuki’s global activities.

The trio were shown around the ‘Suzuki Plaza’ museum by Suzuki’s Directors Mr.Toshihiro Suzuki and Mr. Masanori Atsumi and Managing Officer Mr. Sadayuki Inobe. The group were able to inspect many of Suzuki’s historical products including original Suzuki looming machines, Suzuki’s first ever powered two-wheeler the ‘Power Free’ motorised bicycle , the ‘Colleda’ – the first true motorcycle produced by Suzuki – and the RM62 (50cc), which won Suzuki’s first motorcycle Grand Prix at the Isle of Man TT in 1962.

Capirossi and Bautista also visited Suzuki’s race department and met with engineers to discuss the detailed progress that is being made in the development of the 2010 Suzuki GSV-R that the pair will be riding during this season’s MotoGP World Championship.

Capirossi and Bautista now head to Malaysia for an important second test this week. The pair will be trying the latest updates for their Suzuki GSV-R’s at the 5,548m Sepang International Circuit. Capirossi had a promising test there earlier this month when he finished sixth overall on the timesheets and new team-mate Bautista will be looking to continue with the impressive learning development that he has shown since making the move up to MotoGP from the 250cc class.

Alvaro Bautista:
“I want to say thank you to Suzuki for their invitation and for a great experience today. I am new to MotoGP, and new to Suzuki, but I really feel more like part of the Suzuki family each day. The engineering facility is amazing, it really opened my eyes to what goes on to support us and after visiting the museum I know a lot more about Suzuki’s history. It is incredible to see such a huge company still feeling like a family business and everyone is so friendly and welcoming. I did my best to tell the engineers my exact feedback from the bike, but first I need to push my own level to the maximum and get to the limit of the bike – then it’s my right to complain and request better performance, but not yet! I feel the same as Loris – very motivated and very sure that Suzuki will do its maximum to support us.”