Rizla Suzuki MotoGP has shaken off the blues from Silverstone last week and started this weekend’s Dutch TT at Assen on a more positive note.

Loris Capirossi (P13, 1’36.786, 27 laps) and Álvaro Bautista (P15, 1’37.384, 25 laps) both used the information they had from Silverstone to good effect as they set about closing the time gap between themselves and the rest of the pack. Capirossi’s team made fundamental changes to his Suzuki GSV-R and he was able to reap the benefits as his lap times improved and the team were able to see a clear direction to go for the rest of the weekend.

Bautista is still struggling with his shoulder injury, especially on the physically demanding 4,542m Assen circuit. He did improve both his bike’s setting and his lap-times during the session and is confident that the stronger he gets, the quicker he will get.

Today’s’ practice was held in dry and sunny conditions with air temperatures getting up to 27ºC, helping to generate more grip for both Rizla Suzuki riders as the track temperature rose to 44ºC. World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo set the quickest time of the day.

Rizla Suzuki has one more practice session tomorrow morning, followed by qualifying in the afternoon. The 80th running of the Dutch TT takes place on Saturday 26th June at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).

Álvaro Bautista:
“We started with the same setting that we finished with at Silverstone to try and get more grip on the back and I think we still need to work quite hard because I don’t have a good feeling in the front, so we must improve on this. This track is harder and more demanding to ride than last week for my shoulder. I still need a more strength and I feel a bit more tired than I did in Silverstone. After some more practice – and with the bike getting better – It should be less effort to ride and I will be able to improve my times. We still have to work hard and do our best step-by-step.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“Given how far away we were at Silverstone and the extreme difficulty faced that weekend, the first hour of running here at Assen has been a lot more positive. The lap-time and the consistency is a lot closer to the group from fifth to tenth position, which is where we believe Loris and the bike can be, as we strive to rebuild our season. We’ve had to take a different direction here, so the bike has at the moment, a different feeling for both riders. That being the case, we should be able to take some significant steps tomorrow and improve our potential. The feeling in the camp is certainly more positive than it was last weekend and we’re looking to get our season going here in Assen!”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

Perfect weather conditions greeted the MotoGP riders for the first free practice today. Bati started the session pretty good, but was relegated to the end of the field pretty quickly again. A mistake in the final sector of his last lap kept him from moving ahead of Kallio in 14th, but the team and him certainly still have a lot of work to do tomorrow to prepare for the race on Saturday.

Pos. Rider Team Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 Jorge LORENZO Fiat Yamaha Team 1’35.169
2 Casey STONER Ducati Team 1’35.180 0.011 / 0.011
3 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 1’35.686 0.517 / 0.506
4 Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’35.699 0.530 / 0.013
5 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team 1’35.868 0.699 / 0.169
6 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’35.922 0.753 / 0.054
7 Aleix ESPARGARO Pramac Racing Team 1’35.927 0.758 / 0.005
8 Ben SPIES Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’35.942 0.773 / 0.015
9 Marco SIMONCELLI San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’36.002 0.833 / 0.060
10 Marco MELANDRI San Carlo Honda Gresini 1’36.269 1.100 / 0.267
11 Randy DE PUNIET LCR Honda MotoGP 1’36.294 1.125 / 0.025
12 Hector BARBERA Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1’36.735 1.566 / 0.441
13 Loris CAPIROSSI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’36.786 1.617 / 0.051
14 Mika KALLIO Pramac Racing Team 1’37.261 2.092 / 0.475
15 Alvaro BAUTISTA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1’37.384 2.215 / 0.123
16 Kousuke AKIYOSHI Interwetten Honda MotoGP 1’41.332 6.163 / 3.948

Rizla Suzuki has set up camp in the Assen paddock for the second race in a tough mid-season schedule as it prepares its attack on the Dutch TT.

Loris Capirossi and Álvaro Bautista are heading to the race with positive attitudes, despite a difficult weekend last time out at Silverstone. Capirossi had a strong race at Assen in 2009 and was battling for a top-five position before another rider forced him off the track on the last corner, causing the Italian racer to finish ninth after fighting to stay onboard.

Bautista has a proud history at the Dutch TT in the smaller classes, with victory and pole position in 2008 on a 250cc machine, as well as a further podium finish and front row start in 2007 – also on a 250 – this feat mirrored what he achieved in 2006 as he also secured a front-row start and a top-three finish in the 125cc class..

The Dutch TT is traditionally held on the final Saturday of June and this year’s event is in a run of five races in six weekends for the MotoGP circus, which started in England last Sunday before culminating at Laguna Seca in America at the end of July. The Assen circuit has had a small alteration to the layout for this year’s race that sees the lap distance decrease by a few metres to 4,542m. A favourite with many fans and riders alike, the Assen circuit is the only venue to have held a motorcycle Grand Prix since the beginning of the championship in 1949; it is also the 80th anniversary of the running of the Dutch TT. Since its inaugural race in 1925, the event has been run every year since then with the exception of the period 1940 to 1945.

Rizla Suzuki takes to the track for the first time on Thursday afternoon for an hour of practice; this is followed by a further hour on Friday morning. Qualifying will take place in the afternoon and the riders will line-up for round six of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT) on Saturday 26th June.

Álvaro Bautista:
“I really like the second half of the Assen track, it is very complicated and it flows nicely so it makes for some good racing. The first part is not so good since it was changed, but it is still quite demanding and physical to ride. I am feeling stronger every time I get on the bike now and during the race at Silverstone I felt like I was able to ride the bike how I wanted for the first time since my injury. That is a good sign coming here and if I can continue with that then I am sure we can have a good race.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

Rizla Suzuki finished the Silverstone Grand Prix weekend in a slightly more positive frame of mind after improving weather conditions gave both riders the chance to ride their GSV-Rs nearer the limit.

Bautista fought the whole race to learn new reference points on his Suzuki GSV-R as his increased pace altered the whole track from the Spaniard’s perspective. He too looked like being involved in the battle for 10th, but as the race wore on his recent injury took its toll on his strength and he crossed the line in 12th position.

Today’s first MotoGP race to be held at the Silverstone circuit in England was watched by 70,123 fans at trackside. They saw a commanding performance from World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo, as he steered his factory Yamaha to a victory by almost seven seconds.

Rizla Suzuki will now go straight to Assen in the Netherlands for the next round of the MotoGP World Championship, to be held in just six days time on Saturday 26th June.

Álvaro Bautista:
“For me the race seemed like my first free practice, because the conditions were different and I was able to start to ride like I wanted. I didn’t have any reference points with the better conditions so I had to learn them in the race and it was quite difficult to do that. I am quite happy because I think we have made one step forward with the bike in cold conditions and during the race I was able to ride consistently quicker than my best lap in qualifying. Also my shoulder feels much better, it was a bit painful in the last few laps, but I am pleased with how I’m recovering. Today has been the first day I’ve been able to push since my injury and I hope that for the next races I will get stronger physically and get more confidence on the bike.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“It’s been a really difficult weekend and it would have been unrealistic to expect things to change drastically for the race. Having said that, both the guys pushed as hard as they dared and at least we were in the group fighting for 10th place – which was better than practice or qualifying. The slightly warmer temperatures helped us a little bit, but it meant that the practice from the rest of the weekend was meaningless and for the riders it almost felt like the first decent run of the weekend.
“Thanks to all our sponsors and partners for all their support over the weekend and we’ll be pushing Suzuki to deliver the improvements we need, as soon as possible!”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

A good start for Alvaro at the British GP saw him leap up a few positions in the first lap before falling back to 14th (Melandri crashed out early) for several laps. But a good charge through the field and faster laptimes than the riders up to 10th position soon saw him battle it out with a small group, going up to 11th in the process and also passing his teammate Capirossi who later crashed out after trying to catch Barbera.
A few laps before the end Alvaro made a small mistake and fell back to 13th, behind Barbera and Kallio, but soon caught them again, passed Kallio for 12th and made a late charge for 11th against Barbera, but just lost out on the finish line, being side by side with the Aspar Ducati rider.
12th position in the end and four points for the championship don’t seem much, but it was evident that Alvaro was able to fight it out again with the effects of his injuries becoming a bit less hampering for his riding and he also was faster than his teammate for most of the weekend which is encouraging to see for his process.
He will surely try to improve a bit more at one of his favourite tracks in the Netherlands later this week and also hope for warmer temperatures to make his Suzuki a bit more competitive again.

Race Results Silverstone

Pos. Rider Team Time/Gap
1 Jorge LORENZO Fiat Yamaha Team 41’34.083
2 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team +6.743
3 Ben SPIES Monster Yamaha Tech 3 +7.097
4 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team +7.314
5 Casey STONER Ducati Team +7.494
6 Randy DE PUNIET LCR Honda MotoGP +9.055
7 Marco SIMONCELLI San Carlo Honda Gresini +14.425
8 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team +15.313
9 Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 +27.954
10 Aleix ESPARGARO Pramac Racing Team +42.394
11 Hector BARBERA Paginas Amarillas Aspar +43.365
12 Alvaro BAUTISTA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +43.408
13 Mika KALLIO Pramac Racing Team +43.580

Not Classified
Loris CAPIROSSI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 7 Laps

Not Starting
Marco MELANDRI San Carlo Honda Gresini 0 Lap

A bit of a strange warm up for the MotoGP class at Silverstone. Very cold temperatures and a few crashes (Aoyama, Pedrosa) shook up the order a little bit. Alvaro made steady progress throughout the session, but never came close to yesterday’s laptime. However, he finished the warm up in 14th position and over a second ahead of his teammate Capirossi. So despite his injuries Alvaro at least seems to be able to deal with the problems of the Suzuki a bit better than his teammate for the moment.

Full results Warm UP

Pos. Rider Team Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 Casey STONER Ducati Team 2’04.711
2 Jorge LORENZO Fiat Yamaha Team 2’04.820 0.109 / 0.109
3 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 2’05.019 0.308 / 0.199
4 Randy DE PUNIET LCR Honda MotoGP 2’05.267 0.556 / 0.248
5 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team 2’05.682 0.971 / 0.415
6 Ben SPIES Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2’05.772 1.061 / 0.090
7 Marco MELANDRI San Carlo Honda Gresini 2’05.817 1.106 / 0.045
8 Marco SIMONCELLI San Carlo Honda Gresini 2’05.873 1.162 / 0.056
9 Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2’06.493 1.782 / 0.620
10 Aleix ESPARGARO Pramac Racing Team 2’06.686 1.975 / 0.193
11 Mika KALLIO Pramac Racing Team 2’06.815 2.104 / 0.129
12 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 2’07.457 2.746 / 0.642
13 Hector BARBERA Paginas Amarillas Aspar 2’07.801 3.090 / 0.344
14 Alvaro BAUTISTA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2’08.336 3.625 / 0.535
15 Loris CAPIROSSI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2’09.565 4.854 / 1.229
16 Hiroshi AOYAMA Interwetten Honda MotoGP 2’14.475 9.764 / 4.910

Rizla Suzuki suffered a tough qualifying session during its home Grand Prix at Silverstone in England today as a lack of grip in the cool temperatures left both riders with a mountain to climb on race-day.

Loris Capirossi (P14. 2’05.821, 23 laps) and Álvaro Bautista (P15. 2’06.607, 21 laps) will start side-by-side on the fifth row of the grip after failing to get the grip they both wanted from their Suzuki GSV-Rs to produce competitive qualifying laps. They both suffered with similar issues and will have a tough task ahead of them in tomorrow’s 20-lap race to get up amongst the front-runners at the start of race.

A strong cooling wind that blew around the 5,902m Silverstone circuit kept air temperatures down to 16ºC and track temperatures at a lowly 27ºC. World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo set the fastest time of the day and will start tomorrow’s race from pole position.
The first motorcycle Grand Prix to be held at Silverstone since 1986 gets underway at 13.00hrs (12.00hrs GMT) on Sunday afternoon with both Capirossi and Bautista hoping for an increase in the temperatures and the sun to shine through to give them an opportunity of being competitive in front of the team’s home crowd.

Álvaro Bautista:
“We have had some problems with the cold conditions, especially this morning as it was almost impossible to ride the bike because both tyres were going away in the corners and I just couldn’t control the bike. This afternoon we changed the bike a lot and put some more weight on the rear tyre to try and get more warmth in it, it was better – but still not enough. I still feel that when I enter the corner I can’t go in too fast as I don’t have enough grip. We will try something else in warm-up tomorrow to get the best setting for the race and we hope that the sun comes out and the conditions will warm up because if it is cold it will be very difficult to ride.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“We have improved a little bit during qualifying but ultimately the result is as bad as it looks on paper. Some changes to the chassis and swing-arm that Suzuki made over the winter were designed to improve our rear grip in cooler conditions, but we haven’t ridden all year in the same temperatures as we have experienced here at Silverstone. Unfortunately the step in rear grip is nowhere near what we need to help the guys to be competitive. The riders can control the bike on the corner exits, but a lack of rear grip into the corner is something that really spoils confidence and makes it difficult to get a good rhythm. The team is working hard to solve this situation, but we need something fundamental from the factory to improve the problem we are experiencing here.”

Much better qualifying for Alvaro compared to this morning’s free practice. He had two flying laps at the very end of the session where he improved his previous laptimes over a second and finally managed to leave the last position and move into 15th, ahead of Kallio and right behind his teammate Loris Capirossi.
Interviews with Paul Denning during the session indicate that the Suzuki crew has considerable problems at the British circuit due to the low temperatures which has always been a weak point for the Suzuki. The equally slow laptimes of Loris Capirossi are proof of that.
However, with still lingering injuries affecting him and a far-from-perfect bike Alvaro’s done the best he could in qualifying and it’s slightly encouraging to see that he’s not last. We will see how much his fighting spirit might move him up the order in the race tomorrow.

Full results MotoGP qualifying

Pos. Rider Team Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 Jorge LORENZO Fiat Yamaha Team 2’03.308
2 Randy DE PUNIET LCR Honda MotoGP 2’03.434 0.126 / 0.126
3 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 2’03.586 0.278 / 0.152
4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team 2’03.995 0.687 / 0.409
5 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 2’04.332 1.024 / 0.337
6 Casey STONER Ducati Team 2’04.394 1.086 / 0.062
7 Ben SPIES Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2’04.477 1.169 / 0.083
8 Marco MELANDRI San Carlo Honda Gresini 2’04.555 1.247 / 0.078
9 Marco SIMONCELLI San Carlo Honda Gresini 2’04.868 1.560 / 0.313
10 Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2’05.035 1.727 / 0.167
11 Hector BARBERA Paginas Amarillas Aspar 2’05.354 2.046 / 0.319
12 Hiroshi AOYAMA Interwetten Honda MotoGP 2’05.712 2.404 / 0.358
13 Aleix ESPARGARO Pramac Racing Team 2’05.748 2.440 / 0.036
14 Loris CAPIROSSI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2’05.821 2.513 / 0.073
15 Alvaro BAUTISTA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2’06.607 3.299 / 0.786
16 Mika KALLIO Pramac Racing Team 2’06.980 3.672 / 0.373