Rizla Suzuki will have a solo representative at this weekend’s Motorland Aragón Grand Prix in Spain with Álvaro Bautista flying the flag after Loris Capirossi was ruled out with a hand injury.

Bautista will be competing in his third ‘home’ GP of the season after the Aragón round was included in the 2010 calendar as a replacement for the cancelled Hungarian race. The 25-year-old Spaniard is based near Madrid and will have plenty of native support from his countrymen, as he plans to build on his two promising performances in the last two races.

Capirossi has been forced to miss the race due to the injury sustained in the first lap collision with Nicky Hayden in Misano. The surgery to re-attach the tendon to his right-hand little finger is healing well but, on the advice of his surgeon, he must keep it immobilised for at least another week in order to avoid damaging the repair.

Aragón is a brand new venue on the MotoGP schedule and the riders will be given an extra session to acclimatise themselves with the 5,078m track, as the Friday morning free practice is re-introduced into the timetable. The Motorland Aragón circuit is situated near Alcaniz, approximately 120kms from Zaragoza. The track was built in 2009 and features seven right-hand and 10 left-hand corners over its anti-clockwise layout. The longest straight is just under a kilometre in length and with a selection of flowing curves, tight hairpins and fast sweeping bends the circuit looks like providing plenty of entertainment.

Rizla Suzuki will take to the track on Friday morning for a free practice session, followed by further practice in the afternoon and on Saturday morning. Bautista will battle it out on Saturday afternoon in the qualifying session to secure his grid position for the race. Sunday’s main event will cover 23 laps and gets underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).

Álvaro Bautista:
“I am really excited about this race as it is a new circuit for everyone and we are all starting from the same place. It will be good to have an extra practice on the Friday so we can get the bike set-up and start to learn the track as soon as possible. We went there earlier in the year for a PR event and rode some street bikes around the circuit; it is a great facility and one that I am looking forward to racing at. It is a shame for Loris that he won’t be here and it puts more responsibility on me as I’m the only Rizla Suzuki rider, but I am determined to get a good result for the whole team in front of another home crowd for me.”

Loris Capirossi:
“I am extremely disappointed not to be racing at Aragón, but the surgeon has told me to rest the hand for another week. I am still feeling a bit of pain and I’m going to the hospital every day to have the wound cleaned and dressed, so although I could possibly be able to ride I wouldn’t be fit enough and it might jeopardise my attendance and competitiveness at Motegi if I did – so it’s best to stay at home. I wish Álvaro all the best for the weekend and hope that he gets a good result for us – we certainly need one. I’ll be back for the trio of races next month and will be looking to get some good results at circuits where I know we can go well.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

Fresh from their season’s best race so far in Catalunya on Sunday there was not much rest for Rizla Suzuki riders Alvaro Bautista and Loris Capirossi to enjoy their great 5th and 7th places.
Instead they paid a visit to the replacement MotoGP circuit for 2010, Motorland Argon, where they did a few test laps around the track in a promotional event for Suzuki and seemed happy enough with what they found at the Spanish circuit.

Alvaro Bautista: “It’s a very fun circuit where you can enjoy racing, because they improved the safety. The run off areas are huge and there’s lots of tarmac and gravel which makes it possible to risk a bit more.”

Loris Capirossi: “The circuit has a lot of beautiful and very difficult corners. Especially the last corner coming onto the finish line is incredible. It’s a very fast and fun corner.”

The visit of the MotoGP riders is only the starting point of a very busy week at the circuit near Alcaniz. Tomorrow (Tuesday, July 6th) an official two-day test for the 125cc and Moto2 class will be held at the circuit, giving the championship riders the first opportunity to have a close look at the new circuit.

Following the IRTA test the track will host the fourth round of the hotly disputed Spanich Championship as well.

Source: Motorland Aragon

The third round of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship will see Rizla Suzuki riders Loris Capirossi and Álvaro Bautista competing at the famous Le Mans circuit in France this weekend.

Following the floodlit extravaganza of Qatar and the hedonistic atmosphere of Jerez, the MotoGP cavalcade now heads to one of the most heritage-laden tracks on any motor-racing calendar. The 4,185m Bugatti circuit that is used for MotoGP was completed in 1966 and uses a part of the world-famous Circuit de la Sarthe that has hosted the 24-hour race since 1923. The twisty layout of the circuit is in complete contrast to an incredibly fast first turn that is taken almost flat-out in top-gear. The French GP is always a colourful and lively affair with as many events happening off-track as there are on.

Capirossi and Bautista have both had limited success at Le Mans and will be looking to make amends for that this weekend. Capirossi was on the podium at the French circuit in 2006 and has never finished outside the top 10 in a completed race there. Bautista has never scored a podium finish at Le Mans – the only track on the calendar that he has raced at where he has failed to achieve such a feat.

Bautista will hopefully be fit enough to race at Le Mans on Sunday despite breaking his clavicle bone in a training accident last week. He underwent a successful hour-long operation and his surgeons have given him the all-clear to compete in France.

Rizla Suzuki takes to the track on Friday 21st May for the first free practice session of the weekend. This will be followed by a second session on Saturday morning, with an hour of qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday’s 28-lap race will get underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).

Loris Capirossi:
“I really need to get on track again as it seems like the season is yet to get going, it’s amazing to think we’re almost in June and we’ve only done two races! With such little action it is difficult to judge where we are at the moment, but the one-day test after the last race in Jerez was very good for us and we made some positive steps. Le Mans is always a gamble because you never know what weather to expect – we have heard it should be good but you can’t always guarantee that so we will need to be ready for anything. On thing is for sure, I am ready to get back to work and excited about the prospects we have ahead – and I hope Alvaro is ready to ride, he is improving all the time and we need two strong riders.”

Álvaro Bautista:
“It seems like it has been a long time between the Jerez race and now and I want to get going again. Unfortunately for me I had a small accident last week and broke a bone in my shoulder. It has been repaired and although it is quite painful I am totally focused on the weekend ahead. Le Mans is not one of my favourite tracks and it is the only one that I have not had a podium at, so it would be great to change that as soon as possible! I was on pole there in 2009, but only finished fourth, so I need to try and break that record. I was 10th at Jerez and although I was top rookie I still want to do better. I didn’t get a very good start in Spain and I have to work on that, I did some practice in the test so I hope I will be able to improve in time for the race. Anyway, these are details – the most important thing is just to ride the bike, I will do my best”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

As we’ve reported earlier, Alvaro and teammate Loris Capirossi visited the new Silverstone track last week. Rizla Suzuki have now published a press release with a few more insights from the riders:

Rizla Suzuki racers Loris Capirossi and Álvaro Bautista joined members from the media at Silverstone in England recently to launch the build-up for next month’s MotoGP race.

Capirossi and Bautista rode Suzuki GSX-R1000 machines dressed in Rizla livery around the 5,902m circuit with the collective guests from the print, TV and internet worlds to give them a feel of the new layout at Silverstone. British Superbike Championship leader Tommy Hill was also on hand to give non-riding journalists a taste of what to expect when MotoGP comes to the Northamptonshire circuit next month. Hill gave them the adrenalin-fuelled opportunity of a pillion ride, whilst Capirossi and Bautista gave other journalists riding tips around the track. Ex-Suzuki racer and BBC TV presenter Steve Parrish was also at the event and rode a Suzuki RG500 from the era when two-wheeled Grand Prix bikes last raced at Silverstone.

Capirossi and Bautista were both really impressed with the work that has been done to make Silverstone the new home for British motorcycle racing, but are under no illusions that riding around the circuit will be a completely different affair when the MotoGP circus rolls into town for the fifth round of the 2010 season on Sunday 20th June.

Loris Capirossi:
“It was really interesting to go to Silverstone for a press day and see the new circuit. I was very impressed with what they have done and apart from a couple of corners it is very fast so I think it will be nice to ride there. I’ll have extra motivation when we come back for the race; it will be like a home Grand Prix for my crew because most of my team come from the UK and we will really be trying to do a great job when we get here. We were able to do a couple of laps on Suzuki GSX-Rs and it was a bit bumpy, but I still think it will be good to ride a MotoGP bike there. For the spectators it will also be really good because it looks like they will be really close to the action. The British fans always have a big passion – just like in Spain or Italy – and it will be great for me to race at Silverstone for the first time and I think there will be a big crowd. When we come to a new racetrack there is always a lot of interest to see what will happen and I am sure it will be the same at Silverstone.”

Álvaro Bautista:
“This is a very nice track and it seems very fast, there are also some very slow corners, but overall I think it will be very fast. There are some bumps in some of the corners as well, but I am sure when we come here for the Grand Prix that will be sorted. It is a big track and there will be opportunities for overtaking, so the racing should be good. We used some Suzuki GSX-R’s today and they have a lot more movement than our MotoGP bikes, so we couldn’t really tell what it will be like to ride here at racing speeds. I think it will be a very good MotoGP circuit and I am really looking forward to racing here.”

Source: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

Alvaro and his teammate Loris Capirossi had a little track day at Silverstone yesterday, going around the new MotoGP track with scooters and BSB bikes in Rizla colours.

The two riders, teammates at MotoGP’s only UK-based team, were joined by BBC presenters Steve Parrish and Jennie Gow, Worx Crescent Suzuki British Superbike rider Tommy Hill as well as Prodigy frontman Keith Flint and Stereophonics bass player Richie Jones to experience the Silverstone circuit first hand.

Loris Capirossi:
“The layout is really interesting and not so easy, but it’s beautiful – if a bit bumpy in places. I think it’s really interesting to do the race at Silverstone. It is completely different compared to Donington – this is a really quick track and I think for MotoGP it’s great. It’s really, really wide, so not so easy to find the best line to go quick, which is good. For sure we have many places where we can overtake.”

Alvaro Bautista:
“It is very nice and very quick. I like it very much. Some very fast and some hard braking and slow corners. It will be very interesting to come here in June. There are a lot of fifth and sixth gear corners, so I am looking forward to it. Surely it will be a very close race, we are only 17 riders, but we are very close in laptimes, so I think it will be a hard-fought race and I hope I can fight with them.”

BBC commentator Steve Parrish, who got to ride around the new circuit on the RG500 he rode in the 1977 Silverstone British Grand Prix, had been consulted on the circuit’s layout and was pleased that the track matched his expectations.

“It’s excellent! I have to say I’m still learning it – it’s going to be one of those circuits that will take time to learn, which is great because that makes it more interesting. I love the old Woodcote. I just remember it – it’s like being here 25 years ago when I used to race here. It’s a proper man’s corner. And the left section (Farm Curve) before Village, again very, very interesting – terrific corner.
Bridgestone are going to have to do their sums because it’s going to be hard on tyres, which again is really good because it means that it’s about which rider can control their tyre wear as much as anything else. Straight away I can think of five different places I can pass – I don’t think any other circuit [offers] that many places to pass. The facilities are also impressive. Terrific run-off areas – very, very safe. And even riding around, you’re looking thinking ‘wow’ the spectators are going to have a great view. There are certain areas you can just imagine it – Pedrosa, Rossi, Stoner coming flying into the Luffield section, through Brooklands, Luffield and all round there. There are so many places to watch from. I think everyone’s going to have a ball here and really enjoy it.”

The new MotoGP face for BBC, Jennie Gow, also posted a picture on Twitter of Alvaro showing her the track on a Scooter, here.
And MCN posted a video summary of the day with a tiny bit of track footage with Alvaro and Loris at the very end here.

Press release and photo by Silverstone Circuits Limited.

The Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team has published two more very interesting videos on their website. Following a very cool concept they’ve let their riders Alvaro Bautista and Loris Capirossi interview each other about their career, riding style, MotoGP and more. Each interview is about 6 minutes long and well worth watching.

Video of Loris interviewing Alvaro here.

Video of Alvaro interviewing Loris here.

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.”