DOUBLE PODIUM FOR RIZLA SUZUKI
Chris Vermeulen and
John Hopkins raced their Rizla Suzuki GSV-R’s to second and third
places respectively, to give Suzuki its first double podium in the
MotoGP era, at Misano in Italy today.
Starting from the middle of the third row Vermeulen got a great
start and was in fourth place by the first corner. He made up a further
place during the first lap as he passed seven-time World Champion
Valentino Rossi, and then set about chasing team-mate Hopkins.
Hopkins had had an equally good start and was straight into second
place, close behind eventual winner Casey Stoner. Hopkins and Vermeulen
traded fastest laps over the first six laps of the race before
Vermeulen caught and overtook his team-mate on lap six. Rizla Suzuki’s
Australian star closed the gap on his fellow countryman Stoner, but was
eventually unable to reel in the runaway championship leader.
A crowd of just over 57,000 bathed in glorious sunshine as they
witnessed Suzuki’s first double podium since 2001. The Team has now
moved up into third position in the Team’s Championship and is only two
points away from second place. Vermeulen and Hopkins both consolidated
their fourth and fifth places in the rider’s classification and moved
even closer to Dani Pedrosa in third after he failed to finish today,
having crashed on the first lap.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will now stay in Misano for a full day of
testing tomorrow before heading off to the next round of the MotoGP
World Championship, to be held at Estoril in Portugal on Sunday 16th September.
Chris Vermeulen:
“I am very happy to be on the podium. I said earlier this year that
there would be two Rizla Suzukis on there before the end of the year,
and I am very pleased to have been proved right. Obviously I’m happy to
be in front of John, but congratulations to him and the whole team on
this great result. We had no data on the bikes before we came here and
Suzuki and Bridgestone have both done a great job to give us such a
fantastic package for a new circuit. I got a good start from the third
row, which was nice because I was dreading starting back there as it is
so difficult to pass around here. I got up to fourth early on, but I
still had to pass John and Valentino – two of the hardest guys in the
paddock to get around. After I got through them I tried to catch Casey
and thought I was doing so, but I think I used up a bit too much of my
rear tyre trying to catch him and at the end he pulled away a bit. Once
again I would like to pass on my thanks to Tom and all my crew, plus
all the guys at Bridgestone for this weekend.”
John Hopkins:
“What can I say, two Rizla Suzukis on the podium so that isn’t too
bad a day! I got a great start which was crucial and I was lucky to
avoid the accident at turn one. I wanted to hang on to Casey early on
for as long as I could, the Bridgestone tyres worked really well right
from the start and the bike also felt good. I had an incident when I
pushed a bit too hard coming in to a fast right and had a big front-end
slide. That cost me some time as it spooked me up a bit and because of
that my lap-times dropped off. I could hear Chris behind me, he came up
the inside and passed me - I knew he had a strong pace and I tried to
hang on to him. I hung on for as long as possible until I had a problem
with a knee-slider that came loose and I had to take it off and put it
back on! That is neither here nor there though, Chris and Casey rode at
a hell of a pace and I didn’t really have anything for them. I’m happy
to get this position for the Team and for Suzuki. It’s a great
performance today and now we’ll be pushing tomorrow to try and make
more improvements. Then it’s on to Estoril where I have very high
hopes!”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“Today represents another landmark in Suzuki’s return to
competitiveness in MotoGP. It’s the first time since 2001 that two
Suzukis have been on the podium and the first time ever since the
introduction of the four-stroke regulations. It’s a reflection on the
hard work put in by Suzuki, the crew, the riders, Bridgestone and all
our technical partners. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP is now only two points
behind Fiat Yamaha in the Team Championship, and with the performances
shown recently by both of the riders we could possibly take second
place over the coming races. It also gives us great confidence as we
look to build on these results into 2008.I want to say well done to
everybody involved, great job guys.
“Rizla Suzuki would also like to congratulate Casey Stoner on
another unbelievable performance today. There has been a lot of
nonsense spoken in MotoGP this year regarding tyre regulations, engine
performance, etc. etc. I believe that the difference at the moment is
Casey and we’re focusing our best efforts to improve our own
performance to beat him and that’s what everybody should be doing at
this time!”
GP Cinzano Di San Marino E Riviera Di Rimini Race Classification:
1. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 44’34.720: 2. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +4.851: 3. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +16.002: 4. Marco Melandri (Honda) +22.737: 5. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) +24.787:
World Championship Classification:
1. Stoner 271: 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 186: 3. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 168: 4. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 144: 5. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 140:
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