Motourage

It has been an unproductive day in the Netherlands for most of the MotoGP World Championship teams. Heavy rain at the Assen TT circuit this morning made conditions very difficult for all classes, but two separate oil leaks from riders in the Moto2 field caused a large spillage over a significant part of the 4,542m Dutch circuit. The organizers tried to clear the surface with a mixture of detergent and water, but conditions were too dangerous for the remaining practice sessions to take place. A decision by race control was taken to cancel all of this afternoon’s events and allow time to get the track prepared and safe for tomorrow.

Rizla Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista (P13, 1’53.164, 15 laps) was left very disappointed at the news of the cancellation, as he had a major setting change to test on his Suzuki GSV-R this afternoon, to try help him find the grip he was looking for in the wet. He struggled to find similar levels of grip here at Assen this morning to those he had in Silverstone two weeks ago and was eagerly anticipating this afternoon’s session to try and solve the problem.

Bautista and Rizla Suzuki will now have an extended 90-minute practice session tomorrow morning, before the all-important qualifying in the afternoon. This weekend’s 26-lap race is scheduled for 15.00hrs local time (13.00hrs GMT) on Saturday, June 25.

Álvaro Bautista:
“In this morning’s wet conditions I had a lot of problems with rear grip and I just didn’t have the confidence in the corners to open the gas early enough. We tried another setting in the session, but I didn’t have a good feeling with that either. This afternoon we wanted to test a completely different setting, but after what happened on the track in the Moto2 class it has made this impossible. We have a couple of sessions tomorrow and I hope that I can resolve this problem, because I really need to get the same feedback from the bike as I had at Silverstone in the last race.”

Paul Denning, Team Manager:
“None of the teams will be happy that FP2 was cancelled this afternoon, but we definitely needed it to go ahead as we hadn’t found the same grip feeling in the rain as we achieved at Silverstone two weeks ago. There was a quite radical set-up on one of the bikes – which was to be tried this afternoon – to hopefully help or solve the problem, but we will now have to sit down and decide the best way forward. Fortunately, we now have an extended session tomorrow morning to find a decent setting so that hopefully we can be in the best shape possible to qualify the bike in the afternoon.”

Iveco TT Assen Free Practice Classification:
1. Marco Simoncelli (Honda) 1’49.036
2. Valentino Rossi (Ducati) +0.360
3. Casey Stoner (Honda) +0.491
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +0.604
5. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +0.959
13. ÁLVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZKI MOTOGP) +4.128:

Rizla Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista made an astonishing comeback to MotoGP action at the Estoril Circuit in Portugal today just six weeks after breaking his left femur in Qatar.

Bautista (P17, 1’40.173, 40 laps) has made an amazing recovery to be fit enough to ride at this weekend’s bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal. The Spaniard showed a true racer’s courage around the 4,182m Portuguese circuit to complete today’s two sessions. After finishing the first free practice session this morning – with a time only 0.03” behind his best lap time from last year at Estoril – Bautista made a further step up in his performance during the afternoon session. He finished the first day’s practice only 2.5” away from the quickest rider of the day – Marco Simoncelli on a Honda – and almost 0.5” inside his best time from 2010.

Bautista had no ill effects from the serious injury he suffered last month and will rest his leg this evening after receiving some physiotherapy from the Clinica Mobile. He is eager to make sure that he is a fit as possible for tomorrow’s final free practice in the morning and the afternoon’s qualifying session and is in a good condition for Sunday.

Sunday’s 28-lap race is the third round of the MotoGP championship and the main event gets underway at 13:00hrs local time (12:00hrs GMT).

Álvaro Bautista:
“I am very happy because I think that nobody expected that after little more than one month I would be able to jump on the bike and ride! When I broke my femur my target was to ride here and I worked very hard to make it happen. I did many kilometers every day between Talavera and Madrid, for my visits to the hyperbaric chamber and for the physiotherapy that I needed – now I can say that I am here and I am riding because of that! I am still not 100%, because I need some more power in my leg, but to be able to ride and get a feeling for the bike and the reference points around the track in my mind to be a MotoGP rider, I am certainly fit enough. I went one second faster this afternoon than I did this morning and my feeling on the bike was very similar, I was just a bit more confident so I could push more. I didn’t want to risk anything today, it was all about riding and getting a feeling – I didn’t want to push too hard to find that fast lap-time. I am improving every time I get on the bike so that makes things look good for the rest of the weekend. My leg is a bit stiff now so I will need to recover and get a bit of work on it this evening, but it recovered quickly after this morning’s session, so I don’t think that will be a problem. I think my body is also remembering how to ride a MotoGP bike as well as my mind is, so that is a very positive thing. I want to say a big thank-you to all the team for all the confidence they have shown in me. They all know that it is difficult for me to get to my maximum level, but they have given me their full support – so thanks to all of them for that.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“Performance is usually only measured by lap-time and position, but today’s performance by Álvaro rates amongst the best we’ve seen at Rizla Suzuki over the last few years. The effort and commitment that he has made to get his body into a good enough condition to ride a Grand Prix bike in such a short time is simply outstanding – he needs to be applauded for his bravery! We didn’t use the softer rear tire this afternoon, which was undoubtedly the one needed to improve the lap-time, because Álvaro simply concentrated on getting the feeling back and recovering his confidence – we have to remember that the last time he was on the bike was not a particularly pleasant experience! The decision to ride this weekend was wholly Álvaro’s and so far it has proven to be the right one. Today was the first step in his recovery back to a competitive level.”

bwin Grande Premio de Portugal Combined Free Practice Times:
1. Marco Simoncelli (Honda) 1’37.663: 2. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +0.061: 3. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) +0.064: 4. Valentino Rossi (Ducati) +0.439: 4=. Casey Stoner (Honda) +0.439: 17. ÁLVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +2.510:

Rizla Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista has been medically cleared to ride at this weekend’s bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal, following tests at the Estoril Circuit today.

Bautista was examined by Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sarmento, and after a thorough assessment of the Spaniard’s condition, he was deemed fit to return to action with immediate effect.

Bautista broke his left femur at Qatar only 41 days ago and will make an incredible return to MotoGP action tomorrow morning in the first free-practice session, where he will also assess his own on-bike fitness. If he is unable to continue for the remainder of the weekend, Rizla Suzuki has Factory test rider Nobuatsu Aoki available to deputize.

Álvaro Bautista:
“I am really pleased I have been given the ok to ride, but I must now see what it feels like to get on a MotoGP bike. I have a done a bit of Supermotard riding and that felt good, but that is nothing like riding the GSV-R. I will see how things go tomorrow morning and we will make a decision about the rest of the weekend after that.”

Rizla Suzuki’s Alvaro Bautista is targeting an amazing return to the MotoGP arena at this weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix, just 42 days after breaking his left femur.

Bautista has been undergoing intensive physiotherapy to make sure he is at a sufficient level of fitness to be able to take to the track on Friday – following a full medical to determine his ability to compete. If he is unable to ride at a competitive level, Rizla Suzuki will have Factory test rider Nobuatsu Aoki on stand-by to take over if he has to withdraw from the event – but Bautista’s clear target is to compete in the Grand Prix.

Rizla Suzuki’s GSV-R will feature a new logo in Estoril – “Change and Challenge” – which is used by Suzuki in the Asian regions to promote its new range of motorcycle products in these markets. Rizla Suzuki hopes to engage with the enthusiasm and passion of all MotoGP fans in these areas and it appreciates all the support of Bautista as he undertakes what is certainly a huge challenge in his comeback from serious injury.

The Estoril circuit is a track of contrasts, where some fast corners in its 13-turn configuration mix with an almost kilometer-long straight and one of the slowest sections of the year. Situated on a rocky outcrop high above the towns of Estoril and Cascais, the circuit is only six kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean and this can give rise to some very changeable weather, a fact that was emphasized in 2010 when torrential rain caused the cancellation of the qualifying session.

Bautista plans to take to the track on Friday morning for the first of two free-practice sessions. Saturday will see a final practice in the morning, followed by an hour-long qualifying session in the afternoon where he aims to be qualifying for the best grid position he can obtain. Sunday’s race is round three of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship and the 28-lap race gets underway at 13.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).

Álvaro Bautista:
“I have been working very hard to be back in time for Estoril and I believe I will be able to take part in the race. I know it will be difficult, but I think the sooner I can get on the bike the more it will aid my total recovery and help my way to full fitness. I have travelled over 4,500km with many journeys to the hyperbaric chamber in Madrid to assist with my healing – I have been there so many times I could close my eyes and go without problems! I have now finished the rehabilitation phase and started on the physical preparation; this involves a lot of swimming, cycling and other fitness programs to build up the strength so I can ride again. It is going to be really tough, but I am totally focused on being on the GSV-R in Portugal, it’s all I can think about at the moment and that is my first goal. After that we’ll see what happens and take everything one step at a time.”

John Hopkins battles with Cardion AB Ducati rookie Karel Abraham

Rizla Suzuki’s John Hopkins raced his Suzuki GSV-R to a stunning top-10 finish at Jerez today in his first MotoGP race since 2008.

Hopkins started from 14th on the grid and got a good start that promoted him up the field on the first lap. As the riders settled down, he became part of a six-rider battle for eighth place and was regularly trading positions as the race developed. With the final few laps looming, Hopkins had extreme grip issues, causing him to lose some hard earned positions, but he still managed to keep a steady momentum and, as other riders were struggling to stay upright, Hopkins rode a smooth and controlled last part of the race to secure a well-deserved 10th position for the Rizla Suzuki team.
A crowd of 123,750 fans braved the rain that started to fall on the Jerez circuit from early in the morning. An eventful race saw many riders crash and remount in the difficult conditions, and early leaders Casey Stoner and Marco Simoncelli crash out of the race completely – along with three other riders who were unable to continue after crashing. Local hero and reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo rode to a convincing victory of more 19 seconds from compatriot Dani Pedrosa.

Rizla Suzuki will next be in action at the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril on Sunday, May 1, although nothing has yet been confirmed as to who will replace regular rider Álvaro Bautista if he is unable to compete due to the injury he sustained at Qatar.

John Hopkins:
“Well, I finished where I wanted to – I certainly wanted to get into the top-10! That was the goal for the whole weekend, but I did wonder if it was going to be a reality when I started on Friday. We pushed right from the start of practice and chipped away little-by-little to bring the lap-time down and just went about the job as professionally as possible. My main target at the start of the race was to try and jump up as many places as possible and get up into the group, because I knew that if I was in there I would be able to follow some guys and do the lap-times. We made up some positions early on, although I dropped back a few places and made a few mistakes – including a huge moment in turn three when I lost the rear and hit the paint – the bike was 90º sideways underneath me, when I should have been going forward! I was able to keep it upright and hang on to a group that included a couple of Ducati’s and some other guys in a battle for eighth. Then suddenly the tires dropped off a lot, but this was my first time in the wet for a while on a MotoGP bike and I’d never used the Bridgestone wets, so we didn’t have the electronics set completely in the right way and I chewed up the tire way too much at the beginning of the race. I dropped off the pace quite dramatically for the last part of the race and I saw many riders crashing, so I knew I was close to the top-10, but my main aim was to finish and bring the bike home.
“It has been an amazing weekend and I’m so grateful – again – to Rizla Suzuki for giving me this great opportunity, it’s been great and I’ve really enjoyed it, just to see everybody in the GP paddock has been awesome! Hopefully in the future you’ll see more of me here, but for now I need to concentrate on the BSB championship and we’ll see what happens. I once again want to say how thankful I am for this chance and it was great to see my ‘away-from-home family’ in the Suzuki garage again.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“John said to me yesterday that a top-10 would be a dream result in his comeback ride and to achieve it was richly deserved. He’s not put a wheel wrong all weekend, made no mistakes and shown clearly both his potential and that of the GSV-R. The race itself was crazy and just to keep the bike on two wheels for the last third of the race was an achievement in itself. It’s actually a shame that we used up the tires more quickly than some of our competitors, because for the first 10-laps John was in a six-way battle for eighth place and quite comfortably matching the lap-times and maneuvers of those around him. It’s the first time the 2011 bike has been used in the wet so the data from today should allow Suzuki and the team to make the bike a little more user friendly on the tires. I would like to pass on my personal thanks to John for the fantastic job he did here in Jerez, he showed true professionalism and it was a pleasure to have him back in the team.

“It was also great to have Álvaro here this weekend to support the team; we really appreciate his efforts to drive down from Madrid. He’s looking well and the recovery is going in the right direction. We hope to make an announcement regarding our plans at the next two races as soon as possible.”

Gran Premio bwin de Espana Race Classification:
1. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 50.49.046: 2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) +19.339: 2. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) +29.085: 4. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda) +29.551: 5. Valentino Rossi (Ducati) +1’02.227: 10. John Hopkins (Suzuki) +1’48.395:

World Championship Classification:
1. Lorenzo 45: 2. Pedrosa 36: 3. Casey Stoner (Honda) 25: 4. Hayden 23: 5. Rossi 20: 15. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 6:

John Hopkins will be rolling back the years as he makes a return to MotoGP with the Rizla Suzuki team at this weekend’s Gran Premio bwin de Espana in Jerez.

Hopkins will be back with the team that he last rode for in 2007, when he took a podium position in his final race in Rizla Suzuki colors to secure fourth place in that season’s world championship. The Californian’s inclusion in the Suzuki squad is due to the enforced absence of regular rider Álvaro Bautista, who is recovering in Spain following surgery on the broken left femur that he suffered during the first event of the season in Qatar. Hopkins has now fully recovered from a wrist injury that almost ended his career last season and is currently in the middle of pre-season testing for the British Superbike Championship with the Samsung Crescent Racing team, where he is looking to re-build his form and make a full-time return to the world stage.

Jerez is one of the best attended Grands Prix on the calendar – nearly quarter-of-a-million people visited the 4,423-meter (2.748-mile) circuit throughout the three days of last year’s event. The fans that pack the grandstands serve up one of the most intense atmospheres experienced anywhere on the MotoGP calendar, and the track produces some great racing due to its undulating layout, hard-braking corners and endless camber changes, all adding to a colorful and exciting event.

Hopkins will take to the track on Friday for two free practice sessions, followed by another free practice session on Saturday morning and then the hour-long qualifying session in the afternoon to determine grid positions for Sunday 27-lap race, which gets underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).
Rizla Suzuki also hopes to welcome Bautista to Jerez as he plans to visit the race – unfortunately as a spectator – while he continues on his road to recovery. The Spanish star is making rapid improvements from the operation to repair his broken thigh bone and is hoping to make a return the racing action at the earliest possible opportunity.

John Hopkins:
“I was shocked by what happened to Álvaro, especially after such good winter testing, and I really wish him a speedy and full recovery – I wanted the opportunity to get back on a MotoGP bike, but not under these circumstances. I’m under no illusions that this will be tough weekend for me, as I’ve not been on a GP machine for a couple of years or ridden the new control tires – except for the filming I did in Qatar a couple of weeks ago – so I realize this will be a step up from what I have been riding recently. The bikes have moved on in the last three years, but when I rode the GSV-R at Losail it seemed so familiar and I immediately had a good feeling, but that was at filming pace, so it’s going to be a lot different at race pace! I know the Jerez track well, so it’s not like I need to learn a new circuit and I also know the team well so that that will help a lot. I will certainly be trying as hard as I can to get a good result and make sure that I don’t disappoint anybody – myself included. I want to say a big thank-you to Suzuki and Rizla for giving me this opportunity and I intend to pay back their faith with a good performance on my return to MotoGP.”

Rizla Suzuki will not be able to replace the injured Alvaro Bautista in tomorrow’s Qatar Grand Prix, after exhausting all possible scenarios to get the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R on the grid.

Alvaro Bautista's motorcycle sat in a vacant garage during today's qualifying sessions

The two riders most likely to replace Bautista – who broke his femur yesterday – are both unavailable; with John Hopkins in America and unable to get to Qatar in time; and Nobuatsu Aoki in Japan where travel is very difficult due the terrible earthquake and tsunami tragedy that struck his country last week. The Suzuki management also made tentative approaches to several Moto2 riders that have MotoGP experience, but none of these riders were available due to commitments to their respective teams for the first race of the season.

Hopkins will join the team for the next round of the season at Jerez in Spain as a replacement for Bautista – while the Spaniard continues on his road to recovery.

Bautista is comfortable in hospital following the surgery to pin his left femur this morning. He plans to return to Spain early next week to begin his recuperation with a view to being back in MotoGP as soon as possible.

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“The 2011 season hasn’t yet started and to have this huge disappointment already is very difficult to deal with. The winter tests have been consistent and competitive, especially bearing in mind Alvaro’s ‘race-day’ mentality and his love of fighting with the other guys rather than just riding – we always expect more from him in the races than in the tests, so everything was looking good. The reason for the crash was quite simple – pushing too hard in this section without enough temperature in the new tire – very similar to Rossi’s accident in Mugello last year. But the real reasons behind that – maybe feeling some pressure after losing track time on Thursday night with the arm pump, wanting to get back into the top group of lap-times as soon as possible – are more complex and unfortunately Alvaro paid a heavy price. This sport is very extreme and the edge between success and disaster is very small. We are all disappointed, but he is the poor guy in hospital with a pin in his femur and a tough recuperation ahead. He has the strength of character and determination to come back from this, and on his behalf we’d like to thank everybody for their kind wishes and support, especially the doctors and staff of the Clinica Mobile who came to the hospital at 2am last night to check on the situation and lend their valuable advice and assistance.

“With regard to the Qatar GP, we really wanted to find a suitable rider and have the Rizla Suzuki on the grid tomorrow but the logistics for John or Nobu simply didn’t allow it. Also, the Moto2 teams who have riders with MotoGP experience, that we discussed the option with, were understandably reluctant to release a rider at the first round of the Championship. Our reason to explore these options was simply to support the Championship, Rizla and all our partners, but ultimately it is a huge ask to expect any rider to jump for only qualifying and the race and expect too much – safety and common sense have to play their part as well and we fully respect those decisions.

“John isn’t happy with what happened to Alvaro, but I know he will do a solid job for us in Jerez and we are hoping to arrange a shakedown test beforehand. Alvaro’s comeback timing isn’t clear and John has BSB commitments that clash with Estoril and Le Mans, so we need to wait a while before any decisions for those races are made.

“Thanks to all Alvaro’s and the team’s well-wishers; we greatly appreciate it and we will do everything we can to recover quickly from this situation.”

The 2011 Rizla Suzuki GSV-R today makes its worldwide premiere in its new livery.

The machine, which Alvaro Bautista will be riding in this season’s MotoGP World Championship, is the final generation of the 800cc GSV-R four-stroke prototype, due to the change in capacity limit to 1000cc next season. The latest – and most technologically advanced version of Suzuki’s MotoGP challenger -features an engine that has improved on its horsepower, drivability and durability through many detailed development changes throughout winter and preseason testing. It also features improved acceleration characteristics – especially out of slower corners – to assist Bautista in his challenge for MotoGP glory.

To complement the upgraded engine specifications, Suzuki has also improved the chassis performance by significant developments to the stiffness balance of frame and swing-arm and has optimized the weight-balance geometries from last season’s machine: These updates to the chassis have been paired with the most-advanced ECU software ever used on a Suzuki Grand Prix machine to give Bautista more precise traction and wheelie-control without losing direct machine control or power; adding to the versatility of the GSV-R in all conditions.

The 2011 Rizla Suzuki GSV-R also features revised Troy Lee Designs-inspired livery; incorporating a new, contemporary and dynamic Rizla logo that will be launched by the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team.

The 2011 Rizla Suzuki GSV-R will make its official debut during this weekend’s final pre-season test at Qatar, before making its racing debut – also at Qatar – on Sunday, March 20.
Read more…