Rizla Suzuki MotoGP are already targeting next week’s Catalunya Grand Prix in Barcelona after a difficult race at the Dutch TT in Assen today left the team with a lot of work to do.
Loris Capirossi and Álvaro Bautista finished in 13th and 14th places respectively and this result was well below what they were expecting at the 4,542m Dutch circuit.
Capirossi struggled to get any feel from his Suzuki GSV-R as the issues that dogged him at Silverstone last week continued in the hotter temperatures of Assen. He was immediately working with his team after the race to assess the data and see how they can make the changes that will help the bike to be more competitive at Catalunya in just one week’s time.
Bautista did the best he could today as he struggled with his injured shoulder around the physically demanding circuit. He began the race in severe discomfort and although he tried to push hard he couldn’t find that strength to battle it out with other riders. He rode a lonely race before bringing his bike home safely after 26 gruelling laps.
The Dutch spectators filled the Assen circuit today for the 80th running of the Dutch TT; with 97,146 fans at trackside to witness Jorge Lorenzo take his second successive victory to increase his lead at the head of the riders’ championship.
Rizla Suzuki now makes the European cross-continental trip to Montmelo near Barcelona in Spain for the next round of the 2010 MotoGP World Championship, to be held at the Catalonian circuit on Sunday 4th July.
Loris Capirossi:
“I just don’t know what to say after this weekend – when I try to go quicker than I did today I feel like I will crash and when I try to make a race I end up almost last. The effort we are putting in is a lot and I am really angry and annoyed, because the whole team is trying really hard, we make so many changes to try to find the best solution and we just cannot find it. We just had no feeling at the start today and we needed three or four laps to get any kind of feel in the tyres, but by then it was too late. It is the same to finish 11th or 13th, both positions feel the same and it is just not good enough, we need to make some big changes for next weekend so we can try to be more competitive.”
Álvaro Bautista:
“This has been a very bad race for us for a couple of reasons. Yesterday in qualifying it looked like we had improved the bike, but when I woke up this morning I felt more pain in my left arm. I think that yesterday I did too much and today my left arm was very tired and painful. This was a bad start for a race, but I tried to be positive and have a good race. From the first lap though it felt very difficult riding the bike, because it felt like the tyres were still not warm enough, so I tried to push and find my rhythm like in practice, but the bike just moved around much more than it did in practice – I don’t know why. I struggled a lot in the race and I just tried to do the best I could. I hope that the feeling is better for the next race because it is my home GP. I have a week to get some more strength in my arm and try to recover a bit more and hopefully get a better result in Barcelona.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“Things have been very difficult this season and they didn’t get any easier today! Álvaro’s potential is unclear, based on the fact that his injury restricted him so much again today. We hope that the layout of the Barcelona track will be a bit kinder to his body and allow him to push harder. I want to say sorry to Loris and Álvaro that we couldn’t give them a competitive machine today, Loris especially is incredibly frustrated and that frustration is shared by all of us. We have to keep working hard and keep focused to find the key that will allow the riders to perform to the best of their abilities.”
Tim TT Assen Race Classification:
1. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 41’18.629: 2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) +2.935: 3. Casey Stoner (Ducati) +7.022: 4. Ben Spies (Yamaha) +13.265: 5. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +15.323: 13. LORIS CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +1’00.615: 14. ÁLVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +1’08.074:
World Championship Classification:
1. Lorenzo 140: 2. Pedrosa 93: 3. Dovizioso 89: 4. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 61: 5. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 61: 16. LORIS CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 16: 14. ÁLVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 14:
