Team Suzuki Press Office – May 6. Voltcom Crescent Suzuki makes its way to the legendary Italian Enzo e Dino Ferrari Imola racetrack this week for the fifth round of the eni FIM Superbike World Championship sponsored by team partners Acerbis.
Alex Lowes is determined his impressive pace and resilience shown aboard his Yoshimura-powered machine last time out at Assen’s ‘Cathedral of Speed’, added to the developments made with the GSX-R’s new ECU utilising his invaluable race data, will provide the catalyst to reignite his 2015 season at the iconic Autodromo. Randy de Puniet’s last appearance at the Imola circuit came in 1999 as part of the 125GP class. However, the Frenchman is looking forward to reacquainting himself with the technical Emilia-Romagna track on-board his Suzuki GSX-R1000.
The classic 4,936m circuit is located on the south-side of the town of Imola – encompassing the ‘Acque Minerali’ public park – and 45kms from the region’s capital of Bologna. The high-speed, hard-braking layout runs anti-clockwise incorporating elevation changes, short straights and plentiful corners to provide a demanding lap for rider and motorcycle alike.
The Italian adventure begins on Friday May 8th with the first of two qualifying free practice sessions scheduled at 11:15hrs local time (10:15BST). Saturday morning’s final qualifying session secures the top-20 WSBK riders’ entry into the afternoon’s two Superpole sessions which in turn will decide the grid for Sunday’s two 19-lap races.
Alex Lowes:
“After the three week break I’m looking forward to Imola, getting back on the GSX-R and trying to get closer to the front. I like the track as it’s so technical, it can be quite hard to set the bike up there but I enjoy the challenge! The atmosphere of the race event and Imola itself, with its racing history, are cool and the fans are so passionate, so it’s a great place for the Championship to visit.”
Randy de Puniet:
“For me Imola is almost like a new track, having not ridden there for 16 years and the last time was on such a small bike so it will be very different. It’s an interesting track as it moves up and downhill so it will be great to ride and after three difficult race events I am really hoping for a good weekend. The team has been working really hard to develop the electronics since Assen and it looks like we have found a solution which is good news for me and for the whole team. I really hope we can come out at Imola and perform the way we all know we are capable. I’m confident because the team is dedicated to pushing the GSX-R’s performance forward and I will give my best over the weekend, work hard and stay focused.”
