TEAM SUZUKI MOTOGP LOOKING FORWARD TO SEASON OPENER
04 April 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Team SUZUKI MotoGP begins its quest for Grand Prix glory at the first round of the MotoGP World Championship in Jerez, Spain, on April 10th.

Kenny Roberts Jr and John Hopkins are both confident of improved results following successful tests this year, where they have been able to get closer to the top of the timesheets. Less than two-weeks ago the Suzuki racers posted competitive lap times at the Jerez circuit, and they are hoping to turn this potential into solid results.

The latest version of the GSV-R Grand Prix prototype has undergone many changes since the end of the 2004 campaign. It has benefited from a rise in power to increase acceleration and the Suzuki Factory has also focussed on improved controllability. These improvements have helped the superb handling GSV-R to become a better all-round package for Roberts Jr and Hopkins to compete with.

The Jerez race is the first in a 17 round season that will see the Suzuki team compete in Europe, return to the USA for the first time in 10 years and visit new circuits in China and Turkey.

Jerez will also mark the first race for new team manager Paul Denning, who joined Team SUZUKI MotoGP in January following a successful season in British Superbikes where his Rizla Suzuki outfit won both the manufacturer and rider Championships.

The Spanish Grand Prix from Jerez begins at 14.00CET and will be televised globally to an audience in excess of 320 million fans.

Kenny Roberts Jr:
''Suzuki, Bridgestone and the team have made some big steps this winter and the package is at a much better position than before. There are certain issues that we need to still work on, and we don''t know yet where we are at over race distance, but I''m looking forward to racing the bike and finding out.''

John Hopkins:
''I''m really excited about this weekend. We''ve done so much testing I can''t wait to get racing again. I''m feeling confident for the coming season and I need to start winning again - it''s been so long since I last won a race I need to start doing it again and remind myself how good it feels.''

Paul Denning - Team Manager:
''All the team are enthusiastically anticipating the first GP of 2005. Pre-season testing has gone well and clearly Team SUZUKI MotoGP is going in the right direction. There is no doubt that we still have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but everybody will be working to their full potential to secure the best possible finishes for Suzuki at Jerez.''

www.suzuki-racing.com

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