ROBERTS JR LEADS THE WAY FOR TEAM SUZUKI MOTOGP AT BRNO
26 August 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Kenny Roberts Jr was the fastest of the three Suzuki GSV-R racers after today’s free practice sessions at the Gauloises Grand Prix Ceske Republic.

Roberts Jr (1’59.755, 39 laps) finished in fifth place in the overall classification with team-mates John Hopkins and wild-card entry Nobuatsu Aoki in 10th and 16th places respectively. Roberts Jr found the new generation Bridgestone tyres to his liking and finished in his highest first day position of the season.

Hopkins (2’00.043, 41 laps) was riding for the first time since an operation on his left foot to repair the broken bone he sustained at the last Grand Prix – just over three weeks ago. The gutsy Anglo-American led the time-sheets three times during the two practice sessions and would have posted a better time late on in the afternoon, but a small problem with his GSV-R prototype race bike caused him to stop on the circuit and lose valuable time. He managed to get back to the pit-box and change to his second bike but was unable to better the time he had already set.

Aoki (2’00.354, 37 laps) is making his first Grand Prix appearance of the season and was only just over a second off the day’s fastest time set by World Champion and current series leader Valentino Rossi. Aoki has joined Team SUZUKI MotoGP regulars Roberts Jr and Hopkins this weekend to continue the testing of the Suzuki GSV-R and Bridgestone tyres in a highly charged and competitive race environment.

Today’s sessions were held in sunny and warm conditions with track temperatures reaching 38 degrees. Tomorrow the three Team SUZUKI MotoGP racers will have another practice session before the qualifying gets going in the afternoon. Sunday’s race will be round 11 of the season and will begin at 14.00hrs CET.

Kenny Roberts Jr:

“Everybody is real close today. The bike feels good. The new rear tyre felt that it was a big step in line with the character of the GSV-R. I was able to ride the bike and the lap times were decent. If it’s warmer tomorrow I’ll just try to continue to keep the same amount of grip level and rideability and we should be alright for the race.”

John Hopkins:

“I feel encouraged by our performance here so far. I had a small problem with my favoured bike and I had to leave it out on the circuit in the second session. That took some of my rhythm especially as the tyre I was using was the best I had tried so far. I got out again but I couldn’t improve my time as the spare bike and tyre combination wasn’t quite to my liking. My foot is hurting a bit after the two sessions but it didn’t cause me any problems out on the track, I seemed able to go quick from early on in the sessions and if we can build on that tomorrow I hope we can end up in a better position.”

Nobuatsu Aoki:

“I am feeling good. I am excited about racing and happy to be here. We some front grip problems, but I have the old spec front suspension. We are going to try the new spec tomorrow and that will bring me more feeling on the braking. Hopefully that will be a big help for me. I am looking forward to tomorrow and to the race.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:

“An encouraging day, based on the fact that Bridgestone have reacted positively in the summer break and have brought a number of new constructions to try in the search for increased competitiveness. The latest two generations of tyre that we have run have helped in bike feeling and in lap time and if we can verify tomorrow that that tyre has the durability to do 22 laps then certainly it is a step forward.

“The GSV-R seems to handling quite well around Brno. John still needs to go through some settings and to confirm which of the new generation tyres is best for him. Kenny’s bike felt a lot more natural and he managed to achieve a very good lap-time without pushing too hard.

“Nobu did well today, he was just over a second from the fastest time of the day but the overall competitiveness of MotoGP meant that he was in 16th place. All three riders are capable of making improvements tomorrow and it looks like the weekend is going to be very interesting.”

Gauloises Grand Prix Ceske Republic Free Practice Classification:

1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’59.278: 2. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) +0.088: 3. Sete Gibernau (Honda) +0.176: 4. Marco Melandri (Honda) +0.191: 5. KENNY ROBERTS JR (TEAM SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.477: 6. Carlos Checa (Ducati) +0.529: 7. Nicky Hayden (Honda) +0.555: 8. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 0.589: 9. Alex Barros (Honda) +0.713: 10. JOHN HOPKINS (TEAM SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.765: 16. NOBUATSU AOKI (TEAM SUZUKI MOTOGP) +1.076:

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