MOTOGP DEBUT FOR RIZLA SUZUKI AT JEREZ
23 March 2006 - Rizla-Suzuki

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will make its racing debut at the first round of the MotoGP World Championship at Jerez in Spain on Sunday 26th March

John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen are eager to race again after a gruelling and thorough winter testing schedule. Both riders are full of confidence for the season opener after promising showings at recent tests. Anglo-American Hopkins has flourished with the added responsibility of leading the development of the all-new Rizla Suzuki GSV-R and has regularly been amongst the fastest riders.

Vermeulen will be making his Suzuki MotoGP debut at a track where he has never raced before, but the rookie Australian will be buoyed by his top 10 place in the final pre-season test – also held at Jerez. His continual progression into MotoGP has been very impressive and he is now ready for his latest challenge.

Jerez is situated in the Andalucian area of Southern Spain. The town was made famous as the home of Sherry and for its school of dancing horses, but it will be horsepower of a different kind that fills the air this weekend as the awesome MotoGP bikes thunder around the 4.423km circuit. The 27-lap race is the first of 17 rounds that will see Rizla Suzuki MotoGP race in 15 countries over four continents and in front of over two million spectators throughout the coming season.

The race weekend will begin on Friday as Rizla Suzuki MotoGP take to the track for two one-hour long free practice sessions. This will be followed by a further hour of practice on Saturday morning before the all-important qualifying session in the afternoon. The Gran Premio betandwin.com de Espana will get underway at 14.00hrs CET on Sunday 26th March.

Paul Denning – Team Manager:

“It’s time for the guessing to stop and for the racing to start. It seems like we’ve had a very long winter - we started testing back in November last year to get ready for the first race here at Jerez – but it’s also gone far too quickly! Suzuki has developed the new Rizla Suzuki GSV-R into a good all-round package but they are still pushing very hard for further improvements – there is so much more potential in this bike, we need to get the maximum out of it as quickly as possible.

“John and Chris have both worked very hard throughout all the tests and neither of them has made any mistakes. John has relished his new role and has shown that he can become a serious contender. Chris’ development has been fantastic and I know that he will be a challenge for John and the other riders.

“We are all very excited about our first race in the new ‘Rizla’ livery and hope that we can produce a display that will enable all of our sponsors, partners and fans to look forward with optimism to the rest of the season.”

www.rizla-suzuki.co.uk

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