VERMEULEN STORMS TO ISTANBUL POLE FOR RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP
29 April 2006 - Rizla-Suzuki

Chris Vermeulen stormed to his and Rizla Suzuki MotoGP’s first ever MotoGP pole position at a rain soaked Istanbul in Turkey today.

Vermeulen (2’04.617, 15 laps) made his intentions known early on in the qualifying session as he set fastest times to go top of the timesheets. The rookie Australian continued to improve his pace throughout the hour long session and saved the best till last, with a quickest time that was two tenths of a second ahead of his nearest rival, Honda’s Nicky Hayden.

John Hopkins (2’05.700, 22laps) also rode a very strong qualifying session to put his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R on the middle of the second row in fifth place. He was only one second off his team-mate and will be sure to make an impact in tomorrow’s race whether it is wet or dry. The hard riding Anglo-American lost none of his fire because of the conditions as he made continuous improvements to power his bike up the field.

The team’s Bridgestone wet weather tyres worked extremely well in today’s atrocious conditions, a fact that was emphasised by all six of the Bridgestone shod bikes qualifying in the top eight positions.

Tomorrow’s 22-lap race is round three of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship and both Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers will be aiming for glory as the race gets going at 15.00hrs local time (14.00CET).

Chris Vermeulen:

“Obviously conditions were very different today. We had a quite a good morning practice and made a few changes to the set-up, the tyres and with the engine management system and it all seemed to work really well. From the start of the qualifying session the bike was working really well and it was comfortable to ride, even when the conditions got pretty bad and grip was hard to find. I did a few laps and then came back in and just watched the weather to see how much rain was about. I tried to go out in the better conditions and it turned out that it was best at the end. I just stayed out and tried to be as fast as I could and in the end I was faster than everybody! For my team, Bridgestone and all the team’s sponsors, this is the nicest way to say thanks!”

John Hopkins:

“First off I’ve got to say congratulations to Chris. That’s a job really well done to get the pole position, and it’s good for Rizla Suzuki and Bridgestone–awesome! As for ourselves we tried to get a good rhythm from the start and gradually get our pace up. We used the same tyres for the whole session even though I changed from one bike to another to try different settings. We found a set-up that will help us wet or dry, so we are really pleased about that. On the last lap I went a bit harder and managed to get a top five place, which was good because it was on a tyre that had been used to a full race distance. I’m happy with everything today as I don’t think I put a wheel out of place all day, so I am ready for the race now – wet or dry.”

Denis Miskovic – Rizla Sponsorship Manager:

“It is awesome to see Chris get the pole position for tomorrow’s race and for John to get on the second row. Both of the guys and the team have worked really hard and they thoroughly deserve the success they have had today.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:

“We hoped for a turnaround after Qatar, but we couldn’t have possibly expected one as big as today! Both guys rode to the limit and Chris found an extremely fast rhythm early on and was able to maintain that all the way through. You could see that the bike and tyres were on the absolute limit, if it wasn’t for the spray you might have thought it was dry, Chris was riding so aggressively.

“John chipped away at things and only a second off pole and a second row start is also a fantastic performance. Congratulations must also go to both crews, who made some detailed – but extremely important – changes to the GSV-R from this morning, making the bike more comfortable and manageable to ride. I’ve always said that we have a crew and two riders who are capable of running right at the front, and with the rain acting as something of an equaliser, this result shows the Suzuki Factory that Rizla Suzuki MotoGP is ready to move forwards as the bike steadily improves.

“If it’s wet tomorrow we’ll be going for the podium, if it’s dry then we can expect both guys to ride to the full potential of the machine and I have no doubt they will do that.

“Congratulations finally to Bridgestone, who dominated today’s qualifying. They are clearly serious about winning!”

Grand Prix of Turkey Qualifying Practice Classification:

1. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 2’04.617: 2. Nicky Hayden (Honda) +0.206: 3. Sete Gibernau (Ducati) +0.386:

www.rizla-suzuki.co.uk

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