HOPKINS AND VERMEULEN SCORCH TO TOP FOUR STARTS AT CATALUNYA
17 June 2006 - Rizla-Suzuki

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins has qualified a superb second for tomorrow’s Gran Premi Cinzano De Catalunya, with team-mate Chris Vermeulen securing his best dry conditions qualifying result to head the second row in fourth position.

Hopkins (P2, 1’41.984, 26 laps) powered his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R to second place on the front row just 0.129 seconds behind pole setter Valentino Rossi. Hopkins could possibly have been on pole, but a yellow flag being shown on his final lap forced him to back off the power slightly and cost him the valuable fractions of a second that may have given him his first-ever pole position. During this morning’s final free practice session Hopkins worked hard with his crew to get the best set-up for Sunday’s race and headed the leaderboard for the majority of the session.

Vermeulen (P4, 1’42.211, 26 laps) will start the race directly behind Hopkins, from the front of the second row. His fourth place is his best qualifying position since his pole in Turkey and he will be looking to capitalise on this result during tomorrow’s race. He recorded long runs on his Suzuki GSV-R in search of the optimum combination of set-up and Bridgestone tyres for Sunday afternoon.

Today’s qualifying was held in very warm and sunny conditions with air temperatures reaching 28°C and track surface temperatures a scorching 46°C, making tyre choice for tomorrow’s 25 lap race an important factor. The lights will change to go for round seven of the MotoGP World Championship at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT) when both Rizla Suzuki riders will be aiming for glory.

John Hopkins:

“Yeah, I can’t say that I’m unhappy with the result today. We’ve been working really hard with Bridgestone, and the Suzuki has come along very well – especially from where we were here last year. Right now we have been trying to put in as much effort as possible on the race tyres and things aren’t looking too bad. It’s going to be a hard race for us tomorrow with the heat and everything but we are looking to get the maximum out of myself, the bike and the tyres. Front row is where I wanted to be so we just have to get off the line good and go for it.

“With the qualifying tyres this afternoon I just went out, turned my brain off and went for it! Luckily I got on the front row, but it’s about time I got that watch for pole position – we’ll certainly be going all out to get that the next two or three races, that’s for sure.”

Chris Vermeulen:

“Things have gone well this afternoon; we’ve made a lot of changes to the bike today. We learned a lot this morning, we tried to do lots of laps with a race tyre and we have found one that is quite consistent. I did 19 laps this afternoon on it and my last lap was reasonably quick. Obviously with the qualifiers on we improved the times dramatically and almost got to the front row – but we’ll work on that for the next time!”

Paul Denning - Team Manager:

“Today has been the best qualifying result for the team as a whole all season, and that’s a result of the outstanding efforts of Suzuki, the full crew and of course John and Chris. To get into the 1min 41 second lap times in this heat is hell of an effort and John’s commitment was there for all to see today. Second is a fantastic result but it surely can’t be long before he gets that pole position that he wants! Today was Chris’ first run on a qualifying tyre around the Catalunya circuit, and to put his Rizla Suzuki anywhere near the front row is an amazing achievement and to be only 0.356 off pole is fantastic.

“As far as the race goes, when you consider the difficulties that Bridgestone suffered here in 2005, the step they have made this year is superb, but it’s going to be hard work in these temperatures to maintain durability and the lap time of which the bike and riders are both capable. Having said that the starting positions help a great deal and I’m sure both riders will get their heads down to run as close to the front group as possible.”

Gran Premi Cinzano De Catalunya Qualifying Practice Qualification:

1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’41.855: 2. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.129: 3. Kenny Roberts Jr (KR211V) +0.200: 4. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.356:

www.rizla-suzuki.co.uk

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