Capirossi slams testing restrictions
Added on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Capirossi slams testing restrictions
Loris Capirossi has hit out at MotoGP testing restrictions following this week’s post-season test in Valencia, claiming that it is not helping the competitiveness of the championship.
Restrictions on testing were introduced to the championship at the start of the 2009 season as part of a wide-ranging cost-cutting initiative, mainly in reaction to the withdrawal of Kawasaki from the championship and the withdrawal of Honda in Formula One.
Following this week’s test in Valencia, of which only Yamaha opted not to make use of the full three days, teams will be unable to test their 2010 machines again until early February in Sepang – something that Capirossi feels is holding back both Suzuki and the championship.
“The new stuff that has come to the test has been pretty interesting and the improvements to the engine are not too bad,” said the veteran following the final testing session in Valencia. “The new cowling and pipes have both made some steps and overall we have improved by a few tenths on the lap-time,” he said after finishing eighth out of the reduced twelve riders on Wednesday.
“We really need to find about a second though and it makes me very upset that the rules have changed so much that we now can’t test until February. For me this does not help the championship because we need more tests to a make the bike more competitive,” Capirossi explained.
Team manager Paul Denning meanwhile claimed that the team are heading in the right direction, even if the lap times were not particularly spectacular.
“These three days have been a good start towards the target of significantly improving Suzuki’s level in MotoGP in 2010,” he said.
“There haven’t been any fundamental changes to the bike here; those will come in February at Sepang, but the detailed work that Loris has completed, especially with the Akrapovic exhaust systems, new engine specifications and aerodynamics have made the bike easier and more consistent to ride.
“The lap-time isn’t spectacular, but it is a lot closer to the top group than it was during the race weekend so some progress has certainly been made.”
