Denning: We aren’t where we need to be
Added on Friday, September 18th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Denning: We aren’t where we need to be
Suzuki boss Paul Denning has admitted that the team is still not performing to expectations but that improvements are ongoing ahead of the 2010 MotoGP championship.
After promising so much in pre-season, particularly in the Sepang test, following an extensive development programme, Rizla Suzuki have once again been very much amongst the ‘also-rans’ this season with a series of uninspiring results.
The team have yet to secure a podium finish so far this year, a disappointment that is equalled only by the satellite Scot Honda and Pramac Ducati teams, and a result that shows a decline on last year’s three top-three finishes.
Riders Loris Capirossi currently stands in seventh position in the rider’s standings whilst the outgoing Chris Vermeulen is languishing in eleventh and Denning admits that the team had not come as far as the Sepang test may have suggested.
“The performance level this year is not what we anticipated,” he told MotoGP.com. “Especially after such strong performance in the winter tests.
“I think our competitors improved their performance a lot since the winter tests, when we stayed a little bit the same, so the balance of our performance was much less than what we hoped for.
“Suzuki have reacted though, so the bike has improved in the last few races and we’re now fighting again in the top five quite often. Loris is now seventh in the championship, then again it is not what we’re looking for, but at least we’re in the top half of the championship.”
Denning also gave his reasons for the decision to replace Vermeulen with rookie rider Alvaro Bautista for 2010, claiming that the Australian had not fully recovered from a drop in confidence earlier in the season.
“Technically Chris is very good but he lost his confidence at some point during the season,” he added. “In Misano for example, he was doing the same lap times as Loris but lost a lot of ground in the early laps and it’s difficult to fight back in those conditions. Chris has been a fantastic guy for Suzuki over the last four years. He never whined, we have never had a problem with him, he’s always been professional and did his best.”
“But sometimes, for us and for him, a change can be for the best and I think it can be positive for both of us. We wish him a lot of luck for the future.”
