Suzuki pair demand more pace from GSV-R
Added on Friday, March 6th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Suzuki pair demand more pace from GSV-R
Suzuki duo Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen have declared themselves pleased with the all-new GSV-R but have admitted that some extra top end speed wouldn’t go amiss as they continue their preparations for the new season.
Suzuki have put both their riders and the 2009 model through their paces this winter, missing the official post-season test in Valencia in November to book some wind-tunnel time in Japan and privately testing with Kawasaki in Australia in an attempt to break up the dominance of the so-called “big three” in the championship.
The results, at first glance, appear to be positive as both Capirossi and Vermeulen have posted strong times at both Sepang and Losail in official testing.
At Sepang, Capirossi topped the time sheet on day one and posted the third fastest overall time, with his Australian teammate the sixth quickest whilst at Losail, Vermeulen was fourth fastest with Capirossi just two places behind.
That has left the pair confident ahead of the new season and hopeful that the last few issues can be ironed out in two weeks time in Jerez.
“We were able to do a long run, try some different settings and definitely made a step at this track,” Vermeulen told the MotoGP website. “Engine speed is still one thing to work on though; we’re still a little slow on the straights, which makes it difficult to race.”
Capirossi echoed those thoughts, claiming: “I’m really satisfied because the bike is overall much better compared to last year’s,” he said. “It has been really important to confirm that the bike is competitive here. The engine is what we need to work on; we’re struggling on the top speed and this is the most problematic thing for us.”
