Suzuki pair insist that the team is closing in on podium
Added on Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Suzuki pair insist that the team is closing in on podium
Rizla Suzuki’s search for a podium place continues this weekend at Sachsenring with Chris Vermeulen hoping for a repeat of the performance that saw him finish third last year.
Suzuki’s season has so far failed to live up to the pre-season promise, with the Japanese factory side still seeking their first podium of the season having picked up just a fifth as a best finish so far this season.
It was a far cry from the promise shown in pre-season testing, where both Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi impressed, most notably in Sepang.
But Vermeulen has stressed that the team are improving despite the results and believes that the team aren’t far from getting the results that they expect.
“The last race was very disappointing as we had such high hopes for Laguna, but we must learn from that and move forward in Germany,” he claimed.
“I got a third at Sachsenring last year and although that was in the wet I am sure we can try and repeat that this year in whatever weather we have to contend with.
“The bike is still working well and seems to improve every time we go out on it. The crew have got a good base package and if that works from the start at Sachsenring – and we can get the tyres to match the bike – then I see no reason why we can’t be competitive from the first day.”
Capirossi echoed those sentiments, stressing that the team has the potential to achieve a podium finish, starting this weekend.
“The last couple of races have been a bit tough on us, which has been pretty difficult as we have worked so hard to get everything right,” he added. “The crew have certainly been giving all they can and we just didn’t get the solutions we were looking for.
“We have still managed to learn a lot of things about how the Suzuki GSV-R behaves in different situations and on different types of Bridgestone tyres, so all that will be very useful to us in Germany.
“Sachsenring is not a track that needs a lot of power and speed, but it does require careful balance because you are on the side of the tyre so much. I got podium at Sachsenring in 2007 and I’ve also had a couple of other good results there. It is a track that I certainly enjoy racing at and believe that we can do well at – we will just have to see what happens this weekend!”
