Rizla Suzuki and Vermeulen head down under for home Grand Prix -ozzy go-

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP makes the long trip to Phillip Island in
Australia for round 16 of the MotoGP World Championship, the
only race held south of the equator this season.

The Team is having its best season since the introduction of the
four-stroke regulations and is heading to Australia still on the
crest of a wave, despite disappointing results at the last two
races. John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen sit in fourth and fifth
places respectively in the riders’ championship, having both
scored points in excess of their highest ever tallies in one season.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP is in a close third position in its own title race
with Suzuki in fourth in the constructors’ championship despite
having the joint smallest representation on the MotoGP grid. The
team’s haul of seven podiums - so far this year – is also the best
by Suzuki in the modern four-stroke era.

Vermeulen will be heading ‘home’ next weekend to the scene of
his first-ever podium finish – he was second at Phillip Island last
year – and will ride on a specially liveried GSV-R to pay homage
to his personal mentor and former Suzuki World Champion Barry
Sheene.

The 4.4km Phillip Island circuit is situated near Melbourne in the
state of Victoria and is one of the most southerly points of
Australia. As such, the weather can play an important part in the
proceedings. The picturesque track is one of the most beautiful on
the calendar, but its position next to the Pacific Ocean makes the
chance of weather from four seasons in one day a large
possibility, changing from warm sunshine to freezing rain in a
short time - the event can be a real test for riders, machines and
mechanics alike!

Friday will see the Rizla Suzuki men at work for the first two free
practice sessions followed by a further practice hour on Saturday
morning. Saturday afternoon will see Vermeulen and Hopkins
going all out to secure the best grid positions during qualifying in
readiness for the 27-lap race that gets underway at 15.00hrs local
time (05.00hrs GMT) on Sunday 14th October.

Chris Vermeulen: “We need to get to Phillip Island and get into
the groove as quickly as possible after the last couple of tough
races. I will have the new sensation of riding a bike in a different
livery to my team-mate, but that is not going to improve the
performance so we need to work...” full story on Rizla Suzuki