Top-10 for Hopkins as unlucky Akiyoshi is forced to retire -ozzy go-

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP had a frustrating Japanese Grand Prix at
Motegi today with all three riders suffering various levels of
difficulties over an entertaining and bizarre 24-lap race.

John Hopkins was the highest finishing Rizla Suzuki rider with 10th
place. He struggled to get enough grip right from the start of the
race – which was wet after heavy showers this morning – and lost
several places early on. As the track began to dry he pitted his
GSV-R at the end of lap 10 to change to a machine with dry tyres.
He re-joined the race in 16th place and set about chasing down
the pack in front of him, fighting his way through the field and
eventually bringing his bike home in 10th.

Chris Vermeulen’s race was nearly over on the start-line as his
bike stalled just as the lights changed to go. One of his mechanics
had to run on to the grid and re-start the bike before Vermeulen
could get away. Suzuki’s Australian star was over 40 seconds
behind the leader at the end of lap one, but he fought his way
back into contention and was at one point inside the top-10. He
finally followed team-mate Hopkins home in 11th place, which
was a tremendous effort considering his start.

Kousuke Akiyoshi was the unluckiest of all three Rizla Suzuki men
today. The Japanese test rider, making only his third Grand Prix
start, was in a comfortable seventh place - in front of many
established MotoGP stars - before a mechanical issue forced him
to retire with just over three laps remaining.

Today’s race was watched by a colourful and enthusiastic
Japanese crowd who saw Loris Capirossi on his Bridgestone-shod
Ducati win his third Japanese Grand Prix in succession. Casey
Stoner, also on a Ducati, was crowned MotoGP World Champion
after his sixth place was enough to secure him the title.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now travels south across the Pacific for the
only round of the championship staged in the southern
hemisphere. Round 16 of the MotoGP World Championship will be
held at Phillip Island in Australia on Sunday 14th October.

John Hopkins: “The race was all over the place with the drying
track. I think I chose a bit too soft of a compound when we first
went out and I was sliding around a lot and lost quite a bit of
time. I came in and got the dry bike and set about working as
hard as I could. I ran off the track once and we had a couple of
little mechanical issues, but nothing too serious. We needed to
salvage some points from today and we did that. I would like to
say congratulations to Casey on winning the championship today
– he certainly deserves it. Other than that I hope we have a lot
better time in the next three races than we did at this one!”

Chris Vermeulen: “We had a problem at the start which
certainly wasn’t good. The guys had to run on the track and start
my bike for me. When I got going I felt alright, but the track was
drying quickly and I knew it was only a matter of time before I
had to come in and change bikes. It was difficult to gauge how
quickly to go in those conditions and when I went out on slick
tyres there was still a lot of water on the track so it was quite
slippery! It was all about taking risks and trying to be quick in
some places and smooth in others. We really struggled to get
enough heat into the tyres and brakes in these conditions, but in
the last few laps we got going. To come from nearly a minute
behind on the first lap to 11th is ok, but it is not good enough. I
have got to work on my qualifying and we need to fix the problem
with the bike in time for the next race back home in Australia.
Finally, well done to Casey, it’s good to see an Aussie as
champion; I just need to make sure it’s me next time!”
full story on rizla-suzuki-motogp.co.uk