Suzuki unsure of race day engine rollout

Vermeulen and Capirossi uncertain of new engine debut before post-race test.

Rizla Suzuki have been fighting against a lack of top straightline speed since the start of the season, with the cavalry of a new engine promised in time for this weekend’s race in Catalonia to make up the deficit. The long straight of the Spanish track is one at which any discrepancies in power soon get found out, but the team may postpone their use of the upgraded motor until the permitted Monday test session following the race.

“We are hoping that the upgrades from Suzuki this weekend will work as well on the bike as they have in the factory, we're not sure if we'll use them in the race or hang on for the test day, we'll just have to wait and see,” says rider Chris Vermeulen, who resides a short distance away in the principality of Andorra.

Teammate Loris Capirossi came close to a podium last time out in Mugello, and seems determined to run the new engine at the upcoming round. He was the unofficial holder of the MotoGP top speed record with a 990cc Ducati at the Circuit de Catalunya before Dani Pedrosa’s phenomenal burst two weeks ago, and is looking for a similar push with the new GSV-R addition.

“We know we will have to work hard on the long straight at Barcelona, but we learnt a lot from the last race and hopefully that will help us this weekend. We have got some new parts coming from Japan which should make a difference to the performance of the GSV-R so we are all quite excited about that,” declared the Italian.

Suzuki have been testing out the engine since both riders made a request for more speed in preseason, but until now the motor has only been tested in laboratory conditions.