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andyk3
Site Founder
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 21682
Location: Widower to a Nintendo DS
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 Posted: Sat May 17, 2008 3:09 pm Post subject: Moto Gp Le Mans |
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Promising race pace and third row start for Vermeulen at Le Mans
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen equalled his best qualifying position of the season so far, achieving eighth place at Le Mans in France.
Vermeulen (1’33.440, 28 laps) will start from middle of the third row for tomorrow’s 28-lap race, giving him a great chance of getting away with the lead group and making an attack on the podium positions. The Australian’s race pace during this morning’s final practice session and the early part of this afternoon’s qualifying was consistently up with the front runners and Vermeulen is confident that he will be able to run with them tomorrow.
Loris Capirossi (P11, 1’33.707, 28 laps) will start immediately behind his team-mate from the middle of the fourth row. The experienced Italian made big changes to his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R this afternoon and was pleased with the feeling he found from his machine. Capirossi would probably have been further up the grid but was obstructed on his final qualifying lap by two other riders. He is confident that he will improve in the race tomorrow and will be looking for a higher placed finish than the grid position he earned today.
Today’s qualifying was again held in dry but overcast conditions with track temperatures reaching 37ºC. Championship leader Dani Pedrosa on his factory Honda will start from pole position for tomorrow’s race that gets underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).
Chris Vermeulen:
“As a whole the weekend has gone very well and I am happy with the progress we have made, but I’m a bit disappointed with the qualifying position as it has been our worst session of the weekend. The bike and tyres are both working well and I am pleased with the way I am riding around Le Mans. We have a good race pace and set-up, and we did quite a few laps on the Bridgestone race tyres and are happy with the choice of rubber for tomorrow for both consistency and durability. I honestly think we are in good stead to fight for a podium and I will be trying my best to achieve that – that’s certainly my goal!”
Loris Capirossi:
“The whole weekend hasn’t been very easy, but I really want to say a big thank-you to all my team because we decided to modify the whole bike for this afternoon, and it worked because my feeling was much better. We improved the rhythm and now I think we are not in too bad a position for the race. I lost out on my last qualifying lap – which was my quickest so far – because of two riders having a chat on the track, and I missed out on my best lap. For tomorrow I think we can improve further and if we get a good start I think I can stay with the top guys.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“The result today isn’t what we were looking for in terms of positions, but as ever the pace has been really hot and the competition is immense. Chris has got to a high level on race tyres, and he has been consistently amongst the first four or five. If he can get away well from the third row, and be in the front group in the early laps, the team has every confidence that he has the bike, the tyres and the ability to challenge for the podium.
“For Loris we are still looking for a little more speed from the whole package, he improved significantly and dropped into the 34s this afternoon, but we still need to find a bit more and allow him to run with the front group. His qualifying position was compromised by two riders having a discussion in the middle of the racetrack, but this happens and Loris has seen enough of this over the years not to be too worried about it!”
Alice Grand Prix de France Qualifying Classification:
1. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’32.647: 2. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +0.127: 3. Casey Stoner (Ducati) +0.347: 4. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) +0.510: 5. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +0.622: 8. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.793: 11. LORIS CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +1.060: |
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andyk3
Site Founder
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 21682
Location: Widower to a Nintendo DS
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| Posted: Sun May 18, 2008 5:01 pm Post subject: |
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Fighting fifth in France for Vermeulen, strong seventh for Capirossi
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen celebrated his best result so far this season by finishing in an impressive fifth position at Le Mans in France today, with team-mate Loris Capirossi crossing the line in an equally strong seventh place.
Vermeulen started from eighth on the grid and made up a couple of places on the first lap. He then set three personal-best laps in succession as he moved into fifth place, and the Australian was in touch with the leaders as light rain started to fall on the 4’185m circuit. Track officials waved the white flags to signify that pit-lane was open if the riders wanted to change to their wet weather bikes, but Vermeulen - like most riders – chose to stay out and consolidate his position. He had a couple of narrow escapes as the track surface got very slippery from the rain, but he brought the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R home safely to score valuable championship points for himself and the team.
Capirossi made a strong start from the fourth row of the grid and was up to seventh by the end of lap two. He was involved in a race long battle with a large group of riders, which also resulted in one of them pushing Capirossi off the track and on to the grass. The experienced Italian lost some places but battled back to take a hard, but well earned nine championship points.
Today’s race started in bright sunshine with track temperatures at 26ºC, as the light drizzle fell the temperatures cooled off, but this didn’t dampen the spirits of over 74,000 fans at trackside who were treated to a comprehensive victory by Valentino Rossi – a win that puts him joint second, with Angel Nieto, in the all-time list of Grand Prix victories by a rider.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will now stay in at Le Mans for a further day of testing, before moving on to Capirossi’s home GP at Mugello in Italy on Sunday 1st June.
Chris Vermeulen:
“Well that was alright – I guess! I’m happy with the weekend, we made some progress and we finally got some good points on the board. I am a little disappointed with fifth because I was really hoping I’d have a bit more pace to be able to fight with the front guys. I felt I was just that little bit behind and just couldn’t close the gap. We are testing here tomorrow so hopefully we can try and improve a few more things on the bike, and make more steps in Mugello.
“I want to say a big thanks to my crew, they’ve worked out all the issues we had from China and the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R worked great all weekend and we had no problems at all.”
Loris Capirossi:
“It has been really hard for me all weekend; we just couldn’t go as quick as we wanted to. We made some changes yesterday and went a bit better, but today we struggled in warm-up. In the race we didn’t get the result we are looking for and seventh is not our target, but we scored some good points and we must wait for it to be our moment to go quick! I was pushed onto the grass by another rider and maybe I could have had a better result, but that is racing and he has come and apologised so that’s all good. Our potential is not too bad, but we still need to discover something new so we can go a bit quicker.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“The Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team has made some steps here at Le Mans, and has backed those up with a good solid result and a committed performance from both riders today. Chris has really found his rhythm this weekend and in the first part of the race fought his way through superbly, from his eighth position start, into fifth. He was pushing to catch the lead group and maintaining a very close gap every lap, but just couldn’t close it down to join the fight. When the rain came he nearly crashed twice and he took the right decision to bring the bike home for his best finish – so far – this season.
“Loris is disappointed with seventh, but it has been a tough weekend for him and he shouldn’t be. He showed again today that he really wants it and will fight just as hard for seventh as he will for first. We are convinced that as we improve the bike and we get everything to a better level, that fighting spirit will allow him to target the podium finishes that he wants so much.
“After a difficult Shanghai I’d like to say well done to the team for their efforts this weekend, and let’s hope this is the first step back to where we all want to be, and that’s battling at the front!”
Alice Grand Prix de France race Classification:
1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 44’30.799: 2. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +4.997: 3. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +6.805: 4. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) +10.157: 5. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +21.762: 7. LORIS CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +27.806:
World Championship Classification:
1. Rossi 97: 2. Lorenzo 94: 3. Pedrosa 94: 4. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 56: 5. Edwards 47: 6. LORIS CAPIROSSI (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 42: 12. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) 25: |
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L3on
Site Manager
Joined: 08 Jun 2007
Posts: 2896
Location: Berkshire
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| Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 5:19 pm Post subject: |
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Forgot to ask the other day, you see the snake on track during the race Dan?  
edited to get the name right, oops, pops is borrowing my memory for a bit and i'm not sure i like his
Last edited by L3on on Thu May 22, 2008 6:23 am; edited 1 time in total |
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andyk3
Site Founder
Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 21682
Location: Widower to a Nintendo DS
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| Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 5:29 pm Post subject: |
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| you mean Dan it was diggler that saw one at mallory |
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ashman
moderator
Joined: 09 Apr 2006
Posts: 6465
Location: Land Ahoy
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| Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 8:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Diggler Dan the snake wrangling man |
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