MotoGP
British GP: Suzuki qualifying report
Rizla Suzuki's preparations hampered by chilly Silverstone conditions Rizla Suzuki suffered a tough qualifying session during its home Grand Prix at Silverstone in England today as a lack of grip in the cool temperatures left both riders with a ...
Edited: Jun 20, 2010, 3:40 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Rizla Suzuki's preparations hampered by chilly Silverstone conditions
Rizla Suzuki suffered a tough qualifying session during its home Grand Prix at Silverstone in England today as a lack of grip in the cool temperatures left both riders with a mountain to climb on race-day.
Loris Capirossi (P14. 2'05.821, 23 laps) and Alvaro Bautista (P15. 2'06.607, 21 laps) will start side-by-side on the fifth row of the grip after failing to get the grip they both wanted from their Suzuki GSV-Rs to produce competitive qualifying laps. They both suffered with similar issues and will have a tough task ahead of them in tomorrow's 20-lap race to get up amongst the front-runners at the start of race.
A strong cooling wind that blew around the 5,902m Silverstone circuit kept air temperatures down to 16oC and track temperatures at a lowly 27oC. World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo set the fastest time of the day and will start tomorrow's race from pole position.
The first motorcycle Grand Prix to be held at Silverstone since 1986 gets underway at 13.00hrs (12.00hrs GMT) on Sunday afternoon with both Capirossi and Bautista hoping for an increase in the temperatures and the sun to shine through to give them an opportunity of being competitive in front of the team's home crowd.
Loris Capirossi:
"We improved a bit today compared to yesterday, but still we don't have the grip we want and we are really struggling. When we try to get a bit more entry grip it feels like we are going to lose the front and overall it feels like a game and we have to try and play the best we can to work it out. We know we are quite limited in the cold conditions and that is a similar thing to last year. We have never resolved this fully, but we do keep trying and the whole team is making the maximum effort to sort this out. It is a bit stressful for us all, especially because it is the home Grand Prix for us and we want to get the best result we can."
Alvaro Bautista:
"We have had some problems with the cold conditions, especially this morning as it was almost impossible to ride the bike because both tyres were going away in the corners and I just couldn't control the bike. This afternoon we changed the bike a lot and put some more weight on the rear tyre to try and get more warmth in it, it was better - but still not enough. I still feel that when I enter the corner I can't go in too fast as I don't have enough grip. We will try something else in warm-up tomorrow to get the best setting for the race and we hope that the sun comes out and the conditions will warm up because if it is cold it will be very difficult to ride."
Paul Denning -- Team Manager:
"We have improved a little bit during qualifying but ultimately the result is as bad as it looks on paper. Some changes to the chassis and swing-arm that Suzuki made over the winter were designed to improve our rear grip in cooler conditions, but we haven't ridden all year in the same temperatures as we have experienced here at Silverstone. Unfortunately the step in rear grip is nowhere near what we need to help the guys to be competitive. The riders can control the bike on the corner exits, but a lack of rear grip into the corner is something that really spoils confidence and makes it difficult to get a good rhythm. The team is working hard to solve this situation, but we need something fundamental from the factory to improve the problem we are experiencing here."
-source: suzuki
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article British GP: Moto2: Practice 1 times
Next article British GP: Repsol Honda qualifying report
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jorge Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo: Marc Marquez less explosive now, but smarter than ever
MotoGP
MotoGP
German GP
Jorge Lorenzo: Marc Marquez less explosive now, but smarter than ever
Maverick Vinales and Jorge Lorenzo's partnership cools down after early enthusiasm
MotoGP
MotoGP
Brazil GP
Maverick Vinales and Jorge Lorenzo's partnership cools down after early enthusiasm
How Jorge Lorenzo is pushing Maverick Vinales beyond his limits in MotoGP
MotoGP
MotoGP
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing launch
How Jorge Lorenzo is pushing Maverick Vinales beyond his limits in MotoGP
Latest news
Denny Hamlin's slim championship odds get boost with Martinsville pole
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
10 min
Denny Hamlin's slim championship odds get boost with Martinsville pole
NASCAR Cup Martinsville starting lineup: Denny Hamlin rockets to pole
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
1 h
NASCAR Cup Martinsville starting lineup: Denny Hamlin rockets to pole
Did Kyle Larson win the NASCAR Cup or has Denny Hamlin lost it?
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
1 h
Did Kyle Larson win the NASCAR Cup or has Denny Hamlin lost it?
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe