Ten rounds into the 2011 season
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Rizla Suzuki and Ducati Team submitted their half season progress reports at the conclusion of the US Red Bull Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Ten rounds into the 2011 season, Rizla Suzuki and Ducati Team shared with the camera how the first half of the season has been for them, and look ahead to the second half of the season.
Ducati Team’s MotoGP Project Director, Alessandro Cicognani, reflected on the beginning of the season for the team. “Let’s just say that it was a difficult start, we were expecting a lot more, but we had some problems at the beginning with Vale recovering from his shoulder injury and Nicky finding the right feeling with the bike.”
“Then we had some good results, especially the first podium in Jerez with Nicky and then the podium in Le Mans with Vale…but then we missed something in the first part of the season. Though now I think we are back on the right pace,” he added.
“Difficult,” summarized Team Manager Paul Denning on Rizla Suzuki’s season start. “We didn’t even start the first race in Qatar because Álvaro (Bautista) had a badly broken leg.
His comeback in Estoril was much sooner than everyone expected, but his return to full physical fitness and full confidence on the bike has taken a long time. It was only until the ninth round at Sachsenring we saw him riding like he was in winter testing.”
“The bike is developed quite well, Suzuki has done great work with the swingarm and chassis to improve the tire warm up performance and basically the grip package. The engine is competitive, we just need to keep improving in small steps,” continued Denning. “But the rider is still a hugely important part of the performance in MotoGP. If the rider is physically hurt, or mentally not ready to go, the performance suffers.”
“Now we are happy he (Bautista) is fully back, riding hard and being aggressive. We only have one rider so all our reliance is on Álvaro to do his best. He’s a professional and wants to be in the front group fighting with the riders like Simoncelli and Lorenzo, riders he fought with in the 250cc class.”
Commenting on the second half of the season, Suzuki’s Team Manager said: “If we can keep improving the bike, and the rider’s confidence most importantly, we hope we can be in the front group. We still have a step to make, there is still a difference between the top six Hondas and Yamahas, it’s a step to take it there but we are here to race, do our best and see what we can achieve.”
Cicognani made the expectations for the upcoming second part of the season for Ducati Team clear. “Our expectation is to improve: Day by day, race by race, we want to compete for victory and we work hard every single time to achieve this result, we just have to work, this is the only way we know,” he concluded.
source: motogp.com
