MotoReview

The 2006 GSV-R

Suzuki will be testing again at Doha in Qatar on Sunday 5th February for a further three day test.

John Hopkins

“I am obviously frustrated after what happened today. I really don’t like sitting in the garage and watching all my competitors go quicker and quicker. I feel like I now have a bit of catching up to do but I am certainly ready for that. However, despite the teething problems I still managed to go quicker at this test than I did last year and the bike showed good potential. If I can lap at those speeds with one hand tied behind my back, things will really pick up once this new bike is fully refined. I feel I’ve improved myself in terms of fitness, riding technique and mental strength. All the crew worked really hard – especially today – and we are leaving Sepang with a very positive feeling because we know what the bike, the team and I am capable of this year.”

Chris Vermeulen

“It was great to have the new bike here to test. Over the three days we lost a bit of time due to various little things but today I really got a chance for a long run on the GSV-R. It felt great to be out there on track again with all the other riders and I was able to learn a lot from them about how to ride a GP bike. I was pleased with my times as this is only the third test I’ve done and I got down to the low 2’02s. I know I can go a bit quicker but I also now that races aren’t won or lost at the first test of the season. There’s a lot more to come from me and from the bike, so I am very satisfied with how things are going.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager

“To say that the test was frustrating would be an understatement. The new GSV-R is very innovative in a number of areas and has shown huge potential during the factory’s winter development programme - certainly the bike is very capable of massively improved results. We did suffer a number of niggling issues here that we were unable to fully resolve at the track, but Suzuki is fully committed to quickly solving these issues.

“We were very pleased with the attitude and performance of both riders. John had to sit out most of today but he was very committed to helping his technicians find a solution. When he was out on the track he comfortably posted times in the mid 2’02s on race tyres and if he’d had a solid final day there is no question that his final best lap time would have been extremely competitive. Chris impresses me every time he goes out. He is still very much in the learning stage, but his feedback and improvements are great and he has immediately become an integral part of the team. Akiyoshi san worked tirelessly for us throughout the whole test and the extra information that he has supplied will prove invaluable, he also managed to post some very competitive times and we are grateful for his help this week.

“We now move onto Qatar for the next test knowing that the basic package of the GSV-R is massively improved, and the team cannot wait to move onto the next stage in the development of the bike.”

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