MotoGP – Indianapolis Free Practice 1 – Capirossi and Bautista don't find the right feeling

Rizla Suzuki aims to improve in tomorrow's free practice session: today's first hour on track at the Indianapolis circuit leaves the riders with work to do. Álvaro Bautista (P14, 1'42.696, 26 laps) used today's session to get to know the Indianapolis circuit (4,216 m) aboard a MotoGP motorcycle. The Spaniard had already raced on the circuit in the 250cc class and must familiarize himself with the track to identify the braking and acceleration points. Bautista set his fastest lap at the end of the session and aims to improve on the rest of the weekend.

Loris Capirossi (P15, 1'42.790, 24 laps) had a difficult afternoon: the first bike had a small mechanical problem that couldn't be resolved, while he didn't have the right feeling with the other bike. Capirossi and his team will exploit all the data collected today, hoping that in tomorrow's two sessions the set-up will better adapt to his riding style. Today's session was held under the sun and with track temperatures reaching 51ºC. The best time of the day was recorded by Casey Stoner aboard his official Ducati.

Rizla Suzuki has another practice session tomorrow morning, followed by qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday's race will start at 15.00pm local time (21.00pm Italian time).

Alvaro Bautista:

“Today was the first time I took to the track on a MotoGP bike and it was very different from the 250cc – especially in the first corner because you enter very fast. I made the most of the tests to learn and to identify reference points for the rest of the weekend. The rear grip isn't enough because when I open the throttle mid-corner I feel the bike slipping too much. I'm not satisfied with the corner entry because if I go in fast I can't turn as I want and I lose too much time. Tomorrow we will work on these aspects and even if we know it will be difficult I think we will be able to improve both the bike's performance and mine."

Loris Capirossi:

“The best way to identify the bike's set-up is to do as many laps as possible, but today we had some problems with the first bike and had to change it. Unfortunately the set-up of the second bike wasn't right. We will use the data collected today, it will help us understand what we need to do tomorrow. Today didn't go too well, but we are much more optimistic for the rest of the weekend.”

Tom O'Kane – Crew Chief by Álvaro Bautista:

“We used the new chassis on Álvaro's bike, but when we switched to the soft compound things didn't improve as we expected. Tomorrow we will work a lot on rear grip because Álvaro isn't able to have the feeling he wants in corners and isn't able to make the most of the soft compound. We hope to be able to improve the bike when entering corners because some corners are too tight and we really need to improve our performance in this aspect. Overall we are satisfied with Álvaro's first day in Indianapolis, I'm sure that tomorrow and Sunday's race will go much better.”

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP