Team Suzuki Press Office – August 12.
Days after the GP of Indianapolis Team SUZUKI ECSTAR is back to work for the 11th round of the 2015 MotoGP™ World Championship, the Grand Prix Ceské Republiky in Brno.
After the bittersweet race in the US, Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales are keen to get back on their GSX-RRs and recover the confidence and performance that they've shown in the first-half of the season. The MotoGP race at ‘The Brickyard’ was a little under the team’s expectations and, most importantly, not in-line with the improving trend for the previous nine races.
The first Grand Prix event at Brno took place as far back as 1930 but the track was initially a road-based one, with riders racing on regular roads and through villages. A new, custom-built short circuit was finally built in the 1980s and in 1987 Brno hosted the FIM-ratified Czech Grand Prix. Since that event the circuit has become a favourite with riders and fans, thanks to the natural bowl in which the track sits, giving spectators a good view of the action and because of the unique series of challenges it throws up to both rider and machine.
Brno’s challenges include a number of elevation changes through forested hillsides as well as fast and slow corners which test rider talent and engineering to the limit. The track has a length of 5.4 km (3.36 miles) - six left and eight right-hand corners.
Sunday's MotoGP race will take place over 22 laps for a total distance of 118.9 km (73.9 miles). The circuit lap record was set in 2014 and is 1m 56.027s. In Brno the handling capabilities of the chassis in sectors two and three could be one of the strengths for the Suzukis.
Maverick Viñales:
“I'm happy that we get back to racing immediately after Indy because that race was a little under expectations as a final result, but it gave me important confirmation about our new approach to the race weekend. My team crew and I decided to make a further step in my growth process changing how we proceed throughout Friday and Saturday's sessions and I must say that in Indy that made me feel very confident and at ease. Therefore I'm looking forward to getting into my garage and back to work, I feel well supported by the team and the factory and I know we can aim to get better results. I am growing and getting more experience race-after-race and my GSX-RR is improving in the same way. We still lack in some areas but we are working hard to have further developments following the plan that we have set up. Brno will be a tough circuit, the competitors this year are very, very strong but I feel comfortable and well trained.”
Aleix Espargaro:
“I'm so eager to get back working with my team soon as last weekend at Indy was one of the worst so far and I need to ride as soon as possible. I struggled to find a proper confidence with the GSX-RR and this affected the whole three days. It is strange because my machine has a very good base and we usually find a good effectiveness pretty soon, but this is racing and sometimes you have a bad weekend. We have a good method to work to, therefore I am confident that already here in Brno we will get back to our usual competitiveness, trying to exploit the best out of our machine and be effective during practices. Brno will be a tough race, the uphill section is pretty steep and therefore we will need to exploit the chassis manageability in the twisty, technical part of the track. We also must be patient; the project is proceeding according to our plans and we are all focused on continuing this way.”
