Rizla Suzuki MotoGP is at Phillip Island in Australia this week, for the next instalment in the test programme for the new Suzuki GSV-R800.

Following on from a successful test at Sepang in Malaysia earlier this month, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP has moved to a circuit where both John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen struggled to get the best from their bikes and tyres in dry conditions last year. The team will be putting the new 800cc version through its paces on the 4.4km long circuit to further evaluate the consistency and development of the machine in readiness for the fast approaching first race of the year.

Phillip Island is an important track for testing and it is especially hard on tyres, mainly due to its long high-speed corners. Bridgestone technicians will be on hand to collect as much data as possible from the test to assist the team in making the all-round Suzuki/Bridgestone package as competitive as possible for the start of the season.

The three-day long test begins on Tuesday 30^th January and is the last private test for the team before they travel to Qatar and Spain for the Official MotoGP Tests next month. The first round of the 2007 MotoGP World Championship is at Doha in Qatar on Saturday 10^th March.

John Hopkins: “It’s great to be into a test so quickly after the last one. I am really eager to get out there and keep it all going. We worked really hard in Malaysia and we need to expand on that. Phillip Island will be a good workout for us because we had a tough time here last year and if the weather hadn’t intervened Chris and I probably wouldn’t have had a decent result. This makes the Phillip Island test result very important to us so that we can assess how far we have come with the new 800.”

Chris Vermeulen: “I can’t believe I’m going home already! It will be a plus for me to test on the Island so early. I got to show what I could do there last year in the rain during the race, but we never got to grips with the track during dry testing and this will be an important three days for us. This is a really good track to test on and with the long corners I expect some pretty good times to be posted. All the team are in high spirits and we need to come away from here on a par with the other teams to keep the momentum going that we have built up!”