With only a few weeks before the first MotoGP race at Losail International Circuit, Repsol Honda and Rizla Suzuki are looking to be very competitive with the Yamaha and Ducati, two teams that were on top during the first two sessions of pre-season testing.
Both teams released some information this past week, Repsol Honda officially launching its team in Madrid, and Rizla Suzuki releasing info on their new livery.
Talking before a home crowd, the Spaniard Dani Pedrosa entertained 7,000 fans at the Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Mardrid Saturday, an event which coincided with the second-to-last round of FIM Indoor Trail World Championship at the same venue.
Pedrosa made his entrance on a trials bike, before the Honda RC212V MotoGP bike was lowered from the roof. Speaking of what of preparations for the Repsol Honda team, which enters its 16 season in MotoGP, Pedrosa said: “In general it has been a very good winter for me and much better than the last one. I have been able to do a lot of physical training and work on my fitness levels. Also I was able to rest after the end of the last season and, even though I had a small operation to remove a screw from my wrist, the recovery period after this was very short and I can begin the year in very good shape. The training will help me a lot throughout the season to maintain my maximum performance.”
His teammate Andrea Dovizioso, did not make the appearance due to a fever. The Italian selected to stay home to get healthy for the final pre-season tests at Qatar March 18-19.
With Suzuki already taking two wins in the AMA Superbike series, the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team is looking for additional podium finishes this season on the GSV-R.
The team has new, Troy-Lee inspired livery to get the 2010 season going, including a new shade of “Rizla Blue. Teammates Loris Capirossi and Alvaro Bautista are ready to take on the newly developed machine, which include aerodynamics, chassis performance and electronic systems “to make this the most technically advanced racing motorcycle that the Suzuki factory has ever produced.”
In a recent interview, Rizla Suzuki Team Manager Paul Denning said, “Our performance was not quite enough on the engine last year, so Suzuki is trying to achieve two targets; to improve the performance by increasing the smoothness and control, but most importantly make the engine durable enough to last three Grands Prix. It’s a big task and Suzuki is really working hard to achieve it.”
After this week’s final pre-season tests, the 2010 MotoGP season launches under the floodlights at Qatar on Sunday, April 11, the first of 18 races.
