Video: Chris Vermeluen reaction to Catalunya MotoGP:

Rizla Suzuki Team Interviews:

Loris Capirossi:

“This was the same position as Mugello, but this is a different one because we have worked so hard to get this and it is a great result. All the team – especially Stuart – have worked so hard to get us where we are today. After qualifying I didn’t feel that the bike was quite right and Stuart worked with the guys until late to find a solution. He told me that he was going to make big changes for the race and we tried it during this morning’s warm-up and the bike felt really good. During the race I kept my rhythm after a good start and when I got close to Pedrosa I lost some time off the front guys because his bike was so fast in some places I couldn’t get past, and he held me up a bit. If I hadn’t got stuck for a few laps I think I could have stayed with the next group and got a better result. I want to say a big thank-you to Suzuki because they have brought a new engine here and it was an improvement on the old one – I think if I’d had that engine in Mugello I’d have been on the podium! Most of all I want to thank all my guys individually Stuart, Ian, Gary, Jeff, George, Tex and Jez all did a great job and without them I wouldn’t have got that result today!”

Chris Vermeulen:

“It was a difficult race and although I got a good start I got a bit boxed in and found myself at the wrong end of the field. We made a change to the front-end of the bike for the race and that was a bit better and it gave me the confidence to push a bit harder. We did score some points today, but it is not where we want to be. We now to some tracks that have been good for us in recent seasons so I hope we get a bit of luck there and put together some good results.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:

“Fifth place can be either very disappointing – as it was in Mugello – or very encouraging and positive – as it was today. We left ourselves a bit of a mountain to climb after qualifying, but Stuart and the boys turned the bike upside down for warm-up this morning and we gave Loris a much stronger motorcycle, and he was able to use its full potential as he rode a fantastic race. I think if we’d started with that bike on Friday we could have pushed for a better result. The new engine specification definitely helped, and although the difference isn’t big, it’s enough to have a significant bearing on the end result. So I’d like to say thanks to the Factory for speeding up the development and delivering it to Catalunya this weekend.

“On Chris’s side he’s been up against it all weekend and has struggled to get the same feeling or performance level that he achieved last year. The effort from him was 100% – as always – and rather than sling the bike at the fence he kept fighting to the end and brought it home in the best position possible. He’s now coming up to a couple of tracks that he’s really confident at and we’re certain he will achieve much better results.”

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