And the experienced Italian, a nine-times 500cc/
MotoGP race winner, wasted no time getting used to the GSV-R - setting a competitive 1min 33.8secs on his second lap!
After making numerous changes during the half-day session, Capirossi went on to record a best of 1min 33.266secs, placing him fourth on the timesheets - less than one tenth behind new team-mate
Chris Vermeulen and just under one-second from former Ducati team-mate
Casey Stoner.
"The first couple of hours that I have ridden the Suzuki have been very good," smiled Loris. "The feeling with the bike is excellent and I already have a good relationship with the team, and I think for me this is the best condition that it could be. We have one more day to work, but I am very happy for the start we have had today. We need to keep our concentration for the rest of the test, but so far I am really pleased with the way things are going!"
"It was a very proud and exciting moment when Loris stepped onto the bike and headed down pit-lane, and after only one lap to get used to the feeling, he produced a 1min 33.8secs lap-time that put a smile on everyone's face - most notably his!" stated team manager Paul Denning. "Hopefully this is the start of a very rewarding partnership for him and Suzuki."
For Vermeulen, a Suzuki grand prix rider for the past two seasons, Tuesday marked his first chance to test the 2008 GSV-R.
"It's been a good first day's test for the 2008 season," said the Australian. "We did a lot of stuff with brakes today and some compound tyre testing for
Bridgestone, and we got a lot of information from those. Then at the end of the day I got to ride the 2008 prototype bike which Nobu has been testing and raced on in Malaysia. The track temperature was going down at that time, but the bike felt very good for a first run out. There were a lot of positive points and definitely something to work on. We've got a lot of work tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it.
