Despite recent problems,
Loris Capirossi believes time is the only issue that can prevent Rizla Suzuki from being 'fully competitive' during the opening round of the 2008
MotoGP season at Qatar on March 9.
Capirossi and team-mate
Chris Vermeulen have suffered several tough tests in the run-up to the present Qatar night outing - the final opportunity for track time before the start of the new racing season - and were left just 14th (Vermeulen) and 15th (Capirossi) on the first night.
Traction appears to be the main issue hampering the GSV-R riders, with Vermeulen confirming that a 'big problem' needs to be solved before the usual testing activities can take place.
"From the bike's point of view we had a big problem when we arrived here, but today we seemed to have partially solved that and that was certainly our priority at this test," he said. "Things are definitely heading in the right direction and I hope that we have sorted this problem so that we can really work on some proper testing and getting some pace out of the bike."
"We know the way to minimise the problems we have at the moment, we are still struggling a bit with traction which was the same as we had at
Jerez," added Capirossi. "I think we are working really hard and the team is very close - we only need a bit of time to make sure we are 100% and fully competitive for the first race."
That first race will also take place at night, throwing further unknowns into the equation, although neither Suzuki rider had any major problem adapting to the conditions on Thursday.
"It was quite strange out there to begin with as it wasn't as bright as I thought it would be, there were still quite a lot of shadows so it took a bit of getting used to," said Vermeulen. "The circuit has done a great job though as it is difficult to supply the level of light we need to race a MotoGP bike, but they have made that possible."
"It is really interesting riding in the night and my feeling is that it is good out there, it's not like daylight but I am very impressed," declared Capirossi.
The second and final night of testing starts on Friday evening.
