From a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki Grand Prix racers Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen will be joining their respective Suzuki GSV-Rs at ‘Baselworld 2008 -the Watch and Jewellery Show’, in Basel, Switzerland – to support their personal watch sponsors. Capirossi and his bike will be on the Eberhard & Co (www.eberhard-co-watches.ch) stand whilst team-mate Vermeulen and the number seven machine will appear at the Oakley (www.oakley.com) display area. The two Suzuki riders will be attending the show on Sunday 6th April (the bikes will be there for the entire show) to showcase the new designs and to meet and greet fans at the world’s leading event for the watch and jewellery industry. Both riders know how important time is to them, as their performances on-track are measured in thousandths-of-a-second, so it is essential that the two Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers keep good time off track as well. Capirossi and Vermeulen work closely with their personal timepiece suppliers and are both currently involved in designing signature watches to go on sale in the near future. Eberhard and Co will actually be launching the Loris Capirossi watch at the event, so the show has an extra interest for Suzuki’s Italian star. Baselworld 2008 is the leading event for the watch and jewellery industry. It is a unique show where over 2,000 exhibitors – specialists in watches, jewellery, precious gems and related brands – showcase their latest products to those in the industry. Visitors can browse through a select assortment of products in luxurious surroundings covering over 160,000 m2 of exhibition area on several floors. The show is on from April 3-10 and full details can be found on www.baselworld.com and many world-famous names in the watch and jewellery industry choose to show their products exclusively at the show. Basel is your only chance to see their very latest creations and to get up close and personal to Capirossi, Vermeulen and the Suzuki GSV-R. Loris Capirossi: “I am really looking forward to this event, it is something very different from the high-speed of MotoGP, but time is the most important thing to both environments! Eberhard have a great range to show this year and I will be launching my own watch, so that is really exciting. It is an honour to have such a prestigious name make a watch to my specifications and to launch it in their home country at such a huge show makes it even more special!” Chris Vermeulen: “I have been with Oakley for a number of years now and their watches are great for my lifestyle. They are functional and look good as well as being pretty tough, which is an important factor for me when I’m out working on my cars or messing about in the ocean. I feel really privileged that they will be making a Chris Vermeulen watch and can’t wait to see the finished item I am sure it will look awesome!”