From a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

RAIN CUTS SHORT ROUTINE SUZUKI TESTS

Team Suzuki was forced to cut three days of planned testing at Valencia back to two days, when rain spoiled conditions today after two clear days on Thursday and Friday.

Team riders Kenny Roberts Jr (2000 World Champion) and new team recruit John Hopkins had by then already run through most of the list of routine testing items, using the tight and twisty Ricardo Tormo Valencia GP circuit to wrap up the first phase of testing and development for the first version of the all-new 2003 GSV-R MotoGP machine.

The second phase begins next week at Catalunya, with a fresh round of technical improvements from the factory racing department.

“From the start, the new machine’s increased potential was obvious. I’m really looking forward to seeing what the factory will bring for the Catalunya tests next week,” said Roberts.

The team will be testing in private at the Barcelona GP circuit, before joining the third and final European IRTA tests, where the rest of the 24-strong 2003 MotoGP field are also expected to attend.

Suzuki’s new GP prototype, code-named XR-E1, arrived for tests late in January in Malaysia, surprising team and riders with the extent of technical changes compared with last year’s XR-E0 version. That was the first in a new generation of ultra-high-performance 990cc four-stroke prototype racers, built for the new premier-class MotoGP series. This year’s machine is completely redesigned, to carry the concept to the next stage.

“We didn’t have anything new to test here,” said team manager Garry Taylor. “Just a fairly long list of items and settings that needed to be explored and either developed further or eliminated. That is the routine of testing.

“We managed to get through most of them, and add huge amounts to the data we have already collected on the new machine, in the first two days,” he added.

Roberts and Hopkins shared the track with the British Superbike team, with riders John Reynolds and ex-GP racer Yukio Kagayama putting the new GSX-1000R through its pre-season paces.