Rizla Suzuki is in England this weekend for the British Grand Prix at Donington Park, an event that the team considers its second ‘home’ GP of the season. With the team’s operational headquarters in southern England and a big majority of the squad hailing from the UK – allied with the strong ties Chris Vermeulen has with the British racing scene from his early career – the Donington event is a real homecoming for the Japanese based Suzuki MotoGP squad. Vermeulen is hoping to be fully fit at Donington, following his injury-hit race in Germany last weekend, and is determined to keep up his successful British GP record that has seen him record one podium and two front row starts from his three previous visits. Loris Capirossi will be making his Suzuki MotoGP debut at the British event after he was sidelined through injury last year – although he does hold the Grand Prix rider record for the most GP starts at Donington with 17. Capirossi knows the importance of this race to the team and is in a determined mood to put his injury and the disappointment from last week at Sachsenring fully behind him as he goes after a result that will get the team back on target to be competitive for the remainder of the season. This weekend’s British Grand Prix will signal the end of an era as it will be the last time – for the foreseeable future – that the event will be staged at Donington Park. The 4,023m circuit will give way to Silverstone in 2010, so this will be the final chance spectators will get to see the amazing sight and sound as the awesome MotoGP bikes stream down Craner Curves, one of the most impressive pieces of track anywhere on the MotoGP calendar. Rizla Suzuki will start the weekend by being involved in the ‘Riders For Health Day of Champions’ fundraising event on Thursday. This will be followed by the first and second free practice sessions on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning respectively. The qualifying for the race will take place on Saturday afternoon when both Rizla Suzuki racers will be going all out to get the best grid positions for Sunday’s 30-lap race, which will get underway at the later time of 15.30hrs local time (14.30hrs GMT). Chris Vermeulen: “I am really looking forward to Donington Park as it’s like another home GP for me because I grew up racing bikes in the UK and spent a lot of time at Donington in my early career. We were on the podium in the wet a couple of years ago and had a good race there last year in the dry. We have made steps forward with the bike – even if some of the results haven’t gone our way. I hope my injuries allow me to push to 100% and get the Suzuki up to where we need to be.” Loris Capirossi: “Donington is a really important race because after the weekend we had in Germany we need to have a good performance and find the best solutions and settings to help us go quick. I missed the race last year after my injuries at Barcelona and I really love the track so that was disappointing and I want to make up for it this season. We need some good results because the whole team is working so hard and although we probably don’t have the best bike at the moment, our target is to keep making it stronger and stronger until it is capable of challenging at the front. My condition is nearly 95% and after the practices I am sure I will be fully fit for the race.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: On the eve of the last MotoGP race weekend at Donington Park some typical occasional showers at the Midlands track provided uncertainty over the weather for the next three days of on-track action at the British Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Toni Elías, Marco Melandri and James Toseland attended the official pre-event press conference, to talk over their expectations for the race ahead. Of the quintet only Elías has not lived in the British Isles, and there is strong motivation for everyone involved to take a win this weekend. World Champion and current standings leader Rossi, who has won at Donington seven times in all three classes including five victories in the premier class (in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005), noted the great support he receives from fans in the UK. The Italian commented, “I lived in London for seven years; during a period when there have not been so many British riders in the premier class I have won a lot of fans here. They are very passionate about motorcycles in this country and if we can deal with the famous English weather we hope to have a good weekend here.” Victor of the past two races at the track, Stoner reiterated his desire to get back to winning ways, whilst Toseland expressed his hopes of a better outcome than last year’s opening corner crash. Toseland had previously been joined by 125cc youngsters Bradley Smith, Scott Redding and Danny Webb in London on Wednesday and, although all four riders’ school days are behind them, they headed to the library for a special press conference and photo session. The British Library near Euston Station hosted the home foursome, as well as former London resident Jorge Lorenzo and ex-MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden. Rounding off the customary pre-event schedule at Donington Park, the annual Day of Champions ride in, auction and concert gave fans the opportunity for early enjoyment whilst at the same time raising money for official MotoGP charity, Riders for Health. The auction attended by the top riders in the premier class giving up their time and personal memorabilia in order to help the worthy cause- always brings in huge funds, and this year should be no different. Practice for the British Grand Prix begins on Friday at 12.40pm for the 125cc riders, 1.55pm for the MotoGP class and 3.10pm for the 250cc category. More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Team: KALLIO LOOKING FOR REVENGE IN ENGLAND. CANEPA BACK IN TOP FORM Pramac Racing riders, Mika Kallio and Niccolò Canepa, have lived different situation at the Sachsenring circuit last Sunday, but now everything is in the past and the white and red duo is ready for another weekend of racing at Donington. It will be the last time here, at least for the next years to come; in fact, from next season the MotoGP World Championship will move to Silverstone for the British round. Donington circuit is one of the oldest included in the MotoGP 2009 calendar. Mika Kallio has made it to step on its podium three times in his still short career: twice on the second step behind Bautista in the 125cc class in 2006 and 2005, and once in first position in 250cc last season in front of Simoncelli and Bautista. Also Niccolò did take some satisfactions on this circuit winning his first race here when he was riding in Superstock 1000cc in 2007. The circuit is 4023 meters long and present 7 right turns and 4 left turns. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director “In this world if you win or lose a race after only a few minutes you have to concentrate immediately to the next appointment. In Donington we will step on track even more determined after the bad luck we had in Sachsenring. Mika has done a really positive weekend notwithstanding his left ring finger was badly injured and now he will be even more motivated. The situation in general has improved a lot for us after Barcelona test when we received new parts from Ducati. The bike is more manageable and I think that results demonstrated it. Niccolò is growing race by race and this show he has great talent. In Germany, after the hard hit of qualifying session, he made it to step on his bike for the race and achieve a good result and we therefore hope he can do even better in Donington on a track where he has already won in the past.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing rider “If I can be honest I was really mad after the German race. I was ready, motivated and even if I had a lot of pain at the left hand I knew I could have done a good race. We cannot accuse anybody because we know how the racing world is: everyone can make mistakes. For the British Grand Prix we will have to maintain the same level of concentration of the past weekend: with my technical staff we have worked very well and I am convinced that we can do the same in Donington. We know our true value and we will do all possible to show it on track. Here I have achieved some satisfaction in the past in the lower classes and I now I want to achieve some too in the top class.” Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing rider “The German race can be considered the starting point of my season. I didn’t know the track and even if I was in a lot of pain after Saturday’s accident I have done a good performance. I have ridden in the past at Donington and I also won: for sure now it’s not possible, but I will do everything I can to conquer a good result. Climatic condition in England are unpredictable, but in Germany we demonstrated that we can be competitive on any track conditions.” More, from a press release issued by Indianapolis Motor Speedway: MotoGP PREVIEW: GRAND PRIX OF GREAT BRITAIN EVENT: Grand Prix of Great Britain WHERE: Donington Park, Castle Donington, England. Circuit is 2.5 miles (4.023 km), with 11 turns. Race is 30 laps. WHEN: Sunday, July 26. It is the 10th of 17 events this season. 2008 RACE WINNER: Casey Stoner, by 5.789 seconds over Valentino Rossi 2008 POLE WINNER: Casey Stoner, 1 minute, 38.232 seconds U.S. TV: MotoGP: 6-7 p.m. (ET), Sunday, July 26, SPEED. 250cc: 5-6 p.m., Sunday, July 26, SPEED. THE AMERICANS: U.S. riders Colin Edwards (Houston, Yamaha Tech 3) and Nicky Hayden (Owensboro, Ky., Ducati Team) will compete in this race. Edwards is fifth and Hayden is 13th in the MotoGP standings after nine races this season. “¢Colin Edwards: “It’s just a good track. They’ve got everything. Off-camber, positive camber, blind crests, brow of the hill. For me, it is a riders’ track. You’ve got the stop-start section right at the end, and then you’ve got the nice, smooth, just carry your momentum in the first eight or nine corners. It’s about two tracks in one. It’s a compromise, but at the end of the day, you can lose massive amounts of time in those hairpins. You kind of have to tune for hard braking.” “¢Nicky Hayden: “I’ve never had amazing results at Donington, but I can’t wait to get back out on track because I’m not happy with the way the last race went after the really positive practice we had. My bike is really stable under braking, and that should be a real bonus at this circuit. Things have been going well lately. I’m having fun, and last weekend was the first time in a long while that I’ve been up front in practice. Seeing P1 unchanged on my pit board for such a long time was a nice feeling. We’ll see what the weather is like because you never know what to expect at Donington, and the track conditions are totally dependent on it.” THEY SAID IT: “Unfortunately this year will be the last time that we race at Donington Park, and it’s a pity because the circuit is fascinating to ride. I like it, in particular the first section which is very fast, and of course the Craner Curves, which plunge downhill and take your breath away every time you ride them.” Repsol Honda Team rider Andrea Dovizioso, talking about the move of the British Grand Prix from Donington Park to Silverstone in 2010 FAST FACTS: This will be the last British Grand Prix at Donington Park, as the race is moving to the Silverstone Circuit in 2010. The race has taken place at Donington every year since 1987 “¦ Six-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi will set a record for Grand Prix podium finishes if he places in the top three at this event. Rossi has 159 podium finishes across all classes after his victory July 19 at the German Grand Prix, tied with fellow Italian legend Giacomo Agostini “¦ Valentino Rossi has seven victories at Donington Park across all classes in his career, including five in MotoGP or 500cc “¦ Donington Park is the most successful MotoGP circuit for American star Colin Edwards. He has five top-six finishes at the track, including second in 2004 and 2007. Two-time World Superbike champion Edwards won World Superbike races at Donington in 1999 and 2000 before moving to MotoGP in 2003 “¦ American MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden has a best finish at Donington Park of fourth, in 2004 “¦ James Toseland is the only British rider in the MotoGP field for his home race. No British rider has scored a podium finish in the premier class in the last 150 races, dating back to Jeremy McWilliams in 2000 at Donington Park “¦ Only five riders have scored points in all nine MotoGP races this season: Casey Stoner, Colin Edwards, Marco Melandri, Chris Vermeulen and Alex de Angelis “¦ Spanish MotoGP riders Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa are bitter rivals, and it’s fascinating to see just how similar their results have been during their respective MotoGP careers. Lorenzo has a win ratio of 11.54 percent of his starts, Pedrosa 11.47. Lorenzo has finished on the podium in 53.8 percent of his starts, Pedrosa 52.5. Lorenzo has scored an average of 13.5 points per race, Pedrosa 13.3 “¦ American Cameron Beaubier will continue his first season in the 125cc class at this event. Beaubier, 16, from Roseville, Calif., is tied for 25th in the World Championship standings this season for the Red Bull KTM 125 factory team. *** 2009 IMS tickets: Established in 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has long prevailed as an icon of motorsports excellence. Beginning in 2009, the Speedway celebrates its Centennial Era, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the facility in 2009 and the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race in 2011. Tickets for the two remaining events in 2009 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and Red Bull Indianapolis GP can be purchased online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com at any time. Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.